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A journalist has revealed that agents and people in football have been left ‘astounded’ by some of the questions the new Newcastle United owners are asking.

The Lowdown: Chaos on Tyneside

It has all been a bit of a mess since the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium completed their takeover at St. James’ Park.

Steve Bruce left the North East club a few weeks ago, and it is only just looking like now that the new owners have found their permanent replacement for him in Eddie Howe.

As many as four different managers rejected the chance to manage on Tyneside, as it seems as if they have struggled to sell their ideas for the project.

Nonetheless, they will have to learn on the job if they want to get the Magpies back where they belong.

The Latest: Agents ‘astounded’

Writing on his official Twitter page, The Independent journalist Miguel Delaney has revealed that agents and people in football are ‘astounded’ by some of the questions that the consortium have been asking, and claims that they have ‘botched every step’ since taking charge:

“The Newcastle story so far is astonishing. The hierarchy have so far botched every step since taking over.

“Even from the opening days, agents and people in football were astounded at some of the questions they were asking.”

The Verdict: Early days

It is early days, so there should not be any panic at the Toon just yet.

The new owners are bound to make some mistakes along the way as they try and find their feet at NUFC, in what is a very ambitious task of trying to turn them from relegation candidates to eventual title contenders with the kind of money that they have at their disposal.

It will certainly not be easy, especially if they find themselves relegated at the end of this season, given that it will be difficult to attract top players to the Championship and persuade their best ones to stay.

It looks as if Howe will be appointed, and so at least the manager situation will be sorted out, so that they can now focus on the January transfer window and who they can bring in to save their campaign.

In other news, find out which £380,000-per-week magician who Howe knows well Newcastle may sign here!

The right-hander hit a six off the last ball to hand South Africa a two-wicket victory over the home side in the final of the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes

Cricinfo staff01-Nov-2009Farhaan Behardien hit a six off the last ball to hand South Africa a two-wicket victory over the home side in the final of the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes. Hong Kong, who had been the surprise package of the tournament, had beaten Davey Jacobs’ side twice already en route to the final, and looked on course for a third win with South Africa losing three wickets in the second eight-ball over.Chasing 98 with only 24 balls to spare, Behardien and his Titans team-mate, David Wiese, took charge before retiring according to the rules of the tournament, which state that a player must retire after reaching 30. While Wiese made 32 off 13 balls, Behardien went on the rampage with a nine-ball 31.Both players had to come back though, after the other batsmen had been dismissed. Behardien hit a six off the second ball and then had to retire to be replaced by Wiese, who was sent back first ball. Werner Coetsee then faced the next four balls scoring a six off the second and a single off the fourth.That left Behardien on strike with five needed for victory. He lofted Mark Wright out of the ground to finish on 37 off 10 balls.”I remember just thinking about how the atmosphere was unbelievable and I was soaking up the atmosphere, with everyone cheering for Hong Kong,” said Behardien. “I knew I had to hit a six and I was fortunate enough that it came off today. In this form of cricket you have to try to hit the ball as hard as you can and try and get sixes. That’s about it, really. I think the team chasing always has a better chance of winning.””It was a pretty exciting finish,” said Davey Jacobs, the South Africa captain. “Hong Kong were probably the most consistent team in the tournament and fortunately we managed to beat them when it counted.”Despite losing their first game of the tournament, Hong Kong captain Najeeb Amar was proud of the performance of his players. “It’s disappointing,” Najeeb said. “We lost the toss and I like to win the toss and chase. It was a huge decision for us, but we have shown the world how close we were in this competition. I’ve no words to thank my team mates because they’ve done a great job playing against all these Test-playing nations.”Hong Kong’s Irfan Ahmed won the Ben Hollioake Trophy, awarded to the tournament’s leading player. “It was great to play in this competition,” said Irfan. “We did well and I’ve been looking forward to this for quite a while. Almost everything went well. I want to go into the IPL and this was a good chance for me to show what I can do if I’m given a bigger opportunity.”Apart from losing to Hong Kong twice, South Africa were victorious against Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and England on their way to picking up the winners’ cheque of HK$55 000. It was also their second title in the last four years, having won under Nicky Boje in 2006.Gerald Majola, the Cricket South Africa chief executive, congratulated the team on their victory. “All credit must go to Davey Jacobs and his merry men for winning the Hong Kong Sixes in nail-biting fashion,” Majola said. “It’s wonderful to see a South African team winning an international knock-out competition by holding their nerve. Winning becomes a habit, and this bodes well for major tournaments in the future.”New Zealand won the Plate final by defeating Australia by five wickets.

It’s not often that Everton have secured themselves a bargain in the transfer market in recent years, but the acquisition of Dominic Calvert-Lewin certainly comes into that bracket.

The 24-year-old was signed for a reported £1.5m fee from Sheffield United back in 2016, and the youngster has gone from strength to strength ever since.

After scoring a respectable – if unimpressive – 17 goals in his first 94 appearances for the Toffees between 2016/17 and 2018/19, the rangy striker’s progress has catapulted over the last couple of campaigns.

A return of 15 goals in 2019/20 was followed up by 21 strikes last term, resulting in Calvert-Lewin being handed a new £72,000-per-week five-year contract in March 2020, highlighting his importance to the Merseyside outfit.

“This is a very proud day,” the England international said after putting pen to paper. “I like to think I have shown I am ready to live up to the expectations of being Everton’s number nine, but I am well aware of how much I need to improve and how much better I can do.

“I love where I am, and the position I am in, and I love playing for Everton Football Club. We want to be in Europe and competing in the top competitions.

“It would mean that bit more to win trophies here because of the journey I have been on with Everton and Evertonians. Personally, I want to get to that next level.”

And the youngster made great strides towards fulfilling his potential under former Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti, with the experienced Italian tactician even comparing him to AC Milan legend Filippo Inzaghi.

“Calvert-Lewin is faster. Calvert-Lewin is better with the head. Calvert-Lewin is stronger than him,” stated Ancelotti. “If Inzaghi listens to this he will kill me! But I have to say, Inzaghi in the box was the best striker that I ever had.

“I think this is natural instinct. He can be dangerous like Inzaghi in the box, for sure. He is faster than any defender, he jumps higher than any defender. It is a question of movement and details. He has to be focused, and he is. He is focused in the box.”

He has spent much of the current campaign out injured but the 6 foot 2 beast’s impressive exploits for both club and country have seen his market value soar to a mouth-watering £40.5m in recent months, illustrating how Everton’s hierarchy struck gold by picking him up for such a minimal fee five years ago.

The Toffees have spent poorly down the years but this was undoubtedly one of their better buys.

And, in other news…Brands could finally end EFC’s midfielder hunt with £175k-p/w “outstanding technician” 

Nathan Hauritz is almost doing it all for Australia. He exceeded expectations during the Ashes, has become the essential offspinner in the one-day arena, coped with Sachin Tendulkar in full flight and helped win the Champions League Twenty20 for New South

Peter English24-Nov-2009Nathan Hauritz is almost doing it all for Australia. He exceeded expectations during the Ashes, has become the essential offspinner in the one-day arena, coped with Sachin Tendulkar in full flight and helped win the Champions League Twenty20 for New South Wales with one brave flighted ball to Kieron Pollard.Those experiences have turned Hauritz from a figure of fun into a respected operator and the only thing he needs to polish his resume is a consistent run in the Test side. Prior to England he was picked because there was no one else, but since then he has been chosen because the side needs him. The only omissions were Leeds, when the pitch was green and Australia won in three days, and The Oval. How the selectors and team management misread the surface in south London and ruled out a spinner ranks alongside Clarrie Grimmett missing the 1938 England tour as one of Australian cricket’s greatest slow-bowling mysteries.Hauritz had carried a sore heel through the series and it had deteriorated slightly, but there was “no way in the world it would have stopped me bowling”. Instead Australia went with four quicks, Marcus North delivered 44 overs of part-timers, Graeme Swann, England’s specialist, took eight wickets and the hosts regained the urn.Being overlooked for that game ensures Hauritz will play at the Gabba on Thursday because the selectors won’t want to put themselves through the doubt and pain of relying on an all-pace attack. It would be no surprise if the outlook lasted all summer.”It would be good,” Hauritz said. “I’m in control of that, to play back-to-back Tests. If I bowl well in this one, the next one comes up.” His cricket journey has taught him not to look far ahead, but his improvement is winning him many admirers.Ricky Ponting is much more comfortable with Hauritz in his line-up and wants him to grab the spinning role for this series and beyond. “I’ve been really impressed with how he’s gone about his cricket over the last 12 months almost, his performances in the early Test matches of the Ashes series were very good,” he said. “They probably exceeded some of our expectations on the way we thought he could bowl, so that was a real positive.”His one-day cricket has been outstanding, he’s always been a very good one-day bowler anyway, and we want to keep developing him as a Test bowler. He’ll get a good opportunity to do that over the next few days.”Shane Warne judges players on how they develop and is pleased with the direction Hauritz is moving, calling him “the star of the Ashes series”. “When he first started playing for Australia to now he has improved, so I think he’s doing a pretty good job and I think he’ll bowl well out here during the Test. It’s a really nice place to bowl spin in Test matches.”Hauritz isn’t as glowing in his appraisal of the surface and wants to remind supporters how some of his predecessors have gone. “The hardest thing that the public forgets is we have had Murali and Harbhajan over here and they’re the two best [offspinners] in the world for me,” he said. “Those guys have hardly done anything at all on Australian wickets. The Gabba can be a tough place to bowl, the bounce is so true, it doesn’t move off, and the batsmen basically wait on you all day.”If there is a little bit of turn he will be happier and will be able to aim more easily for catches to the slips and close-in fielders. The West Indies line-up also includes a lengthy list of left-handers, including the captain Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Brendan Nash. Hauritz is excited by the prospect of bowling to them but remains grounded. “It’s definitely a lot better to bowl to a lot of left-handers than consistently to right-handers,” he said. “It’s just cricket.”

West Ham United are flying high in the Premier League.

As the final international break of 2021 draws to a close, the Irons sit third in the standings, tied on points with defending champions Manchester City and ahead of teams like Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal.

It’s been one phenomenal change in fortunes under David Moyes after the Scotsman saved them from relegation with one game to spare nearly 18 months ago.

The Hammers have also advanced into the knockout stages of the Europa League, the very competition they qualified for last campaign with a sixth-placed finish.

United outcast Jesse Lingard played an influential role in helping Moyes and the east Londoners achieve their lofty ambitions, having scored nine goals and provided five assists in 16 appearances after joining on loan in January.

He has since been linked with a return to the London Stadium as he struggles to find game time under Ole Gunner Solskjaer.

However, the England international was also mooted with a permanent reunion during the summer but failed to sign. Moyes opted to sign Nikola Vlasic in a near-£26m deal from CSKA Moscow instead.

The Croatian has struggled in the limited game time he’s received, so it’s hardly a surprise to see Lingard back in the conversation.

And this time, the Irons boss is planning for all eventualities again, with one inside source claiming that Norwich City’s Todd Cantwell is an alternative option, per Claret and Hugh.

At just 23, the young £19.8m-rated dynamo, who is capped at England U21 level, could be a very viable and interesting candidate, especially as he is able to play anywhere across the frontline – just like Lingard.

His contract is set to expire in the summer, meaning head of recruitment Rob Newman could easily land the club an absolute bargain, if not sign him for nothing ahead of next season.

Similar to Jack Grealish and Dele Alli is how Graham Ruthven of The Sportsman once described the Canaries star, whilst his former youth coach Gary Cockaday described him as “special” and having a “god-given” ability to The Athletic.

Injury has limited him to only three appearances in the Premier League this term but last season, during their title-winning run, the 23-year-old was Daniel Farke’s third-best player, as per WhoScored ratings (7.13).

Not only was Cantwell a creative and goalscoring threat in attack, managing six goals and six assists, on top of an average of two shots, 1.6 key passes and 1.6 dribbles per game, but he also contributed defensively with an average of 1.3 tackles per game, too.

There should be no doubts that he can elevate that game into the Premier League, especially considering Moyes’ impact on both Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma and unlike the Irons duo, Cantwell already has 42 appearances – and counting – in the top-flight.

Vlasic is yet to contribute anything to the Hammers’ season and after an unsuccessful spell at Everton in the past, question marks will continue to linger over his ability in the big time.

Instead, Moyes and Newman could find their true Lingard successor in Cantwell.

AND in other news, Newman could sign “another Jermain Defoe” at West Ham with “prolific” £10.8m-rated gem…

David Hussey held his nerve to post a brilliant 174 while wickets fell around him as Victoria overcame a strong bowling effort from Queensland at the MCG

Cricinfo staff27-Nov-2009
ScorecardDavid Hussey was on fire in producing 174 from 183 balls•Getty ImagesDavid Hussey held his nerve to post a brilliant 174 while wickets fell around him as Victoria overcame a strong bowling effort from Queensland at the MCG. Hussey was a dominant force in his near run-a-ball innings that helped the Bushrangers to 378 having been sent in to bat.At stumps, Queensland had reached 1 for 24 with Nick Kruger on 11 and Lee Carseldine on 6. The man out was Wade Townsend, who was caught by Hussey off the bowling of Clint McKay for 2, and it was a fitting combination as Hussey and McKay had rescued Victoria with the bat.The pair put on 120 for the seventh wicket after the Bushrangers fell to a less-than-ideal 6 for 194 and McKay’s 55 – his highest first-class score – was important in getting the hosts to a strong total. But Hussey was the star of the day, striking 22 fours and three sixes in his 183-ball stay.His effort was all the more impressive considering Victoria had wobbled to 3 for 47 within the first hour as the swinging ball proved dangerous. Ben Cutting and Scott Walter picked up four wickets each and Carseldine held four catches at slip as most of the Victoria batsmen failed to show the necessary patience.

Karachi Blues snatched the upper hand on an action-filled first day at the National Stadium in which 17 wickets went down

Cricinfo staff21-Dec-2009
Scorecard
It wasn’t a comeback to remember for Younis, who managed only 7•AFPKarachi Blues snatched the upper hand on an action-filled first day at the National Stadium in which 17 wickets went down. Habib Bank Limited seemed to have taken the initiative after rolling over Karachi for 215, but lost seven wickets cheaply to fritter the advantage.After choosing to bat, Karachi opener Shahzaib Hasan blasted 15 fours in a near run-a-ball 67. He was the only batsman to cross 40 on the day. The only other resistance from Karachi came from a 51-run fifth-wicket stand between Asim Kamal and Wajihuddin. The rest had little clue against HBL’s most successful bowler of the season, left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman, who took out four wickets to restrict Karachi.It was another in-form bowler, medium-pacer Tanvir Ahmed, that did the damage when it was HBL’s turn to bat. Tanvir ripped through the top-order to collect his eighth five-wicket haul of the season. HBL had moved to 58 for 1 before suffering a collapse, losing six for 28. As during the Karachi innings, it was an opener who defied the bowling -Taufeeq Umar remaining unbeaten on 36.Younis Khan’s return to competitive cricket, a month after walking away from the Pakistan captaincy, had grabbed most of the headlines in the lead-up to the match. However, he could do little to arrest the HBL slide, being dismissed lbw for a 14-ball 7. There was also plenty of interest in Karachi fast bowler Mohammad Sami’s form after he was handed a shock recall to the national side last week. He did little of note and his figures (10-1-35-0) make particularly poor reading given that the HBL had slid to 95 for 7 in 27 overs.

A deadline has been set for Giovanni van Bronckhorst in Rangers’ search for a new head coach this week…

What’s the talk?

According to the Scottish Sun, the Dutchman will be told within the next 24 hours whether or not he has landed the job to succeed Steven Gerrard at Ibrox.

The report claims the second round of talks with him concluded on Tuesday in the Netherlands and the 46-year-old will know Ross Wilson’s final decision by Thursday.

Excitement

This update will surely leave fans feeling excited as it suggests that they will know who the new manager of the club is before the weekend. Van Bronckhorst will know at some point on Thursday and consequently, that will result in a deal being done before Sunday’s League Cup clash with Hibernian, per the report.

Once that is finalised the fans can start to look forward to a brand new era at Ibrox with a fresh head coach leading the way forwards, so they can forget about the ex-Liverpool man and focus on the future rather than looking back at what could have been.

Rangers are currently top of the Scottish Premiership, four points clear of Celtic, and fans should get excited about the prospect of a former player coming and leading them to glory. Gerrard has left the club in a superb position for someone to take over the reins and continue their assault on the division for the rest of the campaign, with the ex-Feyenoord coach seemingly set for the role.

Van Bronckhorst has an eye-catching C.V as a manager despite starting his senior coaching career in 2015. He spent four years with Feyenoord in the Netherlands and was hugely successful as he won five trophies in those four seasons and won one Eredivisie title.

This shows that he is capable of setting his side up to win trophies and that will no doubt excite supporters, especially with a semi-final coming up this weekend against Hibs. Gerrard never won a domestic cup during his time in Glasgow and van Bronckhorst may have an opportunity to reach a final in his first game in charge. Should that be the case, then the Ibrox fanbase will be elated by the events of the last week.

AND in other news, “I’m told..”: Journo drops Rangers manager update that’ll surely please fans…

As Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting sat together in Hobart, contemplating their 231-run stand, they looked happier than they have for some time

Brydon Coverdale at Bellerive Oval14-Jan-2010As Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting sat together after the first day in Hobart, contemplating their 231-run stand, they looked happier than they have for some time. There was banter, they interrupted each other with witty quips, and they both sat back in their chairs with the satisfied air of men who can look back on their work and be proud of their accomplishments.Australia’s captain and vice-captain have guided the developing side through a successful summer but for each of them, there have been individual hurdles that weren’t overcome until today. Ponting has struggled against the short ball and his 137 not out ended an uncharacteristically long period without a century, which stretched back to early in the Ashes tour.Clarke’s problems have included more personal issues – a scathing tabloid newspaper article at the start of the summer called him a tosser and criticised the way he was perceived, and he was unfairly branded as over-rated. On the field, runs didn’t flow as freely as they had during his productive Ashes series. For the man who will be Australia’s next captain, two fifties early in the season weren’t enough of a return to satisfy him and he conceded he had been lazy on several occasions this summer.”I’ve played some undisciplined shots, I guess, over the last few games,” Clarke said after his unbeaten 111. “I thought I batted pretty well against West Indies. I was a little bit lazy a couple of times there as well. I don’t really know. I would say I’ve been a little bit lazy, but I’ve been working hard, I’ve been training hard throughout the summer, so it’s good to finally get threefigures.”There was no doubt about his work-rate at Bellerive Oval, where overcast conditions, a slowish surface and quality bowling from Pakistan made the first session hard going. Clarke was beaten outside off stump several times and took a little while to get moving but unlike Ponting, who was dropped from his fourth ball, Clarke didn’t offer a chance and helped Australia recover from 3 for 71 to 3 for 302 at stumps.”That’s your job when you bat No. 5,” Clarke said. “The guys in front of you generally do the hard work and you come in when the ball is pretty old and pretty flat, and cash in. But on days like today there was a little bit in the wicket and I had to work hard early. Any time you make a hundred for your country it’s very satisfying.”Although Clarke insists he isn’t fazed about staying down the order, he is clearly enjoying the seniority involved with the vice-captaincy. His innings featured typical Clarke footwork against the spinners and his Test average ticked over 50 during the day.When he reached his hundred he kissed the crest of his helmet, and he later joked that Ponting, who did the same for the first time in his career, “copied me – good boy!” Ponting took the jibe good-naturedly. By stumps, nothing could bother either of them.

A number of Liverpool supporters have been bemoaning Naby Keita’s absence from training ahead of the weekend clash with Southampton.

The Reds have made an impressive return after the international break, thrashing Arsenal 4-0 in the Premier League and winning 2-0 against Porto in the Champions League.

Jurgen Klopp’s men have a third Anfield match in a row coming up on Saturday afternoon, as they return to league action against the Saints. It is a must-win game in the title race, given the consistency of both Chelsea and Manchester City, with dropped points feeling disastrous.

Liverpool’s players have been working hard in training ahead of the match, but in photos shared by the club’s official Twitter channel on Thursday night, there was no sign of Keita.

The Guinean has been out injured since the 2-2 draw at home to Brighton at the end of October – the Reds blew a lead after he went off, highlighting his importance to the side – but it was hoped that he would return to training this week.

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Liverpool fans frustrated by Keita’s ongoing absence

These Liverpool fans on Twitter reacted to Keita not being part of the group in training, with the 26-year-old’s persistent injury woes showing no sign of abating.

“Admin, where is Keita Lad?”

Credit: @Pizzmantwit

“Thought Naby Keita is back, where is he?”

Credit: @firstclassjerry

“Wheres Naby? Was down to be re-training this week, suppose it’s another 2-3 weeks for him going off past ‘little’ niggles…”

Credit: @lfcmli4eva

“WHERE IS KEITA?”

Credit: @LFCYussef

“We wanna see Naby lad”

Credit: @LFC_AM17

“We need to sign at least two midfield and to attack to solve midfield problem and miss Salah and Mane in January”

Credit: @realbrantz

In other news, some Liverpool fans have erupted over an official club post. Read more here.