Category Uncategorized

Manchester United’s stance on hiring a young British manager whose fans “worship” him has now been revealed after they made the decision to sack Ruben Amorim.

Man Utd sack Amorim with Southgate among favourites to come in

For a manager who finished in the bottom half last season, lost the Europa League final and welcomed £200m in investment in the summer, Amorim was certainly vocal in recent days.

The former Sporting CP boss hinted at an issue before the Leeds United game and then didn’t hesitate to rant after watching his Man United side draw 1-1 for the second game on the bounce.

Leaving no stone unturned, Amorim told reporters: “In every department – the scouting department, the sporting director – needs to do their job. I will do mine for 18 months and then we move on.”

Amorim played with fire and has since been burned by INEOS, who have made the decision to sack their manager following just 14 months in charge.

In the end, it was not the results that got the manager sacked, it was his words. The first appointment of the INEOS reign will now be looked back on as the ultimate failure.

So, what next for Man United?

Related Man Utd next manager: The 6 most likely Ruben Amorim replacements

The Portuguese boss was sacked after a 1-1 draw at Leeds.

Posts 3 ByBen Goodwin

Previous reports have shared INEOS’ admiration for Sir Gareth Southgate and he could now emerge as a candidate again.

With Dan Ashworth long gone at Old Trafford, the former England boss no longer has that close link at Old Trafford, but has been named amongst the favourites to be United’s next manager.

Rank

Manager

Odds

5

Xavi Hernandez

12/1

4

Gareth Southgate

10/1

3

Darren Fletcher

5/1

2

Oliver Glasner

5/1

1

Enzo Maresca

7/2

Currently a free agent, Southgate represents a cheap option and has already worked with the likes of Harry Maguire and Mason Mount in the past. Alas, what he doesn’t have much of is Premier League experience and that could force the Red Devils to turn elsewhere.

Man Utd big fans of Kieran McKenna

As it would happen, Southgate isn’t the only British manager who has admirers in Manchester. According to talkSPORT’s chief correspondent Alex Crook, Man United really like Kieran McKenna and viewed the Ipswich manager as a “strong contender” to take the job before they appointed Amorim.

Unlike Southgate, McKenna has recent Premier League experience, albeit one he’d rather forget after suffering relegation with Ipswich. Meanwhile, in terms of system, the former Man United coach would have no trouble slotting straight into INESO’ vision, given that he prefers to play with a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Unlock newsletter access to Man United insight Subscribe to the newsletter for clear, evidence-based coverage of Manchester United’s managerial options — from Gareth Southgate to Kieran McKenna — including tactical analysis, squad-fit assessments and what each choice signals for the club.

---

Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Brenner Woolley, Ipswich commentater for BBC Radio Suffolk, said last season “the vast majority (of Ipswich fans) worship him”, and that positive relationship between dugout and stands has been missing at Old Trafford.

So, although previous reports have mentioned Southgate, McKenna could be the leading British candidate on Man United’s shortlist if both make the cut.

He knows the club well and would take the Red Devils away from the dreaded back three that they were playing under Amorim.

Everton are now reportedly keen to sign an AFCON star in the January transfer window who could finally replace veteran defender Seamus Coleman.

Moyes believes Garner is on par with best in the Premier League

Whilst it’s been a mixed, yet improved season for the Toffees, it’s been one to remember for James Garner. The former Manchester United man has enjoyed his best campaign yet in an Everton shirt, just as he enters the final six months of his contract, and David Moyes believes he’s up there with the best midfielders in the Premier League.

Everyone involved at the Hill Dickinson Stadium should be desperate to tie Garner down to a new, long-term contract rather than watching him leave in the summer. It should be among the Friedkin Group’s top priorities amid rumours that he could yet make a shocking return to Man United.

Alas, if his exit is on the cards then Everton must act. To that end, reports have already suggested that they could be busy in the January transfer market, with targets such as Ivan Toney and Leeds United’s Jayden Bogle emerging.

Related Everton plotting move to sign one of the best players in the Championship

He’s blown away scouts who have been left hugely impressed…

Posts BySean Markus Clifford

The latter would particularly make sense, given the fact that Seamus Coleman is not getting any younger and Nathan Patterson could do with competition.

That said, it seems unlikely that Bogle would leave Elland Road midway through the campaign – opening the door for Everton to welcome an alternative target.

Everton keen to sign Ryan Alebiosu

According to ESPN, Everton are now keen to sign Ryan Alebiosu from Blackburn Rovers in the January transfer window in a move that would fend off interest from Wolfsburg.

Valued at around £4m at Blackburn, Everton won’t have to break the bank to welcome the 24-year-old right-back, who’d add key depth to Moyes’ side this month.

If Everton were to sign Alebiosu, however, then they could have to wait until the end of AFCON to see him in action. As things stand, the full-back is with Nigeria at the competition and has topped Group C.

It speaks volumes that Nigeria teammate Victor Osimhen heaped such high praise on Alebiosu, telling reporters: “When he came to us, with his training, he’s an exceptional player.”

Subscribe to the newsletter for Everton transfer insight Get deeper coverage by subscribing to the newsletter: expert analysis and context on Everton’s transfer plans, contract decisions, and defensive options, giving you clear, reliable insight beyond surface headlines.

---

Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

All signs point towards what would be a solid signing for Everton to get their January business well and truly underway.

	Steve Kirby may be celebrating Chris Rogers’ dismissal, but the batsman had the last laugh in the second innings with a century © Getty Images

Australian players have dominated the English county scene in recent years, in both their number and with their figures. But the IPL, the new one-overseas player limit, and, ultimately, the rain all had their part to play in limiting Australians’ appearances and their chances to contribute to the opening round of seven first-class matches last week.Chris Rogers, however, made the most of his opportunity to give a nod to the selectors who had dumped him off the contracts list, with a second-innings ton for Derbyshire in their Division Two draw with Gloucestershire in Bristol. He had made an inauspicious 3 in the first dig as the visitors collapsed.His former Western Australian team-mate Marcus North topscored in the home side’s first innings with 87 and did not bat second time out as rain put paid to proceedings after Derbyshire’s Rogers-led rally. Only three wins were registered, the four draws all victims of the weather.Lancashire captain, the English-qualified Stuart Law, made 38 as Lancashire, last year’s runners-up, drew with the champions Surrey at The Oval. His team-mate Brad Hodge made an unbeaten 43 before the rain came. Surrey were without Matt Nicholson, who had a virus.In the second division, Western Australia’s Steve Magoffin took one wicket in each innings as Worcestershire drew with Warwickshire.

The Indian squads for the tours of Ireland and England will be selected on June 12 in Delhi. The selected players will have to attend a camp in Bangalore from June 13 to June 16.”The selection committee will meet in Delhi at 5.30 pm on June 12 after the meeting of the working committee to choose the team for England and Ireland tour,” Niranjan Shah, BCCI secretary, told PTI. “The selected players would be asked to assemble in Bangalore by the afternoon of June 13 for the cricket camp which will run till June 16.”The camp will follow a fitness-specific camp for batsmen which will be held at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore from June 9-12.India are scheduled to play a three-ODI series against South Africa in Ireland in July before heading to England for three Tests and seven one-day internationals.

Mahela Jayawardene inspired a fighting performance from his team © Getty Images

Sri Lanka’s captain, Mahela Jayawardene, praised the performance of his young team and said that their efforts ranked up there with the best, as the first Test at Lord’s was saved through a brilliant rearguard action.Having followed on a whopping 359 runs in arrears, Sri Lanka ground their way through 199 overs on the final two-and-a-half days before bad light brought their epic innings to an end on 537 for 9. No fewer than seven batsmen recorded fifty in the innings, and after slumping to 91 for 6 in the first innings, Jayawardene was thrilled with the fight they had shown.”It was a brilliant effort which showed a lot of character from top to bottom,” he said, after being named as Man of the Match for his twin scores of 61 and 119. “It will have given a lot of confidence to the youngsters, and that’s what they need, belief that they can do it at this level of cricket, because most of them haven’t achieved anything in their careers yet.”The effort will also have given Jayawardene a lot of belief. Since assuming a senior role in the side, he has endured criticism of his leadership skills, and still remains as the official vice-captain on this tour, in the absence of the injured Marvan Atapattu. But he was able to answer the doubters by leading from the front and watching his charges take inspiration from his resistance.”In the past when I’ve been given responsibility, people have said how difficult it is for me to concentrate on my batting at the highest level,” he said. “I think I’ve proved people wrong. It’s how I go out there and perform that matters. It’s all to do with team efforts.”Jayawardene admitted that the thought had crossed his mind to declare once they had established a lead of 140-150, but added that good sense had prevailed, given the placid nature of the wicket. Even so, had England managed to take that final wicket and set themselves up for a run-chase, his side were ready and waiting for the challenge.”If we had been put in that situation we would definitely have gone for it,” said Jayawardene. “It was really flat out there but with three or four wickets we would have had a chance. It was all about the effort we had put in, and we couldn’t have let it go like that.”Jayawardene insisted that the spate of dropped catches shouldn’t detract from his team’s achievement, but he did recognise Sri Lanka had issues to address. “We’ll need to show the same determination in our bowling,” he said, “and we might have to look at different combinations when we get to Edgbaston. We have to get England out twice to win Test matches, and we only got five wickets. Those are the areas we have to improve.”

West Indies275 for 4 (Lara 125*, Sarwan 55) trail Pakistan 374 (Younis 106, Kamal 51, Collymore 7-78) by 99 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Brian Lara: enjoying the most purple of patches © Getty Images

Brian Lara produced another batting masterclass on his way to a 30th Test century as West Indies dominated the second day at Sabina Park. Having wrapped up the Pakistan innings for the addition of only 38 runs in the morning, West Indies were given a flying start by Chris Gayle, before Lara and Ramnaresh Sarwan, who responded to failure in Barbados with a gritty 55 here, stitched together 146 for the third wicket. And even though Pakistan stemmed the flow of runs in the final session, it wasn’t until Shivnarine Chanderpaul was out to the last ball of the day that they made any sort of impression.Lara started in circumspect fashion, having arrived at the crease after Devon Smith’s assured 25 had been ended by a worm-killer that knocked back off stump. Gayle had taken heavy toll of Rana Naved-ul-Hasan – whose right thumb was badly hurt by a delivery from Daren Powell – stroking some splendid drives and flicking the ball nonchalantly off his pads. There was also one magnificent six over long-on off Shabbir Ahmed before Abdul Razzaq got one to nip away a shade and take the edge.As many as 59 had come from 11 overs before lunch, but the innings was becalmed after the interval, with Danish Kaneria proving especially miserly. But having taken his time to get his eye in, Lara opened up as only he can to send the fielders scattering and give Inzamam-ul-Haq plenty to ponder by teatime.Having taken 68 balls to reach 33, Lara then sauntered along at a run-a-ball until he reached the 90s. The purple patch included two massive sixes over long-on off Kaneria, and when Naved, who had been flayed for 22 in two overs with the new ball, was brought back, Lara responded with two coruscating pulls interspersed by the most gorgeous cut for four.At the other end, Sarwan overcame early jitters against Kaneria to give his former captain sterling support. Kaneria, who conceded just 18 from his first 11 overs, went for 32 from his next five as West Indies went from 100 to 200 in just 142 deliveries. The stage was set for an assault after tea, but when Sarwan, who had got to 50 with a tremendous square-drive off Shabbir, mistimed a hook, the momentum was irrevocably lost.Chanderpaul pottered around initially, and with Lara also going into a shell of sorts as he neared three figures, Pakistan were able to gather breath and regroup. Lara, who scored as many as three-fourth of his runs on the leg side, finally reached his hundred with a delicate glance for four, and then opened up with some gorgeous strokes, none more exquisite than two off-drives off Kaneria.Chanderpaul took imbibed some of the attacking intent, slamming a wayward Shahid Afridi for two fours through midwicket before Kaneria ensured that he wouldn’t be around for fun and frolic on day three.Earlier in the day, West Indies had been indebted to another seasoned campaigner. Corey Collymore, who reined in Pakistan during the final session yesterday, picked up three more to finish with stunning and richly deserved figures of 7 for 78.Razzaq and Kamran Akmal were the last recognised pair at the crease, but any hopes that Pakistan had of posting a huge total were dealt a severe blow in the day’s first over when Collymore trapped Razzaq in front without any addition to the overnight score. Akmal continued to pull and cut in positive fashion, stitching together 19 with Naved before Powell intervened with a quick delivery that smashed into Naved’s hand.Shabbir didn’t bother the scorers, giving Collymore his sixth victim of the innings, and when Powell sneaked one in low to trap Kamran one short of his half-century, Naved strode bravely out to the middle. He couldn’t make any impact, however, as Collymore mopped up the innings with a full delivery to Kaneria. It took just 10.3 overs to thwart Pakistani ambitions of a huge total, and thereafter Lara was to the fore as West Indies went in search of a total that would shut the door as far as both match and series are concerned.

How they were out

PakistanAbdul Razzaq lbw Collymore 19 (336 for 7)
Ball nipped back, struck in frontShabbir Ahmed c Browne b Collymore 0 (360 for 8)
Good length ball, edge behindKamran Akmal lbw b Powell 49 (374 for 9)
Trapped in front by one that kept lowDanish Kaneria b Collymore 6 (374 all out)
Bowled by a full deliveryWest IndiesGayle c Kamran Akmal b Abdul Razzaq 33 (48 for 1)
Swung away from round the wicketSmith b Abdul Razzaq 25 (59 for 2)
Ball didn’t rise more than a couple of inches after pitching.Ramnaresh Sarwan c Danish Kaneria b Shabbir Ahmed 55 (205 for 3)
Set up by a short ball, which he hooked on the swivel to fine leg.Shivnarine Chanderpaul c Kamran Akmal b Danish Kaneria 28 (275 for 4)
Undone by a googly that reared up at him. Thin edge to the keeper.

Wasim Akram has been fined by a Lahore court after failing to appear to answer changes that he hurt religious sentiments by appearing in an advertisement for an Indian liquor company.The civil court ruled against him by default as a result of his non appearance, although Wasim’s solictor later claimed that his client had never been notified of the hearing. He dismissed the claim as a "frivolous petition".The case was brought by a local individual who claimed that he had suffered as a result of the advertisement. He asked for a public apology and damages of Rs 25,000 (US$500).Wasim appeared in the advertisement last year, along with other cricketers such as Harbhajan Singh and Glenn McGrath. He previously denied the accusation, arguing he worked for the company which also manufactured sports equipments.

West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels will fly to the United States to seek medical treatment for his left knee on Thursday.The decision was reached following dialogue between Rev. Wes Hall, the president of the West Indies Cricket Board; John Pinnock, Samuels’ United States-based agent; Samuels and two medical specialists in the United States."Marlon will fly to Barbados and onto New York on Thursday and will see Dr. Ainsworth Allen to get an evaluation of his knee," remarked Michael Hall, the chief cricket operations officer of the WICB."From New York, Marlon will travel on Monday to Baltimore to see Dr. Michael Mont, a highly-rated knee specialist, to get a second opinion."Samuels was withdrawn from the West Indies’ 15-member squad to the Cricket World Cup 2003 in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya after a medical report on his left knee – on which he had surgery earlier this year – revealed there was a strong chance it could deteriorate during the competition.

Bernard Aluvihare Stadium

The residents of Matale could get a glimpse of former and present Sri Lankan cricketers when the Sri Lanka Cricketers’ Association played a friendly match at Bernard Aluvihare Stadium yesterday. The stadium – situated in the Matale town, about 20 kilometers away from Kandy – was filled by 4,000 people, who flocked to see their heroes, who have conquered the world of cricket.The cricketers obliged willingly to the autograph hunters. For those who had come to witness them, the result of the match was secondary. The real winner of the day was the Matale District Cricket Association who had organised the event with the intention of promoting the game in the area and encouraging their budding youngsters.Fifteen past and present Sri Lankan cricketers gathered to play the friendly game. Don Anurasiri, Kumar Dharmasena, Ruchira Perera, Kumar Sangakkara and Kaushalya Weerarathne had to sit out of this game, but were seen going around the ground obliging the autograph hunters and posing for photographs.The match played between SL Cricketers’ Association and the Matale District Cricket Association, the only serious cricket team from the district, started around 10 o’clock in the morning.

Stars attract large crowds in Matale

Roshan Mahanama, captained the Cricketers’ Association while P.K. Aluvihare, captained the Matale Side. Aluvihare has been a consistent performer with the ball for the Matale side in the domestic tournament getting more than 75 wickets. Mahanama, winning the toss, elected to bat first and the residents of the area were presented with an entertaining display of batsmanship.The man who rose to the occasion was Michael Vandort, the promising tall youngster. Vandort, opening the innings, smashed 60 off just 46 deliveries with 11 boundaries and a six. He put up 90 runs for the first wicket with Lanka de Silva before he retired.After Vandort retired, there was a mini collapse for the visitors as Lanka de Silva, Indika de Saram and Roshan Mahanama got out within the space of few runs. But Ruwan Kalpage, batting at number six, made a fine 40 with the help of four boundaries and a six. If Kalpage’s 40 helped the visitors to go past 200 run mark, Eric Upashantha’s 38 with six fours and a six helped them to score an imposing 246 in 40 overs.In the bowling department, I. Abeyrathne picked up three wickets for 39 runs while M.B. Tillakaratne picked up three for 63 runs. J.C. Welagedara too bowled impressively getting two wickets for 36 runs.The home side started the run chase impressively with D.L. Wijewardene leading the way in top of the order. Wijewardene made 51 in 41 balls with 11 boundaries. But after his dismissal, the innings fell apart and none of the middle order batsmen managed to impress. However, the tail-enders provided some entertainment later in the innings. But they ended 54 runs short, as they were bowled out for 192 in the 39th over.Champaka Ramanayake, though retired from competitive cricket, was the most impressive. He picked up three wickets for 18 runs. Dinuk Hettiarchi and Ruwan Kalpage picked up two wickets a piece.The scores:

SL Cricketers’ Association XI. 246/9 (40)
M. Vandort 60, L. de Silva 22, C. Silva 25, R. Kalpage 40, E. Upashantha 38.I.Abeyratne 3/39, M.B Tillakaratne 3/63, J.C Welagedara 2/36.

Matale District Cricketers’ Association XI. 192 all out (39.2)

D.L Wijerwardene 51, M.B. Tillakaratne 21, N. Bokalawela 35.C. Ramanayake 3/18, D. Hettiarchi 2/17, 2/15.

The BCB is in discussion with Zimbabwe Cricket to cut one Test from the bilateral series to be held in January next year. Naimur Rahman, the BCB cricket operations committee chairman, said that the proposed reduction was due to Bangladesh’s preparations for the Asia Cup T20 and World T20 tournaments following the Zimbabwe series.

Domestic season schedule announced

The Bangladesh domestic season will begin on September 17 with the National Cricket League first-class tournament. The Bangladesh Premier League will span four weeks in November and December, after which the second first-class tournament, the Bangladesh Cricket League, and the marquee List-A competition, the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League, will complete the 2015-16 season.
BCB director Naimur Rahman said they are trying to set a consistent domestic calendar and hoped there would not be the usual delay in starting these tournaments.
Proposed tournament dates
National Cricket League, Sept 17-Nov 8
Bangladesh Premier League, Nov 25-Dec 25
Bangladesh Cricket League, Jan 5-Feb 20
Dhaka Premier League, Mar 11-May 9

The tour was originally scheduled to have three Tests, five ODIs and three T20s. Now it is likely to have two Tests, three ODIs and three T20s with Zimbabwe landing in Dhaka on January 11, and the tour ending on February 18.ESPNcricinfo has learned that the Bangladesh team management was consulted before the matter was discussed in a meeting of board directors and officials on Monday. Naimur said the team management wanted to reduce the number of ODIs to two but it will still remain a three-match series. However, it was learned that there has been some consensus between the two boards about the number of ODIs to be reduced to three from five.Bangladesh’s remaining international commitment in 2015 is the two-match Test series against Australia in October. After the Zimbabwe series ends in mid-February, Bangladesh will play in the Asia Cup T20 tournament from March 1 to 10. The following day the team will be off to India for the World T20, which will end on April 3.Naimur said the BCB is waiting for ZC to give its view on the tour composition, after which it will be placed in the board meeting for approval. “We are still in talks with Zimbabwe. We have proposed to reduce one Test,” Naimur said. “They said they will let us know after discussing among themselves. We have to consider the cricketers’ rest and recovery, at the same time we are committed to playing ODIs and T20s after the Tests. So we have to prepare accordingly. That’s why we are reducing the number of Tests so that we can prepare for T20s.”The concern is also about the fitness levels of Bangladesh’s fast bowlers in Tests. “Our frontline pace bowlers are already suffering from injuries. We have to think of their recovery.”I always want to play. We had more Tests but we also have other commitments. I later saw that it wouldn’t be possible to play more Tests realistically.”Naimur insisted that Test cricket remains important for Bangladesh, as they are holding domestic first-class tournaments like the National Cricket League and Bangladesh Cricket League, but they gave priority to T20s this time because the players do not have the physical ability to play an extra Test in a season dominated by T20s.”Because Tests are important, we are using tournaments like BCL and NCL to prepare players for the longer version. But we also have to think what might happen to a cricketer who plays three Tests, three ODIs and three T20s.”We know that our cricketers’ physical condition hasn’t reached that level. We have to think particularly about the pace bowlers.”