Tag Futebol

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.

	Part of Lancashire’s plan is to make this scene less of a common sight at Old Trafford © Getty Images

Lancashire will begin the first stages of redeveloping Old Trafford next January with the initial work costing the club £12 million.It will include replacing the County Suite, Tyldesley Suite and the Ladies stand – which runs from the pavilion around to the broadcast media centre – with a 1000-seat function room which will provide hospitality during international matches.There are also discussions taking place with Trafford council, Ask developers and Tesco about a regeneration of the area around Old Trafford. A decision on this won’t be made until later this year but Lancashire hope the first set of works will be complete by April 2010. The overall plan also includes installing permanent floodlights.”We knew it would take time to finalise the overall development so we thought we had better show willing to the ECB and our own club members by making the first steps,” chief executive Jim Cumbes told the . “We are talking to the bank about funding. If we realised our dreams of a new or improved hotel, and complete redevelopment of the ground, it would probably cost around £70m.”Lancashire believe redevelopment of the ground is the only way to secure its international future. They lost out on an Ashes Test in 2009 when the match was given to Cardiff and their current hosting agreement with the ECB runs out at the end of the forthcoming season.From August, Lancashire will play its home matches at outgrounds such as Blackpool and Liverpool so that work can start on laying a new outfield with state-of-the-art drainage. Considerable time has been lost at Old Trafford in recent seasons when the weather has been fine because the playing area hasn’t recovered from heavy rain.

A tour de force from Andrew Flintoff should be sufficient to overwhelm an opposition that mustered only 183 in reply to New Zealand’s 331 for 7 © Getty Images

A week ago, England’s indiscretions were the talk of the tournament. Now, however, like Freddie’s Pedalo, they are at the very bottom of a sea of intrigue that has swamped the Caribbean. Bob Woolmer’s murder, and the Chinese whispers that are accompanying it, make the exploits of six pissheads on a tropical island seem ever so slightly irrelevant.And yet, there is nothing irrelevant about Saturday’s showdown at Beausejour. As India prepare to join Pakistan on the World Cup scrapheap, England – the next-most flawed outfit among the big eight teams – prepare to take on the best of the rest, Kenya, in a must-win tussle. England should win against a side that they trounced by nine wickets in their only other one-day encounter, at Canterbury in the 1999 World Cup, but given everything that has happened in this week already, certainty is the one thing that they cannot bank on.As the two teams don their black armbands to observe a minute’s silence in memory of Woolmer, it will be a much-chastened Andrew Flintoff who lines up alongside his team-mates. Named and shamed for his excesses in the aftermath of the New Zealand match, Flintoff was dropped for England’s unconvincing 51-run win over Canada on Sunday and stripped of the vice-captaincy to boot. If ever a week was designed to remind him of life’s priorities, it was this.A tour de force from Flintoff should be sufficient to overwhelm an opposition that mustered only 183 in reply to New Zealand’s 331 for 7 on Tuesday, but Michael Vaughan, England’s captain, was concerned about the impact that Woolmer’s death might have on some of his players, particularly the likes of Ian Bell, who was nurtured as ateenaged batsman during Woolmer’s stint at Warwickshire.”We’ll sit down and talk about what’s happened and we’ll have to get a feel for the mentality of the players,” said Vaughan. “We’re going to have to be strong as players and go out there and produce a performance. I hope the World Cup goes on to be an unbelievable tournament with some great games and the best team wins, but I thinkeveryone will always remember this World Cup for one incident and rightfully so.”England’s selection issues extend beyond the recall of Flintoff. Ravi Bopara, who came in as Flintoff’s replacement, took 2 for 43 and made 29 from 30 balls against Canada, and he could well have done enough to earn a second outing, seeing as Jamie Dalrymple’s form has collapsed since the tournament began. He made just 3 and 2 in the opening twomatches, and has yet to take a wicket with his offbreaks.Ed Joyce has also been under pressure at the top of the order, but is expected for now to hold off the challenge from the man he displaced, Andrew Strauss, while Michael Vaughan’s knee, which caused yet another scare when he tripped in a pot-hole at Gros Islet on Tuesday, is not believed to be sufficiently sore to rule him out of the match.For Kenya, Saturday’s match represents a chance to emulate Ireland’s achievement and secure a place in what is rapidly becoming a very depleted Super Eight. But though those hopes may seem realistic, Ravindu Shah, who top-scored for Kenya when they reached the semi-finals in 2003 and who made a classy 71 against New Zealand earlier in the week, was pessimistic about his country’s hopes of progression.

‘We are positive about our own ability, we have shown in the past we can perform’ – Ravi Shah © AFP

“We always seem to be playing catch-up,” Shah told the BBC on Friday. “After a big tournament we don’t have quality cricket to follow up. Rather than progressing it’s a stop-start situation. In the last four years we really haven’t played any of the Test teams except Bangladesh and Zimbabwe so it’s just nice to be playing against the best in the world.”Internal politics have disrupted Kenya’s administration since that triumphant campaign four years ago, while the conviction for match-fixing of their former captain, Maurice Odumbe, also rocked the country’s preparations for this tournament. But Cricket Kenya took sole charge in April 2005 and Shah believes that the upturn in fortunes could be around the corner. “To be fair, probably a new association needs time to put things in place so we’re waiting to see how they go,” he said. “We are positive about our own ability, we have shown in the past we can perform.”All the more reason why England, with their privileged set-up, will be wary of slipping up against a side with nothing much to lose on Saturday. Defeat in this match, and the team might just have to book an entire fleet of Pedalos to make their way home.England (probable) 1 Ed Joyce, 2 Michael Vaughan (capt), 3 IanBell, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Andrew Flintoff, 6 Paul Collingwood, 7 RaviBopara, 8 Paul Nixon (wk), 9 Liam Plunkett, 10 James Anderson, 11Monty Panesar.Kenya (probable) 1 Maurice Ouma (wk), 2 David Obuya, 3 RaviShah, 4 Steve Tikolo (capt), 5 Tanmay Mishra, 6 Collins Obuya, 7 TomOdoyo, 8 Jimmy Kamande, 9 Lameck Onyango, 10 Peter Ongondo, 11HirenVaraiya

Ian Harvey rejoins Gloucestershire who he helped win six one-day titles between 1999 and 2003 © Getty Images

Ian Harvey, the former Australia allrounder, will return to Gloucestershire on a short-term contract for the 2006 season. Harvey helped Gloucestershire win six one-day titles between 1999 and 2003 before joining Yorkshire for two seasons.”It is great to be coming back to Gloucestershire and l am looking forward to being back in Bristol,” he said. “Even though I will only be playing for a short period of time, I am looking forward to staying involved with the club by helping out with the Academy and the development of the younger players, as well as playing in the warm up to the Twenty20 international.”Gloucestershire’s two main overseas players – the New Zealanders Shane Bond and Hamish Marshall – join the club in May; Harvey will play in the first three Championship matches and three one-dayers. After his contract with Victoria wasn’t renewed, he spent the winter playing for the South African side, Cape Cobras.Mark Alleyne, Gloucestershire’s head coach, is delighted at Harvey’s return to the club. “Ian’s record for us is outstanding and there is no doubt he is one that we all love to watch.”Ian is an explosive batsman that can impact an innings from his first ball, he is a bowler with such variation that he is unpredictable and he is now a cricketer with such maturity that he can make a real difference to Gloucestershire.”

All dressed up: Craig McMillan will go to Christchurch instead of Auckland© Getty Images

Craig McMillan, who was dumped from the third Test side, will captain a New Zealand Major Associations XI next week in Sri Lanka’s only warm up match for the two-Test series. McMillan was cut by New Zealand after some ill-disciplined shots to Shane Warne, but he will have a chance for redemption alongside Daryl Tuffey.Tuffey starred in a recent New Zealand Cricket inquiry after he was videoed by two English tourists having sex and was fined NZ$1000 (US$700). His place depends on his recovery from injury, but the match would give him the opportunity to hit back from a poor patch that included a 14-ball opening over in the one-day series against Australia.Mathew Sinclair, another to suffer against the world champions, has also been picked in the side that will play at Christchurch’s QEII Park from March 28 to 30. Richard Hadlee, the selection panel manager, said the team was not a New Zealand A side because players from Auckland and Wellington, who will be preparing for the State Championship final from April 3, were not considered.Major Associations squad Mathew Sinclair, Craig McMillan (capt), Graeme Aldridge, Peter Fulton, Gareth Hopkins, Jamie How, Warren McSkimming, Bruce Martin, Aaron Redmond, Ross Taylor, Greg Todd, Daryl Tuffey, Joseph Yovich.

Habibul Bashar: the new man at the top © Getty Images

Khaled Mahmud has announced his retirement from international cricket, after being overlooked for Bangladesh’s forthcoming tour of Namibia and Zimbabwe. Mahmud, who captained Bangladesh in nine winless Tests, had been under severe pressure for several months, in particular from his home crowds who took exception to his own run of poor form.Habibul Bashar, the new captain, urged Mahmud to reconsider, saying that he was a good influence on the discipline of the team, but Mahmud claimed he had taken the decision after close consultation with his family.Usually the Bangladesh board selects a captain and then names a side, but earlier this month it announced that it would let the selectors pick the squad before naming the captain, and Bashar was deemed as the best man for the job.Bashar, 31, averages over 36 in Test matches, and has scored two Test centuries, against Zimbabwe and Pakistan. Faruq Ahmed, the chief selector, said, “We chose the best player for the captain’s job.”Dav Whatmore, the coach, added: “This is the best possible side we have now. They are confident of doing better.”The squad also included Manjurul Islam Rana, the uncapped left-arm spinner, while Shariar Hossain was recalled three years after his only Test appearance.The squad is due to tour Namibia from January 28, where they will play a three-day match and five one-dayers before moving to Zimbabwe on February 10.Squad Habibul Bashar (capt), Rajin Saleh, Khaled Mashud (wk), Tapash Baisya, Hannan Sarkar, Shariar Hossain, Mohammad Ashraful, Tareq Aziz Khan, Manjurul Islam Rana, Anwar Hossain Monir, Mushfiqur Rahman, Alok Kapali, Mohammad Rafique, Alamgir Kabir, Monjurul Islam, Al Shahriar.

JamesAnderson Photo CricInfo

By the end of the 2002 domestic season, Lancashire’s Jimmy Anderson had played in three one-day matches. Now the 20 year-old fast bowler from Burnley finds himself selected for England’s squad to appear in the World Cup alongside the likes of Glenn McGrath, Allan Donald and Wasim Akram.Had it not been for injury problems to other bowlers, Anderson would probably have spent the winter with the ECB National Academy in Adelaide. He was one of the promising young players selected to hone their skills and attitude under the tutelage of Rod Marsh.However, a succession of injuries to the senior squad and good reports from Marsh saw him elevated to join the England party for the VB Series where he impressed with his distinctly sharp bowling and his temperament. In three matches he took five wickets at 23.4 each and, while his economy rate was only 4.87 an over, he did not look in any way out of place in the international arena.Joining him in the World Cup party is another young fast bowler who, although selected in the original party for the Ashes, had little hope of one-day action at the start of the tour. Steve Harmison is another to benefit from injuries to the likes of Darren Gough and Simon Jones and after two matches in the VB Series where his pace and bounce impressed, he is off to South Africa as well.For some time the England management has said that the key to one-day success was experience. Those ideas have been thrown into utter disarray by the string of injuries throughout the Australian tour, causing a major reassessment of resources.

PaulCollingwood – cements place Photo CricInfo

Even this squad has three major doubts included. Andrew Flintoff has taken an age to overcome a double hernia operation last summer and, amid accusation and counter-claim concerning his rehabilitation, is still not yet fully fit. Ashley Giles had his bowling wrist broken in the nets and has not yet been able to rejoin the tour. Craig White, who joined the Ashes party when it was evident Flintoff would not recover, was himself injured during the Melbourne Test. He sustained a rib muscle injury and while the initial prognosis was for a six-week recovery period, such injuries are notoriously slow to heal in bowlers.The selectors, however, have put their faith in all three recovering in the knowledge that ICC regulations allow them to change the squad at any time should the medical information prove over-optimistic.The chairman, David Graveney, sounded up beat when assessing their prospects. Referring to Flintoff, he said, “He his making good progress in his rehabilitation work and has been bowling at around 90% pace in the nets whilst experiencing much less pain. The indications are that Andrew will be fit and able to play a full part in the competition.”Ashley Giles has been given the go-ahead from his specialist to begin training and bowled six overs in the nets over the weekend without suffering any pain or reaction. Again, I am satisfied that Ashley will be able to play a full role for England in the World Cup.”So far as Craig White’s injury is concerned, his recovery is in its early stages. Craig will be receiving intensive treatment with the aim of having him available for the finals of the VB Series should England qualify.”Graveney also said that he hopes to have both Giles and Flintoff available for the VB finals. However, he will be as aware as everybody else of the dangers associated with rushing players back into action before they are ready.Young Somerset left-arm spinning all-rounder Ian Blackwell is on hand should Giles not recover. He was drafted into the Champions Trophy squad in September and has continued to do well to merit his place in the World Cup party. Apart from his bowling that has stood up well to pressure, he can change the course of an innings with his powerful batting.Of the other all-rounders, Paul Collingwood is hardly used as a medium pace bowler by the national side, but he sealed his place with a sparkling hundred against Sri Lanka in Perth. Ronnie Irani, on the other hand, has had a difficult tour with the bat. After initially impressing going in at number three in the warm-up matches, he has failed consistently in the internationals. His bowling has not been as effective as it proved to be last summer either, but it is that part of his game that has gained him his place.Michael Vaughan will presumably bat at three behind the established one-day opening pair of left-handers, Marcus Trescothick and Nick Knight. It is conceivable, though, that he might be elevated to allow a right-left opening partnership to cause problems for the opposition bowlers.With the captain, Nasser Hussain, at four and then the all-rounders, there is a solid look to the batting. Wicket-keeper Alec Stewart can be included among the all-rounders in what will probably be his farewell to international cricket. If his keeping abilities might be on the wane, there is, as yet, nobody in a younger age bracket demanding his place as a wicket-keeper/ batsman.Although neither have had a particularly good tour of Australia, the pair of opening bowlers with most experience – Andrew Caddick and Matthew Hoggard – retain their places. One or even both know that they are up against fresh, young opposition for a place in the starting eleven and that could be the spur to get them back to full throttle.In any event, it is not bowling that is likely to win the World Cup for England. It is only if the batsmen all hit form together that there is more of a possibility, and then it is up to the bowlers to sustain the position.Some will say that this England squad is ill equipped to even challenge for the title, but that is harsh. The format of the competition means that the team could lose a few matches while finding its feet and then get it all right in the knockout stages. Stranger things have happened.Squad: Nasser Hussain (captain), James Anderson, Ian Blackwell, Andrew Caddick, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Steve Harmison, Mathew Hoggard, Ronnie Irani, Nick Knight, Alec Stewart (w-k), Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan, Craig White.

South African national cricketers Makhaya Ntini, Mornantau Hayward andMfuneko Ngam will attend Saturday’s 25th Anniversary commemorations of theJune 1976 uprising in Soweto.The three players will be present at the Morris Isaacson High School for theend of the fun run at 9am on Saturday, from where they will walk to theHector Pietersen Memorial in Orlando West. Makhaya Ntini will say a fewwords at the memorial and will lay a wreath from the United Cricket Boardand the South African national cricket team in memory of those who losttheir lives in 1976.

ScorecardZafar Ansari top-scored for Surrey and then took the crucial wicket of Gary Ballance•PA Photos

Gary Ballance hit his second fifty in three days after being dropped by England but it was not enough to prevent Yorkshire from losing to Surrey by six runs in the Royal London Cup at the Kia Oval.Ballance survived an early drop by Gareth Batty when on 3 and looked like making Surrey pay when he got to 77, helping Yorkshire close in on a target of 266. But he then swept Zafar Ansari straight to deep square leg and the task of scoring 22 off the last 16 balls proved beyond the Yorkshire tail.Surrey had set them a challenging target thanks to an eighth-wicket stand of 66 in seven overs between Ansari, who finished unbeaten on 66, and Tom Curran, who made 44.Steve Davies had given Surrey a flying start with 39 off 32 balls but the innings almost stalled against some tight bowling from Steven Patterson, Yorkshire’s most dependable seamer, and Karl Carver, a 19-year-old left arm spinner making his List A debut.Patterson bowled Davies with his seventh ball and had a frustrated Jason Roy, who had made two centuries in his last three innings, caught at midwicket. Carver had Gary Wilson caught at mid-off and Kumar Sangakkara, who had struggled to 23 off 45 balls in his 506th List A innings, taken at square leg.Ben Foakes gave the innings some momentum with 44 off 52 balls but when he and Batty were both caught at mid-on off Glenn Maxwell and James Burke was caught and bowled by Matthew Fisher, Surrey were still labouring at 187 for seven.It was then that Tom Curran launched his assault. He made his intentions clear by driving Maxwell over long-off for the first six of the match and when the offspinner was kept on for what turned out to be an over too many he struck him for 4, 6, 4 off successive balls.When launching their reply, Yorkshire soon lost Andrew Gale, lbw to the impressive 17-year-old Sam Curran, but Alex Lees and Maxwell gave them a solid foundation with a second wicket partnership of 67.Lees made 28 and Maxwell 55, his second highest score for Yorkshire, and it looked as though Yorkshire would coast to victory when Ballance was sharing stands of 65 with Jack Leaning and 41 with Andrew Hodd.