The legendary striker scored his first goal at Parc des Princes on Tuesday – now just 15 grounds have denied him as a Real Madrid player
Stade de MarrakeshMarrakesh, MoroccoAdvertisementGetty ImagesEl ArcangelCordoba, SpainGetty ImagesSan SiroMilan, ItalyENJOYED THIS STORY?
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Gabriel Moscardo has reportedly chosen Paris Saint-Germain over Chelsea as Corinthians have set their asking price for the 18-year-old midfielder.
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PSG favourites to beat Chelsea to MoscardoLuis Campos in Brazil to complete the dealChelsea shift focus to a strikerWHAT HAPPENED?
According tothe Parisians have taken a march over Chelsea in the pursuit of the 18-year-old midfielder with PSG director Luis Campos set to fly to Brazil to complete the deal which could potentially cost £21m (€25m/$27). Chelsea have seen a bid of €20m (£17m/$22m) rejected as Corinthians are ready to sell their prized asset to the highest bidder.
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Moscardo has reportedly set his heart on joining PSG in January and both clubs want to shake hands as soon as possible. The player believes that the Blues have several options in midfield like Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, Conor Gallagher, Romeo Lavia, Lesley Ugochukwu, Carney Chukwuemeka and Andrey Santos, and fears that he might have to struggle for minutes with the London club.
DID YOU KNOW?
Chelsea cannot offer Moscardo a potential loan move as well since they have used up all seven international loan spots. Hence PSG have now got a free shot to get their hands on the player, even though they joined the race pretty late.
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(C)GettyImagesWHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA?
Chelsea are struggling for goals and Mauricio Pochetttino might favour an additional striker in January. They are said to be interested in signing Ivan Toney from Brentford but will face stiff competition from Arsenal for the £80 million ($99m) rated striker.
Rio Ferdinand has slammed England boss Gareth Southgate after in-form Chelsea ace Raheem Sterling suffered yet another snub from Three Lions squad.
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Sterling ignored in England squadFerdinand slammed SouthgateMore goal contributions than Grealish and RashfordWHAT HAPPENED?
The Manchester United legend was left frustrated as Sterling was once again ignored by England manager Southgate in the Three Lions squad for the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifying games. Ferdinand slammed the English manager while pointing out that the Chelsea star has more goal contributions this season than Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford combined.
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The former Manchester City and Liverpool star hasn't featured for the English national team since their World Cup quarter-final against France in December 2022. Although the player was injured in the opening round of Euro 2024 qualifying games in March, he was ignored for the next four consecutive England call-ups.
WHAT DID RIO FERDINAND SAY?
Speaking on his YouTube channel , the former England defender said: "Free Sterling. Free my guy, Raheem Sterling. I don’t know what he’s done; I don’t know whose nose he has put out of joint. I don’t know what’s happened. For him not to be in the England squad is beyond me. There’s a lot of talent; don’t get me wrong. But if we’re talking form, he’s got more goals and assists, more goal contributions than Rashford and Grealish put together."
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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR ENGLAND?
Southgate's men, who have already booked a berth at next year's European Championship, will first face Malta on Friday before taking on North Macedonia three days later.
Jonny Bairstow is not yet a great batsman but he is capable of playing brilliant innings. He has the rare gift of being able to transform a cricket match
Paul Edwards at Chester-le-Street28-Jun-2015
ScorecardJonny Bairstow is enjoying playing at Chester-le-Street this season – it was where he played a match-winning hand for England•Getty ImagesJonny Bairstow is not yet a great batsman but he is capable of playing brilliant innings. He has the rare gift of being able to transform a cricket match, of taking rules of engagement that apply inflexibly to other players and disregarding them in a welter of magnificent strokes. “Youth is to all the glad season,” wrote Thomas Carlyle, and Bairstow is a mere 25 years old. Who knows what this game might yet have in store for him?Bairstow’s gifts were on display in abundance on the first day of the match between Durham and Yorkshire at Chester-le-Street. Until he arrived at the wicket, the match between Division One’s top two sides had been characterised by understandable caution and orthodoxy. On a slowish wicket and under cloudy skies in the morning session, Yorkshire’s top-order batsmen had taken no risks at all. When Bairstow came to the wicket, Andrew Gale’s side were 124 for 3 in the 54th over. Then Yorkshire’s wicketkeeper-batsman hit his first ball for four and the whole day’s cricket began to change.Having made a very fine hundred against Hampshire at Headingley and an even better one against Middlesex, also on his home ground, Bairstow, whose attendance was not required at England’s pre-Ashes training camp in Spain, now topped the lot, and this in one of his team’s most important games of the season. He has a sense of occasion, too.Three balls after arriving at the wicket, he watched Gale fend John Hastings to Paul Collingwood at slip, the Durham skipper making a one-handed acrobatic catch look absurdly simple. Bairstow then shared brief partnerships of 22 with Aaron Finch and 39 with Adil Rashid. Yet when Rashid was caught by Collingwood off Chris Rushworth, Yorkshire were 191 for 6 in the 68th over and Durham’s bowlers could feel perfectly satisfied with their work.It was three overs after tea when Tim Bresnan arrived at the middle. What happened over the next two hours or so will be cherished by the good number of Yorkshire supporters who made the journey to the North-East. On a pitch which remained tricky, Bairstow and Bresnan added 138 in an unbroken stand for the seventh wicket with Bresnan making an immensely valuable unbeaten 66 off 85 balls while Bairstow went from 34 to 102 not out, reaching his century off the final ball he faced in the day when he drove Collingwood to extra cover.What was noticeable in that glorious evening session was the way in which Bairstow took virtually no risks. His drives, cuts and pulls were pure but his ability to seize on the even slightly loose ball is, on his day, as rare a talent as there is in the English game. Bowlers like Hastings and Jamie Harrison, who had bowled economically against Yorkshire’s other batsmen were suddenly being milked for boundaries and on many of these occasions, they were doing little or nothing wrong.Since returning from England’s tour to the West Indies, Bairstow has now scored 519 County Championship runs at an average of 86. In eight innings he has passed fifty on six occasions. He is in some of the form of his still developing career. Trevor Bayliss is surely taking note and maybe wondering what to do about it. At least James Whitaker will be able to advise him. The national selector was in attendance to see Bairstow’s innings and one would love to overhear their conversation.In a way, it was almost unfair on some of Yorkshire’s other batsmen that Bairstow should bat quite as brilliantly as he did on the first day of this game. Until he took Yorkshire’s innings and shaped it differently, opener Alex Lees could feel quite pleased to have made 40, his highest score in ten innings; and Lees had added 56 for the first wicket with Will Rhodes before Rhodes was bowled for 24 by left-arm seamer Harrison, who was making his first appearance of the season.Harrison was later to take the wicket of the in-form Jack Leaning, who was bowled for 28 runs carefully accumulated in two hours’ concentrated effort. Indeed, the first four in Yorkshire’s order had all done their best in difficult circumstances against accurate bowling. But when it is Bairstow’s day, there is little bowling to him and spectators at this game may have left the ground feeling privileged to have seen him bat as he did.
After a horrendous start the Red Devils have the perfect chance to make up lost ground – their manager's future rests on them taking it
Compared to the previous international break Erik ten Hag had to endure in September, which saw Jadon Sancho lash out against him on social media and Antony being accused of domestic violence, the last two weeks must have felt like a holiday. There have been no scandals affecting Manchester United players and there has been a positive update in the takeover saga as Sir Jim Ratcliffe closes in on his 25 percent stake.
There has also been some good news on the injury front, with Raphael Varane, Kobbie Mainoo, Sofyan Amrabat and Sergio Reguilon returning to training. United will be without Casemiro for their next fixture against Sheffield United but given the Brazilian's startling decline in form and the fact the injury is not serious, it is not the biggest setback.
United certainly needed some respite after a seemingly never-ending injury crisis and an awful run of results, setting unwanted records with each defeat. And after their miraculous, last-gasp victory over Brentford, they head into their next seven fixtures before the next break with a spring in their step.
And this time they will need to kick on as, with two notable exceptions, they have a comfortable run of games. And as their terrible start has left them so little margin for error, they need to start performing, and urgently. There can be no excuses now and unless United pull together a run of wins, Ten Hag will have no room left to hide…
GettyBlunt Blades there for the taking
United's first game back is at Sheffield United, who are bottom of the Premier League. Ten Hag talked up the Blades' quality ahead of the visit to Bramall Lane by pointing to their last-gasp defeats to Manchester City and Tottenham. He said: "Every game in the Premier League is difficult, if you have seen their results against City and Spurs, they were very narrow wins. If you don't play your best football, you can have a loss."
However, the fact is this is a fixture United cannot afford to not win. Paul Heckingbottom's side are not just bottom of the table, they are on course for a historically bad campaign. They have picked up just one point from eight matches, taking an average of 0.13 points per game.
That puts them on track to surpass the worst-ever points total in the history of the Premier League. That accolade currently belongs to Derby County, who ended the 2007-08 season on 11 points, an average of 0.28 points per game.
They have shipped 22 goals, giving them by far the worst defensive record in the league, while they have the second-worst attack in terms of goals scored. And while they may have put on brave displays against Spurs and City, they were annihilated 8-0 at home by Newcastle and well beaten by West Ham and Fulham among others. United don't have to win pretty, as they showed at Burnley, but they simply have to take three points.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesVictory the only option against Copenhagen
Next up is a truly must-win game in the Champions League at home to Copenhagen. United have made their worst-ever start to a group stage by losing to Bayern Munich and Galatasaray and trail the Turkish champions, who look like being their biggest rival for second spot, by four points. But they have a glorious chance to make that deficit up thanks to back-to-back fixtures against Copenhagen, while Galatasaray's squad of ageing former stars play Bayern twice.
Copenhagen will be no pushovers and took the lead in both of their two matches. They threw away a two-goal advantage to draw at Galatasaray and spurned a second-half lead at home against Bayern, going on to lose 2-1. That suggests they have trouble seeing games out and if United can keep pushing them, they might cave in.
It will be an extra special game for Rasmus Hojlund, who began his professional career with Copenhagen. His two younger brothers, Emil and Oscar, remain in their academy. Hojlund caused real problems for Galatasaray only for his two goals to be undone by shocking defending by Victor Lindelof, Sofyan Amrabat and an unforgivably sloppy pass by Andre Onana.
United must learn from those mistakes because if they fail to win then they will edge closer yet to a humiliating group stage exit and be on track to finish bottom of the group, therefore also missing out on the Europa League.
Getty ImagesDerby win welcome but not obligatory
It seems strange to say it, but the derby against City on October 29 is the game that United will be under least pressure to win. While any victory against their local rivals will always be welcome, a draw or a narrow defeat to Pep Guardiola's side would not necessarily land Ten Hag in hot water, provided that his side win their other matches.
And one week out from the derby, City actually look like they are in a bit of trouble. They have lost three of their four league matches and it's not just the results. They have lacked their usual creativity in their last few outings, not helped by the suspension of Rodri or the long-term injury to Kevin De Bruyne.
Against Arsenal, they had just four shots, their lowest total in a game for 13 years. Erling Haaland is also looking out of sorts, failing to score in his last three outings for City and having just one shot in his last two league games.
City will also have less time to prepare for the game as they have to visit Young Boys in Switzerland on Wednesday.
With 70,000 fans behind them at Old Trafford, United could pull off a surprise result, as they did last season, which would really turn the mood.
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(C)Getty ImagesNewcastle Cup tie is free hit
The Carabao Cup fixture with Newcastle is perhaps the least pressing of United's next fixtures and, in the grand scheme of things, a defeat to last season's runners-up and elimination from the fourth most important competition would not matter that much.
Ten Hag, however, earned lots of good will from winning the competition last season and seems determined to successfully defend it. He picked a strong team in the third round against Crystal Palace, quite unlike the Eagles, who avenged their 3-0 defeat by shocking United in the league four days later with their full-strength side.
While he will rest a few players, Ten Hag will still be keen to progress to the quarter-finals. But defeat need not knock United further off kilter.
Wrexham striker Paul Mullin has opened up about his son Albi's autism diagnosis in his newly-released autobiography.
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Mullins writes about son's autismSays it puts football in perspectivePays tribute to owners' outlook on lifeGettyWHAT HAPPENED?
Mullin revealed how one particular scene in the hit series encapsulated his emotions around his family, in particular his son Albi, who was diagnosed with autism in January. Wrexham's talismanic striker also paid tribute to co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney for putting real life matters ahead of football.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesWHAT MULLIN SAID
Writing in his newly-released autobiography Mullins shared: "When it came to the last episode of season one and that infamous play-off game in May 2022 against Grimsby, I wasn’t in any way prepared for how what I saw on screen would affect me. Footage of me taking a penalty was interspersed with clips of me playing with Albi in the garden. It showed what I already knew so well – that taking a penalty in a football match can never compare with being at home with my beautiful son.
"They got that so right. Yes, it was a big moment, but the perspective that Albi has brought into my life meant that when I kicked that ball I felt no pressure. I was ice-cold. It was just a kick in a game. I put the ball on the spot and scored. I admire that about Rob and Ryan – they’ve never fallen into the ‘football is everything’ trap. Yes, it’s massive, and it matters to people on a very deep emotional level. But it’s nothing compared to the health and happiness of your loved ones. Truth is, if someone said, ‘Stop football tomorrow and all your worries with Albi will be over,’ I’d shake their hand and say, ‘Sound.’ "
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Mullin has been a prominent supporter of autistic charities since his son's diagnosis. The Liverpudlian often wears boots with logos supporting awareness of the condition and has regularly attends events promoting greater inclusion for autistic children in sport.
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Wrexham were the first club in Wales to be awarded the Autism Friendly Award by the National Autistic Society in September 2023. The award recognised the club's efforts to make football more accessible and inclusive for autistic fans.
The Barcelona striker will line up against United at Camp Nou on Thursday but he came desperately close to moving to Old Trafford 11 years ago…
The multiverse theory proposes that there are beyond our observable universe there, other realities – and timelines – exist as well.
Academic Tom Siegfried told the in 2022 of the possibility that "we’re just one of many universes that are different, and we live in the one that’s nice and comfortable."
Considering their fortunes over the past decade, Manchester United fans may not entirely agree with that description.
Since Sir Alex Ferguson departed in 2013 the Red Devils have not come close to lifting another Premier League trophy, and there's only been a smattering of other silverware to satisfy their supporters' appetite for glory.
There has been a series of sliding-doors moments in that time, in the form of failed transfers, baffling managerial appointments and off-field controversy. One of the biggest 'What if?' moments has to be United's failed pursuit of Robert Lewandowski in 2012.
Fresh from losing out on the Premier League title to bitter rivals Manchester City on the final day of the season, United were on the lookout for a new striker and eventually settled on Arsenal's Robin van Persie.
However, before acquiring the Gunners' then-talisman, United had all-but-secured the signing of Lewandowski. The 24-year-old had seriously impressed at Borussia Dortmund the previous season, netting 22 times in the Bundesliga as Jurgen Klopp's side secured a domestic double.
“After my second year in Dortmund, I had a conversation with Sir Alex Ferguson,” Lewandowski toldin 2020. “He wanted me to come to Manchester.
“I was very interested. I can even say I was ready. But Dortmund didn’t want to let me go. It didn’t upset me more than that because things were going well with Borussia.”
How different would things have been if United and Lewandowski teamed up? Below, GOAL walks you through that alternative history…
Getty ImagesNo 13th title for Fergie
Upon signing for United, Van Persie took the No.20 jersey. His reason for donning the shirt would prove to be prophetic.
"I took the No.20 shirt because I'm here to win a 20th title with United," he famously declared.
And Van Persie did exactly that, with his Golden Boot-winning haul of 26 goals playing a massive role in the club's 2012-13 championship triumph.
Would Lewandowski have been able to hit the ground running so emphatically? It would have been a seriously big ask.
Not only would he have been joining a new league, the Man Utd centre-forward berth is the most scrutinised position in world football, pressure that may have inhibited the still blossoming Poland international at that stage of his career.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesMoyes' messiah
David Moyes was given the impossible job of replacing Ferguson at the end of the 2012-13 season and only lasted until April, with United languishing down in seventh.
Moyes' issues were plentiful, but one of the most pressing was a lack of firepower. Injuries restricted Van Persie to just 18 Premier League appearances and 12 goals, while Wayne Rooney hit 17.
Would a prime Lewandowski, with a season of English football under his belt, have enabled Moyes to cling onto the hot seat for a while longer?
He certainly would've been a big help, that's for sure.
Moyes remaining in charge would've also helped United avoid the managerial upheaval and uncertainty that characterised the club during the 2010s and early 2020s.
Getty ImagesDortmund continue to battle Bayern
It's hard to imagine now, such has been Bayern's iron grip on top spot in recent years, but there was a time when the Bundesliga was a two-horse race.
Indeed, energised by a bespectacled advocate of "heavy metal football", Dortmund even enjoyed back-to-back German title triumphs between 2010 and 2012. BVB also challenged Bayern in Europe, famously meeting the Bavarians in the 2013 Champions League at Wembley.
Key to Bayern re-establishing domestic dominance was their systematic dismantling of their closest rivals. They snapped up Mario Gotze after that Champions League victory in London and, the following summer, Lewandowski joined his former Dortmund team-mate at the Allianz Arena.
But what if Lewandowski hadn't been available on a free transfer? Would Bayern have really bossed the Bundesliga to the same extent without the ace attacker?
And what if Dortmund had made some money on the Pole by selling him to United two years previously?
After all, if BVB have proven themselves good at one thing, it's recruiting the next generation of superstars. Might they have continued challenging Bayern for the Bundesliga if they had been able to afford a better replacement than Ciro Immobile?
In this alternative reality, where Lewandowski didn't end up in Munich, Dortmund might also have been able to hold on to the likes of Mats Hummels and Ilkay Gundogan for a lot longer, given they would have been challenging for more titles.
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Getty ImagesBayern sign Diego Costa?!
Of course, the above begs the question: Who would Bayern have turned to if they hadn't been able to snap up Lewandowski?
Well, someone who was on the market that summer was Diego Costa…
Fresh off of a 36-goal haul for Atletico Madrid, Chelsea swooped for the notorious frontman after he helped dump the Blues out of the Champions League semi-finals.
If Bayern had entered the race for his signature, though, the Brazil-born Spain international could have ended up in Bavaria instead.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has shared his thoughts on Roy Hodgson following his decision to step down as Crystal Palace manager.
Hodgson parts ways with Crystal PalaceKlopp reveals admiration for 76-year-oldLiverpool boss also moving on in summerGettyWHAT HAPPENED?
Klopp has shared his admiration of Hodgson in the wake of his departure from Crystal Palace. The Eagles have confirmed Hodgson has stepped down from his role as manager following a recent health scare that saw him taken to hospital. Hodgson is now back home and "doing well" but has been replaced at Selhurst Park by former Eintracht Frankfurt manager Oliver Glasner.
AdvertisementWHAT JURGEN KLOPP SAID
Klopp told a press conference: "I think I said a couple of times I don't really understand why he is still doing the job! With my situation he'll probably understand a bit better, but I don't understand what he is doing! One of the greatest I ever met, definitely, for that long time in the business [he is a] human full of experience. [He] trend-set in the beginning; he kept his idea. It's always like this when it's not going well. That's the problem in our business then people forget a little bit how good the times were before. I think Crystal Palace could be like that if there were some supporters who were shouting for him to get the sack. They definitely forgot how good a job he did in the few times when he was there.
"I hope he is doing well. I hope because that obviously was a shock last week when I heard about that he was taken ill in training. That's nothing that should happen at all. I hope he is doing well and when he is doing well then I wish him just the very best of times that he can have and stay healthy. That would be the most important but it's a bit of a shame that I couldn't say properly goodbye to him because we faced each other quite frequently and like each other a lot. But, yeah, that's not the biggest problem."
GettyDID YOU KNOW?
Hodgson's managerial career spans 48 years and has seen him take charge of 17 club sides and four international teams, including England.
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Getty/GOALWHAT NEXT FOR LIVERPOOL AND PALACE
Glasner is set to take charge of Palace for the first time on Saturday against Burnley as he bids to guide his new team away from the relegation zone. As for Liverpool, the club are looking at potential replacements for Klopp, with the German boss having already backed former midfielder Xabi Alonso to replace him in the Anfield hotseat.
A round-up of IPL-related news on April 27, 2014
ESPNcricinfo staff27-Apr-2014Ricky Ponting in Mumbai camp
Ricky Ponting, the former Australia captain, has joined the Mumbai Indians in an “advisory role”. Ponting was a part of the Mumbai team that won the IPL last year, and he had even led the side in a few matches before the current captain Rohit Sharma took over.”I am looking forward to working with Mumbai Indians once again,” Ponting said.”I had a fantastic season last summer and understand how passionate our players are towards the franchise. I believe we have the fire in us and we will strive hard to put our best.”Ponting will be with Mumbai for their last two matches in the UAE.Bookies barred from venues
A list of bookies has been forwarded to the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) by the IPL governing council to ensure the suspects are kept out of the venues and from the team hotels. Not that the bookies need to operate from a particular location but even the UAE government has taken steps to deny visas to people on the list who are wanting to travel to the country.”We’ve given them a list of bookies and the cooperation from the UAE cricket board and government has been excellent. Sheikh Nahyan has been very helpful in ensuring smooth conduct and success of the IPL. We’re immensely thankful to him,” Ranjib Biswal, the chairman of the IPL Governing Council, was quoted in the .Johnson, the leader
After a dream run over the last twelve months starting with the Mumbai Indians’ triumphant IPL 2013 campaign, Mitchell Johnson has returned to the Twenty20 league as one of the senior players in the Kings XI Punjab line-up. And Johnson had been preparing for the leadership role in his new franchise even before he joined the team.”Yes, that is something I had thought about doing before coming here and I spoke to the team about taking up that role as a senior international player. These young guys coming through are willing to learn and are very good listeners,” Johnson told . “I remember what I was like when I was their age – you look up to the senior guys for a bit of advice. Sandeep (Sharma) went for a couple of boundaries in his last over (18th of the innings) and I told him, ‘Just keep sticking to your guns’ because that’s how you learn to overcome situations. If I can keep helping the young guys, we will keep winning like this.”With four wins in as many games, Kings XI Punjab have emerged as the team to beat in the initial phase of the IPL’s seventh edition. The results haven’t surprised Johnson. “I remember sitting around with the Australian team on our tour to South Africa, watching the IPL auction. When it came to an end, I actually said that this seems like a very well-balanced and all-round side. It seems to be going on that way for us at the moment,” he said. “We’ve had some very good wins and tonight’s was one of the better ones. On that Abu Dhabi wicket, I think we pretty much got a par score and it was always going to be tough batting second on it. We’ve been sticking to our guns and have been going really well.”Maxwell’s energy infectious
Virender Sehwag has been considered as one with the most positive impact in all the dressing rooms he has been a part of. But when it comes to the Kings XI Punjab set-up, Sehwag feels Glenn Maxwell takes the cake as far as the positive impact is concerned.”It is great to have Maxwell with us in the team. After the match, he forgets what he did on the field, and is very humble,” Sehwag told the . “His positive energy is infectious, and he loves to play golf and goof around. It’s a great atmosphere in the dressing room with Maxwell being there.With 294 runs in four innings, Maxwell has emerged as the story of the tournament. His scores of 95, 89 and 95 in Kings XI Punjab’s first three matches helped the team from Mohali cruise past their opponents and top the points table. Even though Maxwell perished for 15 against Kolkata Knight Riders, the Kings continued their winning run thanks to an all-round bowling effort.
Northamptonshire chief executive David Smith has promised a shake-up at Wantage Road after the county’s fifth loss in six matches but insisted head coach David Ripley’s position is safe.
Jon Culley at Wantage Road03-Jun-2014Northamptonshire chief executive David Smith has promised a shake-up at Wantage Road after the county’s fifth loss in six matches left them adrift at the foot of the Division One table but insisted head coach David Ripley’s position is safe.Smith was at the helm when Ripley’s predecessor David Capel was sacked in mid-season two years ago but, speaking after the 271-run defeat by Yorkshire, Smith said that responsibility lay with the players for Northamptonshire’s poor start following promotion last season.”That’s our fifth loss in six games and it is clearly not good enough,” Smith said. “The level of performance is not good enough. There is a huge difference between the standard of cricket in Divisions One and Two and clearly at the moment we are well adrift but it is not a coaching issue, it is a playing issue and we have to address that.”We rely on our senior players but there are some senior batsmen who are not getting runs. We have not got a single hundred yet in the Championship.”Based on the evidence so far some of our players have found the step up to be one too far. But we knew there was a gap and that shouldn’t surprise anyone. We want the kind of players who relish the opportunity and relish the fight.”We can’t be picking the same team and making the same mistakes, therefore we have to look to make changes, and so the side we pick against Sri Lanka this week will provide the opportunity for other players to put their names forward.”Smith said Ripley retained his full support in what he described as “a project” aimed at putting this club back on its feet.”David is under no pressure whatsoever. We have a project at this club, David and I will work together and over the next three to four years we will get this club back on its feet.”He and the coaches are working tirelessly to put things right. In terms of accountability and responsibility the players have to put their hands up. They are letting themselves down at the moment because they are better than that.”Derbyshire got to grips with the first division but too late and we want to avoid that happening to us. We have 10 games left and we have to ensure that our level of performance is far more competitive than it has been.”We won promotion on merit and earned the right to be here. Now we have to earn the right to stay in the first division.”