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Tim O’Gorman and Peter Wright have been nominated to replace Jack Simmons, the former Lancashire player, as chairman of the ECB.Wright, currently chairman of Nottinghamshire, was proposed by Warwickshire and seconded by Surrey and Yorkshire, while O’Gorman was proposed by Derbyshire and seconded by Kent and Leicestershire.Ballot papers will be sent the chairmen of the 18 first-class counties and the MCC on Thursday and have to be returned by February 12. The winner will be then be recommended to the 41 members of the ECB for election.O’Gorman, 42, played 117 first-class games for Derbyshire and Don Amott, the Derbyshire chairman, feels this experience is important. “Our committee are firm in their belief that a candidate with experience as a professional cricketer should be nominated. That coupled with Tim’s enthusiasm to do the job makes him, we believe, the perfect candidate.”John Morris, the Derbyshire head of cricket, added: “Having played in the same Derbyshire team as Tim for many years, and then having continued to see his valuable work with the PCA, I believe Tim to be an outstanding candidate for the position.”

Since Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris took over from Tony Xia for ownership of Aston Villa back in 2018, they have not been particularly shy when it comes to spending money on bringing new players to the club.

Now that Steven Gerrard has taken charge after Dean Smith left in November, there have been reports suggesting that the former Rangers boss has his ideas of how to make his mark on the Villa squad in terms of potential incomings, and that he will be given the financial backing from the club’s owners to make it happen.

In terms of what future transfers Gerrard could make to transform this current Villa side to potentially fulfil the owners’ ambitions of securing European football on a regular basis, one man who could be seen as a big investment and possibly their new version Gareth Barry is Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips.

In a recent Villa transfer report from The Athletic, it was claimed that Phillips – who has been described as a “destroyer” on the pitch by former England manager Steve McClaren – “is a player Villa strongly admire but the difficulty of getting him out of Leeds if they remain a Premier League club makes it a non-starter for now.”

Labelled a “powerful” player by former Leeds manager Neil Redfearn, the 25-year-old was comfortably one of their best players in the Premier League last season. WhoScored gave him an overall rating of 7.01/10 for his performances, showing that he took to playing in the top flight like a duck to water after the Yorkshire club’s 16-year absence from that level.

Regarding the idea of Phillips being Villa’s potential new version of Barry, the former Villa midfielder was described in The Guardian as “a technically gifted player with an eye for a pass and an ability to anticipate danger”.

That isn’t too dissimilar to the praise that former Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo gave Phillips by saying that he was a “rock” in midfield for England during their Euro 2020 campaign, whilst also showing his technical passing ability by setting up Raheem Sterling’s winning goal against Croatia in the tournament.

In terms of a potential move to Villa Park in the future, if Leeds do end up being relegated this season, Villa should definitely explore the possibility of signing the £36m-rated midfielder in the summer, even though his current contract isn’t set to expire until the summer of 2024.

In other news – Imagine him & Konsa: Gerrard could solve big Villa issue with £7.2m-rated “monster”

Ricky Ponting has warned his side to be prepared for a Pakistan backlash in the second Test at the SCG following the one-sided result in the opening match

Peter English at the SCG02-Jan-2010Ricky Ponting has warned his side to be prepared for a Pakistan backlash in the second Test at the SCG following the one-sided result in the opening match. Ponting rated Australia’s bowling at the MCG during the 170-run win as the best of the past couple of years and has told his men to maintain the standard over the rest of the three-match series.”Teams are probably at their most dangerous when they’ve come off a heavy loss like last week,” Ponting said. “The challenge for us is to not get carried away with what we’ve done.”West Indies stood up to Australia in the final two games of the opening series of the local summer, but there were fewer concerns created by Pakistan at the MCG. However, Ponting is wary of their unpredictability as he plots a 2-0 series win before the final game in Hobart.”Pakistan, for as long as I can remember, can be as good as anybody going around and then an over, or a couple of overs, later, look as ordinary as anybody,” he aid. “That’s the nature of the way they play their cricket. That’s the unpredictability about them, we can’t afford to think that things will happen well for us again this week.”They’re already talking up the fact they think they can bounce back quickly. We know what to expect from them, we know they have some very talented players. Last week we had their measure, it’s up to us to make sure we start well again.”Ponting is still being hampered by an elbow problem suffered in the final Test against West Indies when he was hit by a Kemar Roach bouncer. When Chris Gayle said his side had unearthed a weakness against Ponting, the Australian captain basically challenged opposition bowlers to come after him.”I said that going into the last game and I got out playing a pull shot,” he said, having been caught at deep square leg in the second innings. “I’m more than happy for anybody to bowl there to me. I just need to play the shot a bit better than I did last week.”

Wolverhampton Wanderers have been handed a boost in their bid to bring Renato Sanches to Molineux in the January transfer window.

What’s been said?

In a recent interview with French publication L’Equipe (via Sport Witness), the LOSC Lille midfielder, who has been heavily linked with a switch to Wolves this winter, revealed that he would be open to a move away from the Ligue 1 side in the coming months – as long as the right offer comes in.

Speaking about the interest in his services, the 24-year-old said: “Maybe AC Milan and Arsenal are interested but I don’t know. I spoke with my agent, I know which clubs are calling and which are not, but I can’t tell now. But I know I’m ready. If an offer comes in, I’ll find out what’s best for me.”

Shi must act

Considering just how short Bruno Lage’s Wolves side currently are in the middle of the park, with the 45-year-old manager only being able to call upon the likes of Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho or Leander Dendoncker at present, a move to bring a pair of fresh legs into the position during the January transfer window would appear an extremely wise one for Jeff Shi to make.

And, when taking into account just how impressive Renato Sanches has been for Lille in recent seasons, the Portugal international would certainly appear to make a fantastic addition to the Wolves ranks this winter.

Indeed, over his six Ligue 1 appearances so far this term – a number which has been limited by his recovery from a knee injury – the £27m-rated midfielder has provided one assist and created one big chance for his teammates, in addition to making an average of 1.5 key passes per game – the most of any of his teammates.

The £51k-per-week man has also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making an average of 30.8 passes, 0.5 interceptions, 1.8 tackles and winning 5.7 duels per fixture.

These returns have seen the 24-year-old average a SofaScore match rating of 7.26 – ranking him as Jocelyn Gourvennec’s best performer in the league.

As such, considering the quite obvious lack of creativity in Wolves’ current crop of players in the middle of the park, with goalkeeper Jose Sa having creating the same amount of big chances as Lage’s highest-ranked midfielders, the signing of Renato Sanches would indeed look to be an excellent piece of business for Shi to get over the line.

And, following his most recent comments, it would appear as if there is very much a deal to be done for his services in January, something which the Wolves chairman simply must act upon.

In other news: Shi must ruthlessly axe Wolves’ £43k-p/w “near miss”, he’s becoming a real liability

Celtic have agreed a deal with Gamba Osaka for midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi, Yahoo Japan report.

The Lowdown: Busy January in store…

The Hoops look set to have a busy start to the New Year, with Ange Postecoglou after two more Japanese additions alongside Ideguchi in Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate.

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There could also be a number of outgoings, with the likes of Albian Ajeti and Vasilis Barkas linked with Parkhead exits.

It appears as if Celtic are making good progress ahead of the transfer window opening in regards to Ideguchi, who has been described as a player who likes to ‘give it out’.

The Latest: Ideguchi deal reached

Yahoo Japan shared a story on Thursday, revealing a fee of over €1m has been reached for the 25-year-old.

They claim that there are still visa issues to resolve, however, Ideguchi is set to fly to Scotland before the end of the year for a medical.

The Verdict: Good news…

Celtic need all the January reinforcements they can get with the number of injuries they are picking up.

Ajeti and Furuhashi were the latest to pick up knocks on Thursday evening, leaving Postecoglou with limited options in attack.

Ideguchi won’t be able to provide cover in attack, however, he’ll be another body in midfield, with Callum McGregor, Tom Rogic and David Turnbull relied on heavily by Postecoglou so far.

Hopefully, a transfer will be wrapped up quickly in the New Year, and who knows, should that be the case, Ideguchi could be around for the Glasgow derby on January 2.

In other news: BBC Radio 5 Live man reacts as Celtic eye a second Spurs player alongside Carter-Vickers. 

Matthew Hayden, the former Australia opener, has suggested scrapping the Champions Trophy and creating a two-month window for the IPL in order to revive spectator interest in the game.”Playing the World Twenty20 every other year is too much,” Hayden wrote in his column in the . “And why have the Champions Trophy when you’ve already got a 50-over World Cup?”The Champions Trophy was postponed to September 2009 and shifted to South Africa after teams expressed security concerns about playing in Pakistan last year. The ICC has been trying to rebrand the tournament as a short two-week elite tournament played at just two venues – Wanderers and Supersport Park.Hayden, who was appointed a board director by Cricket Australia earlier this month, listed down his suggestions after being challenged on air during by cricket writer Christopher Martin-Jenkins to come up with solutions to re-jig a jam-packed international calendar full of “meaningless matches”.England will be playing seven ODIs against Australia at the end of the Ashes and Hayden said five matches were enough for any bi-lateral series. He also said the 50- and 20-over World Cups should be played in the same cycle.Hayden, a key member of the Chennai Super Kings franchise, said no international cricket should be played during the proposed two-month window of the IPL, which according to him had brought the game to a “tipping point”. “The IPL has the ability to generate international fan bases in the same way as achieved by the English football’s Premier League. I believe some IPL matches should go on the road each year and be played in other countries, to make it a global competition. The sooner the world of cricket embraces the IPL, the sooner everyone can find ways to benefit from its massive potential.”Hayden also lent his support to the concept of a Test Championship that the MCC’s World Cricket Committee put forth last month. Hayden rejected the ICC’s Future Tours Programme and instead proposed a world series of the top eight teams on a rolling calendar with finals every two years. He said Zimbabwe and Bangladesh’s dismal Test records disqualified them from the Test championship. Bangladesh’s only three Test wins have come against Zimbabwe and a second-string West Indies side, missing senior players who were on strike. “When a team like Australia play a team like Bangladesh in a Test series, you’ve got problems. It can’t be fun for the underdogs and it’s no challenge for the favourites. Just as importantly, it’s not a good spectacle.”Hayden said the core of the Test championship would be the iconic series – the Ashes and India v Pakistan. “They should stay as five-match series. Aside from those ties, teams are pooled in two groups, with everyone playing each other and scoring points for wins, draws and series wins, and picking up bonus points for stand-out batting and bowling performances. The leading two in each group would progress to semi-finals and a final, the other would enter a rankings play-off system.”This way, every game means something – even the dead rubber at the end of a series between two lesser sides. Every Test fits into a bigger picture that adds up to a championship. It gives players something to aim for, fans a format they can follow, and commercial stakeholders with something that’s compact and exciting. By changing Test cricket into something more relevant and therefore more marketable, additional revenue is generated. More revenue in the sport is good for everyone, including players and the ability of the game to develop.”Hayden was also in favour of playing matches indoor to avoid losing days to rain or poor pitches like in Antigua. He said it was important to have a fixed global calendar for cricket that fans could identify with. “Football fans instinctively know if they’re in a World Cup year, or Euro Champs year. They know when seasons start when trophies are decided, give or take. Not so in cricket. A universal calendar is fundamental to all the above solutions. Once this is in place, competitions for each of the different formats of the game can be settled upon. Fans, broadcasters, sponsors, players – everyone will know where they stand.”

Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to instantly bounce back from Sunday’s disappointing defeat when they head to the northwest for a Carabao Cup Round of 16 tie at Turf Moor.

The north London outfit were beaten by local rivals West Ham United in the Premier League, so Nuno Santo will be looking to see a reaction as they look to reach the quarter-finals of the cup competition with a win over Sean Dyche’s Burnley.

With Manchester United on the horizon, though, the Portuguese may be tempted into making some changes to his starting XI, if the poor result last weekend hadn’t already given him some food for thought.

With that in mind, here’s the lineup we’re predicting tonight…

There could be as many as nine changes from the side which was defeated at the London Stadium.

Between the sticks, cup ‘keeper Pierluigi Gollini is likely to take the reins from captain and first-choice Hugo Lloris, as he often has done away from the Premier League.

He’ll be marshalled by a completely different back four to Sunday, with Ben Davies and Japhet Tanganga replacing Sergio Reguilon and Emerson Royal out wide, whilst Joe Rodon and Davinson Sanchez could allow rests to both Eric Dier and Cristian Romero.

Oliver Skipp could be one of two players to keep his place, though this time he’ll be partnered by Harry Winks at the base of the engine room, with Giovani Lo Celso going into the no.10 role.

Out wide, Heung-min Son is granted a rest, so 20-year-old Bryan Gil is handed another opportunity to impress from the off. The Spanish winger, dubbed a “big talent” by scout Jacek Kulig, has been restricted to just 57 minutes in the league since joining Spurs in the summer.

On the other flank, Steven Bergwijn starts over Lucas Moura, as the Dutch winger needs to get up to speed after injury.

Elsewhere, Harry Kane is the only other player to remain from Sunday, and that’s largely because of the lack of options available to Nuno. It may not be wise to play 17-year-old Dane Scarlett against a physically brutal side like the Clarets.

AND in other news, Spurs handed frustrating Dusan Vlahovic update…

Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee Hee-chan Hwang is attracting significant interest ahead of the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Mirror, who claim that both Liverpool and Manchester City are plotting moves for the 25-year-old centre-forward ahead of the winter market, as both clubs have been impressed after sending scouts to watch the South Korea international in action for Wolves this season.

The report goes on to state that Wolves are also trying to sign Hwang on a permanent basis in the January transfer window, with Bruno Lage’s side believed to hold an option to buy the forward from RB Leipzig for a fee of around £13m.

Fosun must avoid disaster

Considering just how impressive Hwang has been since his arrival at Molineux back in August, the argument that it would be a disaster for Fosun to miss out on the permanent signing of the 25-year-old in January is a rather easy one to make.

Indeed, over his eight Premier League appearances so far this season, the £9.9m-rated man is the club’s top league goalscorer with four strikes to his name, while he has also taken an average of 0.9 shots and made 0.3 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the £71k-per-week centre-forward average a SofaScore match rating of 6.75, ranking him as Lage’s 11th-best performer in the top flight of English football.

However, this rather underwhelming average match rating simply does not reflect Hwang’s true ability, with the striker’s former manager at Red Bull Salzburg, Peter Zeidler, providing much better insight into the South Korean’s talent, stating: “He’s exceptional, has a brutal dynamism. I’ve rarely seen anything like it.”

As such, it is clear for all to see that, should Wolves indeed be pipped to Hwang’s signing by either Liverpool or Manchester City this winter, it would undeniably be a catastrophic outcome for Fosun, as well as one that would leave Bruno Lage furious.

In other news: Shi must seal dream Wolves deal for £25k-p/w dynamo who can “make people look silly”

Brendan Rodgers is now reportedly being mooted by Newcastle United ahead of a potential appointment.

The Lowdown: Bruce pay-off

As per The Daily Mail, the new owners at St. James’ Park are now ready to pay the £8m needed in order to pay off Steve Bruce so that he can leave his role as manager.

They are reportedly aware of the negative impact it could have if the former Aston Villa and Sunderland boss is still in charge for their first game under the new regime, when they face Tottenham Hotspur at home in the Premier League on Sunday 17th October.

The Latest: Rodgers mooted

According to The Daily Mail, Rodgers is now being mooted by the North East club as the potential successor to Bruce.

It is understood that they would prefer to hire a coach with experience of managing in the English top flight, and the current Leicester City coach certainly fits the bill, having also plied his trade at a traditional ‘big six’ club in Liverpool.

The Verdict: Get it done

Although trying to prize away Rodgers from the Foxes would be a highly ambitious move, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium must try and do everything in their power to try and persuade him to come to Tyneside.

He most certainly has the Premier League experience that they are looking for, and has generally done very well in the division, guiding Liverpool to a second-placed finish and more recently fifth-placed ones with Leicester in each of the last two seasons (Transfermarkt).

Described as one of the ‘outstanding’ managers in the league by Gary Neville back in November, Rodgers showed his credentials by winning the FA Cup and Community Shield with the Foxes, and his seven other major honours with Celtic should not go unnoticed (Transfermarkt).

With his teams winning a very impressive 1.82 points a game in his managerial career so far, Rodgers is a proven winner, and thus the perfect man to help the Magpies win some trophies in this new era.

In other news, find out who NUFC are also coveting as a Bruce replacement here!

Rafa Benitez led his Everton team to a point at Old Trafford as the Toffees held Manchester United to a 1-1 draw on Saturday.

Anthony Martial gave United the lead in the first half with an assured finish inside the box after Ben Godfrey and Yerry Mina were dragged inside, with Andros Townsend failing to provide cover for the former.

Excellent play from Demarai Gray created space for Aboulaye Doucoure in the middle and he then threaded the ball through for Townsend to clinically convert the equaliser.

Whilst Townsend may grab the headlines with his Old Trafford strike, Rafa Benitez’s unsung hero was Godfrey at right-back.

The ex-Norwich man is a central defender by trade but did not look out of place at right-back as he impressed in Manchester. He was strong defensively and composed on the ball, almost setting up a late winner for Everton in the second half.

Godfrey controlled the ball 25 yards out and prodded a clever ball through to Tom Davies in acres of space inside the United penalty area, only for the midfielder to pass to an offside Yerry Mina instead of making use of the time he had to get a shot away himself. The 23-year-old had the time to set himself and take a free shot at David de Gea’s goal, which could have resulted in an assist for Godfrey.

Defensively, Godrey was a rock for Everton. As per SofaScore, he won eight duels during the game, including five of his seven attempted ground duels. He also made six clearances and four tackles, whilst only being dribbled past once in the entire match.

This shows how strong he was at the back for the Toffees. You could question his positioning on the Martial goal, although he was trying to prevent Bruno Fernandes from doing damage and did not have any support from his winger, which made it a difficult situation for him to handle.

Aside from that incident, however, he was almost flawless. Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo came on in the second half and Godfrey did not give a sniff to either of them, particularly Sancho on his flank, as he was able to stay solid throughout the 90 minutes.

Never mind Townsend, the 23-year-old defender was the real hero for Everton today. Benitez will surely be delighted with his display and hoping that he can maintain this standard for the rest of the campaign, whether he is playing at centre-back or right-back.

AND in other news, “Let the fans down numerous times” – Exclusive: Michael Ball drops major Everton verdict…