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Manchester United have reportedly turned their attention to signing Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips, a potential huge blow for Marcelo Bielsa.

The Lowdown: Phillips an indispensable figure

Few players in the Marcelo Bielsa era at Elland Road have enjoyed a greater influence than Phillips, if anyone at all.

The 25-year-old has been an outstanding performer in Leeds’ midfield, inspiring them back into the Premier League and maturing into a regular starter for England – he even won the national side’s player of the year this term.

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The Latest: Man Utd keen on move

The one negative surrounding Phillips’ meteoric rise is that richer clubs are now battling for his signature, and according to the Daily Star, Manchester United want to sign him.

They were initially keen on snapping up his England midfield colleague Declan Rice from West Ham, but are now eyeing up the Leeds star instead, perhaps due to David Moyes calling for a price tag of over £100m on Rice.

Phillips’ current deal expires in the summer of 2024.

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The Verdict: Anyone but them

Leeds are going to find it extremely tough to keep hold of Phillips and there is every chance that he ends up at a Champions League-playing super club, having earned plaudits from media and fans alike up and down the country – Gary Neville called him ‘fantastic’.

That being said, the Whites’ bitter rivalry with Manchester United means that supporters would likely accept him moving anywhere other than Old Trafford.

Should Phillips pick the Red Devils, it could have a big effect on his legacy at Elland Road, as was arguably the case with Alan Smith back in the 2000s.

In other news, a Leeds player has agreed a new deal at the club. Find out who it is here.

Daniel Vettori, the New Zealand captain, has plenty of issues on his mind at the moment with a string of injuries hitting the side at the ICC World Twenty20 but the availability of Shane Bond in the near future could help ease the burden

Cricinfo staff15-Jun-2009Daniel Vettori, the New Zealand captain, has plenty of issues on his mind at the moment with a string of injuries hitting the side at the ICC World Twenty20, but the availability of Shane Bond in the near future could help ease the burden.When New Zealand suffer a run of injuries such as the have felt during the Twenty20 it highlights how much they need their best players available. But while Vettori, Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum have all struggled in recent weeks, the return of Bond to the international stage is an enticing prospect.Bond, who hasn’t played for New Zealand in 18 months, has ended his links with the Indian Cricket League (ICL) and New Zealand Cricket have said that any player who severs their ties with the league will be available for selection again.”I’m not sure officially if he [Bond] has handed in his [ICL] contract as well but I understand that was the plan,” Vettori said. “So he’ll become available for New Zealand probably after his tournament.”New Zealand’s next international action after the World Twenty20 is a tour of Sri Lanka and Bond’s pace would be a major boost to the bowling attack and Vettori added his return would be welcome.”Once again if you take the emotion out of the argument in terms of how good a player Shane Bond is and look at his facts, if he’s fit and ready to come back into the side, his record says what a great player he is, so we’ll love to have him back.”Along with Bond, pace bowler Daryl Tuffey has also terminated his ICL contract and is likely to come under consideration for a recall.Abdul Razzaq, the Pakistan allrounder, was the first ICL player to return to international cricket when he was called up for the World Twenty20 as an injury replacement for Yasir Arafat. He made his comeback against New Zealand, at The Oval, with the impressive figures of 2 for 17.

Ireland are looking to recently appointed director of cricket operations Mark Garaway to help develop the game across the nation

Cricinfo staff22-Jul-2009Ireland are looking to recently appointed director of cricket operations Mark Garaway to help develop the game across the nation. Garaway, who worked as England team analyst for three years, has been designated to implement and develop programmes aimed at nurturing the game in Ireland.On announcing the appointment last week Joe Doherty, chief of Cricket Ireland, said Garaway was an outstanding candidate for the job and had all the experience and qualities Ireland were looking for. “In my opinion, he has so much to offer and comes to us with the perfect mix – an impressive record of career achievement to date at playing, development, coaching and analysis at high levels, allied to the energy and ambition to go even further,” he told the . “He will bring to this high performance position a blend of youthful enthusiasm, creativity and innovation, all based on a proven platform of technical and administrative ability.”The responsibility he will be asked to shoulder is a considerable one for the sport here in Ireland in this exciting phase of Cricket Ireland’s growth at home and abroad, but we all believe that Mark is the right man for us at this time and that the time is right for Mark as well.”Garaway, 36, is a former Hampshire player and Somerset coach with an ECB Level 4 coaching award, and will join up with the squad next month. “This is a unique chance to have an impact on shaping one of the most exciting emerging nations in the world game, and I am delighted to have been selected for this opportunity,” he said. “The future of Irish cricket looks very bright and with the support of our partners and stakeholders, I am confident we can improve both the quality, and quantity of men and women playing the sport.”

Celtic will receive a £2m windfall for the transfer of Ryan Christie if Bournemouth win promotion to the Premier League, according to The Sun, cited by 67 Hail Hail.  

The Lowdown: Deadline Day business

The Hoops had a busy final day of the summer window, with three incomings and three outgoings.

Christie was one of those to leave, with the Cherries paying an initial £2.5m for the attacking midfielder.

Striker Giorgos Giakoumakis was the last permanent addition to Ange Postecoglou’s squad, costing just over £2m, and it appears as if that could be paid for thanks to Christie by next summer.

The Latest: Add-on details emerge

The Sun on Sunday, cited by 67 Hail Hail, claim that Celtic will receive a further £2m if Bournemouth win promotion.

They could then land even more if they stay up in a potential 2022/23 Premier League campaign.

The Verdict: Shrewd move

Christie was out of contract at Celtic Park in January, so bringing in an initial £2.5m in the summer was good business.

It seems as if it could get even better over the next seven months, which could, in theory, mean the Hoops’ move for Giakoumakis is all but paid for due to add-ons in Christie’s transfer.

All in all, it looks like a shrewd move by the Hoops hierarchy, who will more than likely be hoping Bournemouth can stay top of the Championship until May.

In other news: Celtic are considering boss with similar style to Ange; he played golf with Desmond last week. 

Many Everton fans have been left slamming Fabian Delph after some news emerged ahead of their game at home to West Ham United on Sunday afternoon.

Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of the match against the Hammers in the Premier League, Rafa Benitez confirmed (via TheMightyBlues) that both Delph, as well as Andre Gomes, will miss the clash.

Delph has only managed to make a mere one appearance so far this season, a very short seven-minute cameo in the 2-2 draw away at Leeds United back in August (long history of injury problems.

At 31 years of age, he is past his peak now, and so one could question whether he should still be at the club.

Everton fans on Delph news

These members of the Goodison Park faithful slammed Delph after the news was shared on Twitter, with one Toffees supporter even going as far as to claim that he is a ‘parody’:

“Delph is the hide and seek champion of the football world, he makes Gbamin look like an ever present.”

Credit: @tomperry51

“And they’re still paying Delph’s wages. Wow.”

Credit: @ImAlexPrince

“Delph is about as reliable as Gbamin. Absolute waste of money”

Credit: @scousemanblue

“Parody that fella Delph pay him off”

Credit: @kwhitehead2019

“Thank god Delph’s contract is up at the end of the season. Nobody is bidding for him in January no matter the price.”

Credit: @TacticallyEv

“Not to beat a dead horse… but Fabian Delph’s just been one horrendous signing for this club. I know the club wants to offload him in January, but I wish they’d just rip up his contract”

Credit: @Philatty

In other news, find out what early team news Blues are bemoaning here!

Former players have asked senior management within the team to take responsibility for the defeats and resign

Cricinfo staff04-Aug-2009Former Pakistan players have demanded major changes in the Pakistan Cricket Board’s setup and have asked the senior team management to take responsibility for the defeats in the Tests and ODI series against Sri Lanka and resign.After the high of the World Twenty20 win against the same team in June, Pakistan’s fortunes swung in Sri Lanka when they lost the Tests 2-0 despite finding themselves in strong positions in all three games. They’re already trailing 3-0 in the ODIs, with only pride to play for in the two remaining games.Former captain Aamer Sohail said the decision to experiment with makeshift openers was baffling.”No one, from the board officials to the team management, seems to have a clear plan in mind,” Sohail told AFP. “Some of the decisions make no sense, like two regular openers were sent to Sri Lanka but we used makeshift openers in the series which we have lost now.”Another former captain, Zaheer Abbas, said the blame lay with the PCB. “The World Twenty20 win had hid all the weaknesses in the team and the cricket board,” he said. “Since this board has taken over we have lost the Champions Trophy (hosting rights), we have been stripped of World Cup 2011 matches and we have failed to handle the team, so this is total mismanagement, which is unacceptable.”The coach (Intikhab Alam) must go, and the captain (Younis Khan) also lacks the qualities of a good leader.”Former chief selector Abdul Qadir was unhappy with the nature of the defeats. “They should feel ashamed,” he said. “Defeats are part and parcel of the game, but shameful defeats are unacceptable.”Former wicketkeeper Rashid Latif, however, ruled out changes in management and said the fault lay with the players. “Changes are not the solution,” Latif said. “I think the team needs to go back to basics and there should be no interference in team planning. The team must play to its own plan.” Younis Khan has said the poor domestic structure was to blame.

When Celtic sold Kieran Tierney for £25m back in 2019 – a record fee received for a Scottish player – the Parkhead faithful may have believed it would be a while before they had another homegrown prospect at left-back who boasted the potential of flourishing into a top-level talent.

However, just two years down the line, Greg Taylor’s recent shoulder injury seems to have brought with it a rather significant silver lining, as, although he has started just one Scottish Premiership game under Ange Postecoglou this term, Adam Montgomery appears to be a player who has an extremely bright future ahead of him at Parkhead.

After being brought on as a substitute on four separate occasions this season, the 19-year-old was finally handed his first league start of the campaign against Aberdeen – a game in which the left-back highlighted his abundance of potential.

Indeed, over his 90 minutes on the pitch at Pittodrie, the £135k-rated teenager enjoyed 88 touches of the ball – the second-most of any other player to feature in the match – completed 60 passes – again, the second-most of any player – completed three of his four attempted dribbles and made two key passes.

However, perhaps most notably, the teenager showed a remarkable amount of composure in the closing stages of the game, when he picked out Jota to fire home the match-winning goal in the 84th-minute – a strike that secured the Bhoys their first away win of the season.

This impact led to Postecoglou – who is not well known for singling out players after an impressive performance – to heap a considerable amount of praise on the left-back, with the 56-year-old manager stating after the game: “It was a simple pass across the goal, but at the end of the game when you need to win he showed that composure. He is a very talented young player.”

The Australian has also hailed the youngster for his “tremendous” composure as well.

It is not only the Celtic boss who has noticed Montgomery’s potential, with Tierney himself revealing that he is well aware of the 19-year-old’s potential.

In an interview with The Scottish Sun, the £28.8m-rated Arsenal defender said: “I’ve heard a lot of good things about him… I know from speaking to [John Kennedy] and Greg Taylor at Celtic that he’s a good talent and a decent boy too. I wish him all the best.

“It’s always great to see someone come through the Celtic academy. It was special for me to come through the ranks to the first team. Now, Adam’s got a chance of progressing, and I’d love to see him get more games and push for a place.

“All I’d advise him to do is enjoy everything. From what I’ve heard he’s a good enough player and a lad with the right attitude.”

As such, it would very much appear that, as long as Montgomery can concentrate on his development as a player over the coming seasons at Parkhead, the belief is there that the 19-year-old has the ability to go on and follow in Tierney’s footsteps, something the Celtic fans would certainly love to see.

In other news: £7.2m out of pocket: Celtic had a nightmare on “immense” £42k-p/w beast

Grenada’s cricket chief, Cecil Greenidge, has called the low turnout for the second Test between West Indies and Bangladesh at the National Cricket Stadium a “great disappointment” and a “disaster”

Cricinfo staff27-Jul-2009Grenada’s cricket chief, Cecil Greenidge, has called the low turnout for the second Test between West Indies and Bangladesh at the National Cricket Stadium a “great disappointment” and a “disaster”.Greenidge said the organisers had tried their best to attract crowds for the match, which was only the second Test to be held at the ground, including low-priced tickets and getting local musicians to perform during lunch.”It was a great disappointment. In fact it was a disaster,” Greenidge told . “The GCA and the organising committee deeply regret the lack of support by the local sporting public.”I don’t know what the issues were, whether it was carnival, whether it was Bangladesh, whether it was the fact that the so call big players on the West Indies team did not make themselves available or perhaps a combination of those things,” he said.West Indies were forced to field a weakened side in the game because many of their leading players boycotted the Test series. The inexperienced side went down by four wickets to Bangladesh, handing the visitors their first overseas Test series victory.

David Moyes will be tempted to remain with an unchanged starting XI for West Ham’s trip to Merseyside this afternoon.

But the Scotsman did hint at a couple of injury worries following the international break, so that may not be possible.

Last time out, the Irons suffered only their second defeat of the 2021/22 campaign, losing to a last-gasp goal against newly-promoted Brentford and now they head to Goodison Park to face an in-form Everton side.

It leaves Moyes with plenty of selection headaches but with that in mind, here’s the Hammers XI we’re predicting today…

There could be as many as three changes from the side that tasted defeat at the London Stadium.

Between the sticks, Lukasz Fabianski is expected to resume duties, with Paris Saint-Germain loanee Alphonse Areola only being used sparingly in the cup competitions.

We’re also predicting there to be a shuffle in defence as Issa Diop comes in for Angelo Ogbonna to form an all-French partnership in the middle. He’s yet to start in the league but after assistant manager Stuart Pearce described him as a “colossus”, it’s surely a matter of time before he does.

Whilst there have been concerns over the fitness of Vladimir Coufal.

The 29-year-old right-back pulled out of international duty for the Czech Republic during the break and still may not be risked just yet. You could tell he was rushed back for the Brentford defeat and he looked some way off his usual standard.

Instead, we may see Ben Johnson pair up with fellow full-back Aaron Cresswell.

It’s in midfield where there is a third and final change as club captain Mark Noble gets the nod over Tomas Soucek.

According to The Athletic’s Roshane Thomas, “it would not come as a surprise” if Moyes rested the Czech Republic international ahead of Thursday’s Europa League clash with Genk.

He has played a lot of football since the start of last season, resulting in some leggy outings in recent weeks. He played the full 90 minutes on international duty twice last week.

Noble joins England star Declan Rice in the engine room, whilst the attack remains untouched, meaning Michail Antonio leads the line, having benefitted from pulling out of the Jamaica squad.

He’ll be supported by the trio of Said Benrahma, Pablo Fornals and Jarrod Bowen.

AND in other news, Moyes must brutally axe “unplayable” £45k-per-week star at Goodison Park…

A day after England’s Twenty20 match against Australia was abandoned due to poor run-ups at Old Trafford, Lancashire and Sussex rolled up their sleeves and got on with it

John Ward at Old Trafford02-Sep-2009
ScorecardLancashire felt they had a point to prove today. The Championship match against Sussex was played on the same pitch that had been scheduled for the abandoned Twenty20 match between England and Australia the previous evening – which meant the same bowler’s run-up would be used and the damp areas on the outfield would be the same. There was a little more rain overnight and in the early morning, but play started only 15 minutes late, with patches of sawdust covering the offending areas. Neither umpires nor players seemed to have any problem with it.Lancashire decided to bat on winning the toss, but after a rain-spoiled day will wonder whether that was wise. The Sussex seamers, while not devastating, managed to extract considerable movement from the pitch and the slip cordon was on red alert throughout. Lancashire, having dropped Steve Croft from their team, were left without a regular opening partner for Paul Horton and, rather than disturb the comfort of their usual middle order, sent their wicketkeeper Luke Sutton in first.They began with justified caution, feeling their way against the opening attack of Corey Collymore, who was particularly adept in moving the ball across the right-handers, and Robin Martin-Jenkins, who was to bowl a tight eleven-over spell from the Brian Statham End, which had been condemned the previous evening. Sutton drove Martin-Jenkins straight for a classical boundary, but soon lost Horton for 6, pushing at a ball from Collymore that moved away and handing first slip a comfortable catch.Mal Loye began rather scratchily and on 7 escaped a difficult chance in the slips, off Collymore again, but then began to play with the confidence of the man in form that he is. Martin-Jenkins removed Sutton, feeling for a ball just outside off stump and edging to second slip for 17, but he had done a useful job in taking the score to 50. Dwayne Smith had by now replaced Collymore and moved the ball considerably, although occasional loose balls outside the off stump gave the batsmen some encouragement and the cover fielders some fetching to do. Unlike your usual seamer, Smith gets through his overs at commendable speed. He had the reward of VVS Laxman’s wicket, the Indian being thoroughly beaten and trapped lbw by a quick off-cutter for 6.Sussex were also welcoming back their Indian leg-spinner Piyush Chawla in place of Yasir Arafat, and he was introduced before lunch. He was not afraid to toss the ball up invitingly on occasions and displayed an interesting variety of deliveries, while the batsmen played his first few overs very carefully. Lancashire went in to lunch at 71 for 3, Loye holding the innings together with his unbeaten 38.The afternoon session always seemed doomed, as the Met Office predicted. There were two interruptions, the first after just one maiden over had been bowled, before the weather had the final say. Loye cracked a ball from Smith through the covers for four off the back foot to reach his 50, a mixture of watchfulness and aggression that took him 116 balls. But he fell for 58 to an unsightly mow that he doubtless deeply regretted, as it resulted in a simple catch sliced to backward point. The bowler was Ollie Raynor, whose second delivery it was, so the batsman had certainly not had a good look at him before playing a risky stroke.Raynor in fact tied the batsmen down in an economical spell of seven overs for only eight runs. Faf du Plessis played some handsome drives, but most of them seemed drawn magnetically to the fielders. Lancashire’s fifth wicket went down for 131 when Mark Chilton was another to fall in the slips, fishing outside off to a ball from Smith that proved to be the last of the day. The umpires at this point decided the light was too bad for play, and shortly afterwards a light rain arrived and decided the famous old Test ground was a nice place to settle down for the day.The weather forecast for the rest of the week is grim. This match may well be doomed to a draw, but in between the showers there is hope of some good cricket, and the possibility that good bowling may yet make what play there is interesting.