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Nottingham Forest are set to appoint Steve Cooper as Chris Hughton’s successor at the City Ground.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by John Percy, with The Telegraph journalist revealing in a post on Twitter that Forest are set to officially confirm the arrival of the former Swansea City boss as their new manager at some point today.

Percy goes on to state that the 41-year-old was Dane Murphy’s number one choice for the role, as well as revealing that the Reds agreed to pay the Swans £500k in compensation in order to be able to sign Cooper.

In his tweet, the journalist said: “NFFC are set to confirm the appointment of Steve Cooper on Tuesday. Cooper was the No. 1 choice for new CEO Dane Murphy. Compensation with Swansea was agreed on Friday and is around the £500k mark.”

Fans surely buzzing

Considering the fact that Cooper was linked to clubs such as Crystal Palace, Fulham and West Bromwich Albion this summer, the fact that the 41-year-old has agreed to join Nottingham Forest can easily be viewed as a rather large coup for the club – especially considering their current league position – and is sure to have left the City Ground faithful buzzing.

Indeed, the former Swansea manager appears to be an extremely exciting appointment for the Garibaldi, as the Welshman led the Swans to a top-six finish in both of his seasons at the Liberty Stadium, as well as further enhancing his reputation for developing the club’s younger talents – the latter of which is believed to have been a key factor for the Forest CEO.

As such, as long as Cooper can turn the tide on Forest’s current level of performances in the Championship, and quickly, the future certainly appears to be a great deal brighter in Nottingham than during the last few weeks, as a Hughton-led Forest suffered six losses in seven league games.

In other news: Journalist reveals NFFC talks for “outstanding” £1.8m-rated ace, he’d be a major coup

England have shown faith in the players that secured the Women’s World Cup in Australia for the ICC World Twenty20 which will run alongside the men’s tournament in June

Cricinfo staff01-May-2009England have shown faith in the players that secured the Women’s World Cup in Australia for the ICC World Twenty20 which will run alongside the men’s tournament in June.Charlotte Edwards leads the 14-strong squad which includes prolific run-scorer Claire Taylor, who was named one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year, and Nicky Shaw who claimed Player of the Match in the World Cup final against New Zealand in Sydney.The one player to be dropped is reserve wicketkeeper Lauren Griffiths as the women only have to name a 14-player squad.The women’s tournament starts on June 11 and the initial phase is based at Taunton. The semi-finals and final will be held on the same day as the men’s matches at Trent Bridge, The Oval and Lord’s.Squad Charlotte Edwards (capt), Caroline Atkins, Katherine Brunt, Holly Colvin, Isha Guha, Jenny Gunn, Lydia Greenway, Beth Morgan, Nicky Shaw, Amy Shrubsole, Laura Marsh, Ebony Rainford-Brent, Claire Taylor, Sarah Taylor

Rangers face Motherwell at Ibrox today as they attempt to return to winning ways after their defeat to Lyon on Thursday night.

They kicked off their Europa League campaign with a 2-0 loss to the French outfit and now return to Premiership action against Graham Alexander’s side.

Steven Gerrard’s men showed some encouraging signs against Lyon but were ultimately unable to make the most of their chances and conceded two preventable goals to condemn them to defeat.

How many changes will Gerrard make? Here is our predicted XI for the match…

We are predicting that the 41-year-old will make three changes from Thursday, with Fashion Sakala, Kemar Roofe and Scott Wright coming in for Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos and Joe Aribo.

The Colombian is an injury doubt for this clash after he suffered a knock against Lyon. Instead of Gerrard risking him for this match against Motherwell, we are predicting that Sakala will take Morelos’ place at the top end of the pitch.

The 24-year-old is yet to get off the mark for the Gers and today could be his chance to stake a claim for his place in the side by breaking his duck and finding the back of the net. Gerrard needs to omit the £33k-per-week Morelos because playing him could aggravate his injury.

One player who will certainly be ruled out is Kent. Gerrard has confirmed that the winger is set to be out for a fewweeks with a hamstring injury, which means that there is a spot available on the left flank. We are predicting that Wright will be given the nod to start, having scored once in two Premiership appearances so far this season.

With Kent poised to miss a number of matches, this game could be a huge opportunity for Wright to put himself in contention to earn some regular minutes in the coming weeks. He needs to step up and show that he can be the main man out wide for Rangers.

Finally, we believe that Roofe will return to the starting XI in place of Joe Aribo. We published an article explaining why the ex-Leeds forward must be unleashed against Motherwell, along with why the Nigerian deserves to be dropped to the bench after his disappointing performance against Lyon.

AND in other news, Gerrard must unleash £26k-p/w Rangers “handful” vs Motherwell, he’s a match-winner…

Cricinfo previews the third ODI between New Zealand and India to be played in Wellington

The Preview by Sriram Veera07-Mar-2009Match factsSunday, March 8, 2009
Start time 14.00 local (01.00 GMT)
Can Daniel Vettori and New Zealand prevent another assault from Virender Sehwag? © Getty Images
The Big PictureBoth India and New Zealand have entertainers in their batting line-ups but the rainy weather in Napier and Wellington ensured that their performances were curtailed. The first ODI was a one-sided 28-over game, which India won by 53 runs, and the second got no further than 28.4 overs. Sunday’s forecast says there’s a 20% chance of precipitation in Christchurch. Hopefully it will leave enough time to squeeze in a 50-over contest.India opened their tour with a Twenty20 international at the AMI Stadium, and their batsmen perished as they tried to take advantage of the short square boundaries. However, their approach in the one-day games has been more methodical and it is their intent which will worry New Zealand. Before the second ODI was ruined by rain, Sachin Tendulkar merely rotated strike while Virender Sehwag attacked viciously. However, Tendulkar seamlessly shifted to a higher gear and bore the responsibility of scoring quickly after Sehwag’s dismissal. India have also kept New Zealand guessing about the No. 3 position: they sent in Gautam Gambhir in Wellington after Mahendra Singh Dhoni had been promoted in Napier.New Zealand’s best bowler has been their captain Daniel Vettori but he’s had to perform damage control because the fast bowlers have bowled without consistency and conceded too many. Ian Butler was the best of the fast bowlers in Wellington, bowling short of a length on middle and off stump. Kyle Mills, however, was yet to find his direction while Jacob Oram was steady. Their bowling unit needs to perform collectively to restrict a powerful Indian line-up. The plan is to adopt a fuller line but whether it will work remains to be seen.ODI form guide (last five matches, most recent first)
India – NWLWW
New Zealand – NLNLLWatch out for …Martin Guptill: He blasted 41 off 28 balls in the series opener and has scores of 10 (given lbw despite an inside edge) and 64 since then. Guptill is a fierce puller and the short square boundaries at the AMI Stadium will be to his liking.Yuvraj Singh: He’s got going only in one innings so far, scoring 50 off 34 balls while falling in single digits the other three times. If he can overcome his troubles against spin and lateral movement, Yuvraj could cause serious damage in Christchurch.Team newsBrendon McCullum has not recovered completely from a thumb injury and so New Zealand are likely to field the same XI as in Wellington, with Peter McGlashan as wicketkeeper.New Zealand: 1 Jesse Ryder, 2 Brendon McCullum, 3 Martin Guptill, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Jacob Oram, 6 Peter McGlashan (wk), 7 Grant Elliott, 8 Daniel Vettori (capt), 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Ian Butler, 11 Iain O’BrienIndia are unlikely to rush Ishant Sharma, who missed the first two games with a shoulder injury, either. “He [Ishant] bowled a bit but I think he will take a few more days of rest, at least two more days,” Dhoni said yesterday. “It will be quite tight for the Christchurch game as of now.”India: 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Yusuf Pathan, 8 Praveen Kumar, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Munaf Patel, 11 Zaheer Khan.Pitch & conditionsA total of 24 sixes were hit in the first Twenty20 international at the AMI Stadium. There may not be as many on Sunday but if the weather stays clear the runs should flow because of the small boundaries. The trick, however, will be trying to steal ones, twos and threes on a small field. The weather on the eve of the match was warm and sunny but there is a 20% chance of rain on Sunday.Stats and trivia New Zealand have played 43 ODIs in Christchurch, winning 25 and losing 18. Since 2000, they’ve won 12 and lost three. India have a poor record at the venue, losing all their five games here. New Zealand average 30.40 runs per wicket at the AMI Stadium, while India average 19.19.Quotes”You have to hang in there for a while, not just go out and play your shots. You have to select your bowler, read the circumstances, your areas, sort out your game plan and what you are doing on the field. It is really important to do proper preparation before the game.”
.”After the rained-out game we’ve got to win, Dan’s told us it’s a must-win game. We’ve been in the situation before with West Indies, and we’ve come out winning the must-win games, so hopefully the pressure we can put ourselves under will work in our favour.”

Since Victor Orta came into Leeds United as director of football back in the summer of 2017, the club have completed some pretty impressive recruitment drives in the various transfer windows.

The likes of Raphinha, Illan Meslier and Diego Llorente, among others, have all arrived under his watch, and while that mat point to someone who’s got the Midas touch when it comes to new signings, it doesn’t showcase his ability to get players out the door.

Jack Clarke was one of the hottest prospects coming out of the Leeds academy before reports back in the summer of 2019 claimed that Tottenham paid a £9m fee to Leeds to sign Clarke, before sending him back to Elland Road for the season.

There’s no doubting that he looked a real prospect when he first burst onto the scene, with Noel Whelan waxing-lyrical about him back in 2019, saying:

“He has got a great ability to glide past players. I don’t think I’ve seen a winger really as talented as that, where it looks effortless, just to take somebody on and he really does get you on the edge of your seat, he’s one of those exciting players.”

In fact, after watching the then 18-year-old shine in an impressive 2-0 win against Derby County in the Championship, Gary Lineker took to Twitter to rave about the teenager.

He said: “Not the first Clarke to strut his stuff at Elland Road, but Jack Clarke looks a player. Another talented young English footballer born in 2000.”

But, things just haven’t quite worked out for him since his move to Tottenham, with just four first-team appearances to his name for the Lilywhites – even that has only totalled 95 minutes worth of senior football.

Clarke has spent most of his time in the past couple of years out on loan at the likes of QPR and Stoke, and it’s no surprise that according to Transfermarkt, his value is now at a measly £4.5m – half of what Spurs paid.

That’s a real indication of just how much of a step backwards his career has taken since Spurs signed him, and exactly why Orta delivered a masterclass in allowing him to leave in 2019.

Orta cashed out at the perfect time, getting good money for a young talent who had played just a small handful of first-team games for Leeds.

While it’s disappointing to see Clarke fail to realise his potential just yet on a more personal level, for Leeds as a club, their decision to let him go when his value was at his highest, was an absolute masterstroke in management.

Leeds fans will surely be buzzing with how Orta played the market.

Meanwhile, this Leeds United transfer target is now set for contract talks…

Sky Sports journalist Michael Bridge believes that if Odsonne Edouard departs Celtic, then the Hoops will sign Georgios Giakoumakis. 

The 26-year-old who currently plays for Dutch second division side VVV-Venlo, scored two assists in all competitions last season.

Sky Sports reported that Celtic are set to sign Giakoumakis on a four-year contract, with a fee of £2.5m agreed. The Greece internationals contract at VVV-Venlo expires in June 2022, but it looks like a move to Celtic Park is on the cards.

Sky Sports’ Michael Bridge believes that this deal will happen if Odsoone Edouard departs the club, telling Transfer Tavern: “If Edouard does go it looks like they’re signing Greek international Georgios Giakoumakis, four-year deal signing from VVV-Venlo who got relegated but I think he was top scorer last season.”

Sky Sports reported last night that Premier League side Crystal Palace were close to agreeing a deal for Odsonne Edouard for a fee between £15m and £20m, with Patrick Vieira wanting to bring a striker to Selhurst Park before the window closes.

Celtic have had a bust window signing eight players so far and alongside Giakoumakis, it looks like the Hoops could also add Filipe Jota to their ranks, with Football Insider reporting that he was undergoing his medical yesterday on a loan-to-buy bid.

Players’ representatives from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have begun talks on an IPL-style tri-nation Twenty20 league

Nagraj Gollapudi15-Jan-2009Players’ representatives from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have begun talks on an IPL-style tri-nation Twenty20 league that will involve franchises from the three countries and begin from 2011.Discussions between the representatives are being held in Australia on the sidelines of the ongoing series between South Africa and Australia, and are being seen as a significant step forward towards the formation of the league, which would follow the IPL, the Champions League and the ECB’s proposed EPL.”We can certainly confirm that we have been in discussions with the boards from Australia and South Africa and we are working towards the launch of the league in 2011,” Justin Vaughan, chief executive of New Zealand Cricket (NZC), told Cricinfo. “But we are not at any stage to release details of that.”Vaughan said the three national boards hope that players from around the world would be able to participate in the league. “But it is probably too early to speculate on individuals,” he said.Discussions are still at an early stage but the tri-nation league may have three teams each from Australia and South Africa, and two from New Zealand. The collaboration among the three boards is understood to have been borne out of the realisation that it would be difficult for one country to sustain a league on the lines of the IPL, which is being run by the cash-rich BCCI. “The three boards thought there was benefit in collaborating,” Vaughan said.Officials from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa had begun discussions to join hands for an annual tri-nation tournament on the sidelines of the ICC annual conference in Dubai last year. Various models were discussed and subsequently it was felt that the best way forward was to adopt a franchise-based model that combined teams from the three countries.It was originally expected that the tournament would commence from 2009, but a packed ICC calendar, including the postponed Champions Trophy, and commercial considerations have led to 2011 being agreed upon for the launch. The ICC’s current Future Tours Programme (FTP) runs from 2006-2012, and subsequent arrangements are being negotiated by the various national boards.

Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce could sign a major upgrade on Jonjo Shelvey in AS Roma midfielder Amadou Diawara.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent days have suggested that the Magpies are closing in on a swoop for Arsenal starlet Joe Willock, but it seems that Bruce isn’t finished strengthening his midfield this summer.

According to Italian publication Corriere Dello Sport (via Sport Witness), the Tyneside club have their eye on Diawara, with Roma potentially open to letting him leave as they look to bring in a new central midfielder of their own.

The report adds that fellow Premier League club Wolves are also said to be interested in signing the 24-year-old this summer.

Upgrade on Shelvey

Since his arrival at St James’ Park, it’s fair to say that Newcastle fans haven’t been overly impressed with Shelvey’s performances at the club, and many were particularly critical of him during a Premier League game against Leicester towards the back end of last season.

He managed more yellow cards (seven) than goals and assists (four) in the Premier League, while his passing accuracy was down at a shocking 76.4% – to put that into context, even Jeff Hendrick did better (80.1%).

Diawara, on the other hand, is someone who provides a superb range of passing (he completed just shy of 90% of his passes in the Serie A last season) and also has the defensive tenacity to cover the ground expertly and make challenges – he has averaged an impressive 1.5 tackles and 1.5 interceptions per game over his career, which are both significantly better than Shelvey (1.2 and 0.9 respectively).

The Guinea international also gets dribbled past less often per game and is someone who prefers to keep his passes on the deck, rather than the long-range passes that Shelvey likes to try – he played just 1.2 long balls per game last season compared to Shelvey’s whopping 5.8.

Fabrizio Tazzioli, Diawara’s former coach at Napoli, has waxed lyrical about him, saying: “I saw the guy in training and thought that he is a phenomenon. He is not as strong physically, but better with his feet and has the same presence on the pitch.”

The £17m-rated powerhouse looks clearly better than Shelvey in all the key departments, and with Sean Longstaff’s future at St James’ Park uncertain given his interest from Everton, he could arrive as someone who kills two birds with one stone – an upgrade on Shelvey, and a replacement for Longstaff.

The Magpies must ruthlessly sell Longstaff this summer, with a recent fan poll done on Football FanCast showing that 70% of people thought he should be sold in this summer transfer window (442 votes to 185).

Signing Diawara would give them the perfect chance to do just that.

Meanwhile, Newcastle must ruthlessly sell this ace…

Fulham look to have completed a deal to bring Rodrigo Muniz to Craven Cottage.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Fabrizio Romano, with the journalist revealing in a post on Twitter that Fulham and Flamengo have reached an agreement regarding the fee of the centre-forward, believed to be around €8m (£6.8m) plus a 25% sell-on clause.

Romano went on to state that the deal has now been completed, suggesting that an announcement from the club regarding the signing of the 20-year-old should come very soon.

In his tweet, the journalist said: “Paperwork signed between Fulham and Flamengo for Rodrigo Muniz, deal completed. Muniz will join Fulham for €8m + 25% future sale percentage to Flamengo.”

Music to the ears of fans

While Fulham’s interest in Muniz has been well documented over the last few weeks, it appeared as if a deal for the striker could have been slipping away from the Cottagers, with Middlesbrough reported to be attempting to pounce on the west London side’s lack of action in finalising a deal for the Brazilian.

However, Romano’s latest comments all but confirming the signing of Muniz are sure to be music to the ears of the Craven Cottage faithful, as the younger looks to be a player with a significant amount of potential.

Indeed, over his nine Serie A appearances for Flamengo so far this season, the £2.7m-rated man has scored three goals, provided one assist and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as making an average of 0.6 key passes and taking 2.4 shots per game.

These metrics have seen the 20-year-old earn an average SofaScore match rating of 7.16, ranking him as the club’s joint eighth-best performer in the Brazilian top flight.

As such, it would very much seem as if Muniz is not only a player who could play an influential role in Fulham’s future but also one who clearly boasts the ability to provide the club’s promotion hopes with a significant boost this season – something that will delight Marco Silva and fans of the club alike.

In other news: Contact made: Khan opens talks for “quality” £12k-p/w ace, Fulham fans will be buzzing

Rob Quiney continued his outstanding week with a dynamic 73 that set Victoria on the course to pick up a bonus point in their seven-wicket win over Queensland

Cricinfo staff26-Oct-2008
Scorecard
David Hussey saw Victoria home with an unbeaten half-century © Getty Images
Rob Quiney continued his outstanding week with a dynamic 73 that set Victoria on the course to pick up a bonus point in their seven-wicket win over Queensland. A fiery bowling display from Shane Harwood had helped restrict the Bulls to 222, which was simply not enough on a flat pitch, and David Hussey slammed a six from the final ball to get Victoria home with 68 deliveries to spare.It ensured the Bushrangers remained unbeaten so far in the FR Cup season and it meant a dismal week for Queensland, who lost to Victoria within three days in their Sheffield Shield clash. In that game, Quiney had posted his maiden first-class century; in the one-day encounter he raced to his half-century from 43 balls.The Bulls helped Quiney by bowling too short and he cut and pulled with precision, although his most attractive shot was a perfectly-timed back-foot drive through cover for four. When the fast men overpitched, Quiney freely muscled them over wide midwicket.A non-spinner from Chris Simpson inexplicably accounted for Quiney, who missed an attempted cut, but he had pushed the Bushrangers within 100 of their target with 30 overs remaining. They were so far ahead of the required run-rate that Brad Hodge (49) and Hussey could play in cruise mode and still the bonus point was comfortably reached.There was a distinct lack of bite in the Queensland attack, which was without Ashley Noffke after he pulled out before play with back soreness. Victoria’s fast bowlers looked more threatening, particularly Harwood, who removed Andrew Symonds for 9 and Greg Moller for a duck, both with fast, short and accurate bowling.Harwood’s eight overs brought 2 for 18, which was a boost for the Bushrangers following a strong opening stand from James Hopes (42) and Clinton Perren, who made 52. Some clean striking later from Nathan Reardon (54) pushed the Bulls into vaguely competitive territory but Victoria’s strong batting line-up completed a productive trip north.