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Antonio Conte was given a shock over just how much work he still has to do at Tottenham Hotspur after they lost 2-1 away at NS Mura on Thursday evening.

The Slovenians, who are the lowest-ranked team in the Europa Conference League, took an early lead after a fine curling strike from Tomi Horvat, before Ryan Sessegnon found himself sent off after being given two yellow cards by the referee.

Harry Kane levelled the match in the second half with a delicate chip over the goalkeeper, before a Ben Davies slip proved costly as Amadej Marosa raced through in the last minute of the game to put his shot past Pierluigi Gollini in the Tottenham net.

There were some truly abysmal performances from a lot of Spurs players on the night, and The Transfer Tavern has used statistical experts SofaScore to analyse who were the three worst to have played at least 45 minutes:

Dele Alli (6.4)

Admittedly tied with second place with the same SofaScore rating (6.4), Alli sneaks into third given that he had less time on the pitch after being substituted off for Son Heung-Min in the 54th minute.

It was yet another frustrating evening for the Englishman, summed up by getting himself booked for having an argument with a Mura player just before he came off.

Alli lost out on five of his duels and failed to record a single shot or key pass, while only managing 29 touches of the ball in total as he struggled to make any real impact.

Japhet Tanganga (6.4)

Tanganga also received a 6.4 rating from SofaScore after being part of a defence which was nothing short of shambolic at times.

The centre-back lost out on three duels and failed to make a clearance or block any shots on his goal, while he was also guilty of losing possession seven times.

Pierluigi Gollini (6.1)

Perhaps inevitably, Gollini was given a bad rating (6.1) by SofaScore after letting in two goals, and with the second he would have especially felt as if he could have done much better.

The goalkeeper resisted from trying to play out from the back on multiple occasions, yielding just 25 touches of the ball, while he made no saves at all in the entire match.

Sessegnon received a 5.1 rating after getting sent off, but of course played less than 45 minutes after getting sent off just after the half-hour mark.

In other news, Spurs are ‘preparing’ a bid for this ‘monster’

Australia completed a nerve-shredding 36 run victory over a willing Pakistani side, thus becoming only the sixth team in Test history to triumph after trailing by 200-plus on the first innings

The Bulletin by Alex Brown at the SCG06-Jan-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Michael Hussey’s 11th Test century earned him the Man-of-the-Match award•Getty ImagesAustralia completed a nerve-shredding 36-run victory over an exasperating Pakistani side to become just the sixth team in Test history to triumph after trailing by 200-plus on the first innings. An obstinate 123-run ninth-wicket partnership between Michael Hussey and Peter Siddle drew Australia back into a contest they appeared to have conceded after a calamitous opening day, and a penetrative final-day bowling display completed one of the great comebacks witnessed on these shores.The Australians, who resumed play on Wednesday eight wickets down and only 80 runs ahead, set the Pakistanis a challenging target of 176 following the brilliant, improbable stand of Hussey and Siddle that almost matched Australia’s entire first-innings aggregate. Pakistan’s batsmen positioned themselves for a victory charge at several junctures of their innings, but Nathan Hauritz’s second five-wicket haul in as many matches ensured the tourists fell agonisingly short in their pursuit.In the end, it was a game of “who blinks first”. The Pakistanis have made no secret of their plans to attack Hauritz throughout the summer, and looked to erase large chunks of their deficit while the Australian spinner was in operation. Such a tactic was inevitably going to lead to chances, and Hauritz proved good enough to take them on a gripping afternoon at a ground that has come to resemble Australia’s theatre of dreams.Hauritz began his series-clinching spell with a caught-and-bowled catch that threatened his further participation in the contest. Mohammad Yousuf, whose timid tactics in the morning session played into the hands of the Australian batsmen, belatedly found his aggression and bludgeoned Hauritz’s third delivery after lunch with the force of a thousand ordinary drives,. Alas, he did so in the bowler’s direction and an unflinching Hauritz held onto an excellent catch that cut open his left thumb and required medical treatment.Far from finished, Hauritz removed the out-of-sorts Misbah-ul-Haq two deliveries later, then rolled through the Pakistani tail to complete a polished performance that served as further evidence of his evolution into a legitimate international spinner. His efforts were complemented by those of Mitchell Johnson, who finished with three wickets and commenced Pakistan’s terminal slide with the dismissals of Salman Butt and Faisal Iqbal in the same over. Doug Bollinger, too, thrived in the pressure-cooker atmosphere, dismissing the potent duo of Imran Farhat and Umar Akmal in a spell defined by pace and discipline.Earlier, Hussey took full advantage of Yousuf’s oddly defensive captaincy and a placid SCG pitch to restore Australia’s victory prospects. Hussey and Siddle carried their bats through the first session and at one stage looked set to break the 116-year-old ninth-innings Australian partnership record at the SCG set by Syd Gregory and Jack Blackham.Australia’s revival was assisted greatly by the timid tactics of the Pakistanis who, as a result, were faced with a testing chase. Yousuf’s defensive field configurations – which included eight men on the fence for Hussey, who was barely threatened up to lunch – did little to enhance his own reputation as a tactician and played as large a role in drawing Australia back into the match as the team’s turgid catching of previous days.Hussey has made more fluent centuries, but few as important as that completed on Wednesday. Having watched on from the non-striker’s end as Australia lost 5 for 40 the preceding evening, Hussey seized control of the Australian innings on a flat batting surface and, in the process, relieved any lingering doubt hanging over his position in the team.Hussey declined the charity singles being offered by Yousuf and instead looked to pierce the boundaries with drives that seldom left the carpet. He entered the nineties with back-to-back cover-driven fours off the bowling of Danish Kaneria and sealed his first ton of the summer with a glorious straight drive off Umar Gul. Hussey punched the air in delight upon reaching the milestone, acutely aware of the innings’ importance in the context of the match. Siddle, meanwhile, batted with tremendous discipline and restraint to raise his highest Test score of 38.Mohammad Asif and Kaneria claimed the final two Australian wickets six overs after the lunch break, but not before the hosts had added 95 runs on the fourth morning. Asif ended the dogged stand of Hussey and Siddle by removing the latter to a shorter delivery gloved to slip. Kaneria then completed the innings and a personal five-wicket haul by bowling Bollinger with a delivery that ricocheted off the batsman’s elbow and foot.It mattered little. Australia were already back in the contest.

Steven Gerrard risks ‘annoying’ the Aston Villa players with his strict new code of conduct. 

That’s according to the former Manchester City and Leeds United defender Danny Mills, who was speaking to Football Insider.

The lowdown

The Telegraph’s Mike McGrath revealed last week that Gerrard had banned fizzy drinks, sauces, puddings and hot chocolate after taking over from Dean Smith.

In his first press conference as Villa boss, the 41-year-old spoke of the influence of former Liverpool and Villa boss Gerard Houllier, who had monitored his diet during their time at Anfield. He took it as an indication of ‘what it takes to stay at the top level’.

The latest

Sky Sports pundit Mills insisted that there was no ‘scientific reason’ behind the sauces ban and said that an overly strict regime could frustrate the Villa squad, particularly if there is a downturn in results.

The former England right-back told Football Insider: “It always seems bizarre when a manager goes ‘You’re not having that’. It’s just a punishment.

“There’s no scientific reason to ban ketchup. Do they not think the players are having it at home? OK, fizzy drinks are unnecessary.

“Sometimes it’s just about making a point. It’s about being disciplined. Undoubtedly he wants to make it professional and set the law down.

“You’ve got to make sure you’re coaching is very good and you’re getting the results. They are the annoying niggly little things that can turn against you if you’re not careful.

“If you stop people from having something, they’ll just have it when they got the opportunity. It’s more about education saying ‘Look, these are the choices. This would be a better alternative for you’.”

The verdict

Gerrard isn’t the only new manager to impose such dietary restrictions. Antonio Conte, who was appointed Spurs boss at the beginning of this month, has removed ketchup and mayonnaise from the menu in the club canteen (according to The Times).

It could be said that the Villa boss is taking some inspiration from a coach who has steered his teams to five top-flight titles, and as long as Villa are on the up, it’s hard to see there being many complaints about the high standards imposed by the Liverpool icon. As a legend of the game, he carries that enhanced authority.

In other news, Kevin Campbell talks up this potential Villa signing

Mark Robinson, the outgoing England Under-19 coach, is confident his young side can develop their game in first-class cricket this summer, following their inconsistent World Cup campaign

Cricinfo staff30-Jan-2010Mark Robinson, the outgoing England Under-19 coach, is confident his young side can develop their game in first-class cricket this summer, following their inconsistent World Cup campaign.Robinson will return to his normal position as coach of Sussex and expects to come up against the players he worked with as the season progresses. England topped their group after beating defending champions India but were knocked out in the quarter-finals by West Indies. Things got worse when they were defeated by India in a fifth-place play-off semi final and New Zealand in the seventh-place play-off.Despite the results, Robinson identified batsman James Vince, who played nine first-class games and averaged 51.40 from six 50-over games for Hampshire in 2009, along with captain Azeem Rafiq, who has made a handful of appearances for Yorkshire, left-arm seamer David Payne and Durham all-rounder Ben Stokes as the players particularly ready for the rigours of the first-class game.”Obviously Vince is quite experienced,” Robinson told ecb.co.uk. “But he’s somebody who would look to get more opportunities on the back of what happened to him last summer and the experience of being abroad.”Rafiq is an outstanding captain and led the team really, really well and is a fierce competitor. He needs more exposure in an ideal world to first-team cricket now. Payne was the most consistent bowler throughout the tournament on the English team and again I’d expect him to get exposure in the first team. Stokes’ batting was exciting as an all-rounder.”Robinson insisted his side would hope to beat West Indies “nine times out of 10″, but felt hosts New Zealand were physically stronger than his side. It was an aspect Robinson noted about a few of the Southern Hemisphere sides.”The South African team to look at – we didn’t play against them – and the New Zealand team we did play against were physically stronger than us, physically more developed, and looked a more powerful team. It was the same with all the teams, they’ve got a group of 18-19-year-olds, you have players of different maturity both experience-wise and also physically.”We probably looked a little bit inferior physically to the Southern Hemisphere. I think that’s because the rugby side of the game, which they play as their winter sport.”

A round-up of the first day of matches from the sixth round of the Regional Four Day Competition

Cricinfo staff20-Feb-2010Barbados reached a position of dominance against Jamaica in Trinidad, bowling the opposition out for 226 and reaching 113 for 1 in reply at stumps. Fast bowler Corie Edwards, playing in just his third first-class game, grabbed six for 41 to leave Jamaica reeling. They had slipped to 100 for 7 at one stage, but the lower order put up a strong resistance. David Bernard contributed 55 while Odean Brown chipped in with 33 to lend some respectability to the Jamaica score, but their bowlers struggled to make inroads when Barbados came out to bat. Dale Richards remained unbeaten on 63 as his team scored at a healthy rate to reach half Jamaica’s core in just 28 overs.Leeward Islands capitulated for 192 against Guyana at the National Cricket Centre, but hit back with two wickets though still ending the day on the back foot. Fast bowler Esuan Crandon bagged 5 for 39 and was supported by Devendra Bishoo’s three-for to dent Leewards, who had just one batsman, Omari Banks, score a half-century. Guyana suffered a setback early in their reply, losing their openers cheaply, but Gajanand Singh remains unbeaten on 27. They finished at stumps on 45 for 2, still 147 adrift.Legspinner Rawl Lewis starred for Windward Islands on a low-scoring day in the Regional Four Day Competition, taking 5 for 81 to bowl out Trinidad and Tobago for 263 in Port of Spain. T&T will be disappointed, for four of their batsmen went past 30 but only one, Adrian Barath, managed a half-century. Justin Guillen made 37 in an opening stand of 90, Darren Bravo chipped in with 36, Sherwin Ganga scored 39 but squandered their starts. In reply, Windwards had reached 23 for 1 after losing opener Miles Bascombe.

Leeds United have entered the race to sign Penarol striker Agustin Alvarez as the transfer competition hots up for the Uruguayan starlet.

What’s the story?

According to La República (via Sport Witness), Marcelo Bielsa’s side are battling Russian giants Zenit St Petersburg for the 20-year-old’s signature, although a number of clubs across Europe are also said to be in the running.

The report added that Leeds, as well as Serie A outfit Fiorentina, could make a bid for him during the January transfer window.

Would be an exciting signing for Leeds

With Patrick Bamford remaining Leeds’ only senior centre-forward, the Whites could desperately do with some strength in depth up front.

In a scouting report done by HUDL, they revealed of Alvarez: “El Canario is much more than purely a penalty box poacher. While he is clearly a striker who benefits from getting good service into the area, he can also fashion and finish chances for himself.

“Another of Alvarez’s best qualities is his heading. At 1.80m, he may not be the tallest but has shown himself to have a great aerial ability, timing and a fantastic leap. His strength and physicality also make him very adept with his back to goal, while his time at youth level as a midfielder means he is also good at dropping deep to link the play too.”

Indeed, North American football commentator Maximiliano Bretos even declared that Alvarez “has a little Luiz Suarez about him”.

Despite his youth, he has been in electric form for one of Uruguay’s biggest clubs and has been particularly impressive in the Copa Sudamericana, South American football’s second-most prestigious club competition. In that tournament, he has bagged ten goals and provided another two assists in just 14 games.

That kind of all-action energy makes the 20-year-old a perfect fit for Bielsa and Leeds.

Meanwhile, Marcelo Bielsa should give this academy starlet a chance…

Rachael Haynes and Shelley Nitschke helped Australia continue their winning run in the Rose Bowl series as they set up a 102-run victory in the fifth ODI

Cricinfo staff18-Feb-2010
ScorecardRachael Haynes made an unbeaten 75•Getty ImagesRachael Haynes and Shelley Nitschke helped Australia continue their winning run in the Rose Bowl series as they set up a 102-run victory in the fifth ODI. Haynes made an unbeaten 75 as Australia posted 8 for 240 before Nitschke grabbed 4 for 24 and Ellyse Perry took 3 for 33 to skittle New Zealand for 137.The match was reduced to 45 overs a side following an unusual delay shortly after Australia’s innings began. The umpires called a temporary halt to the game due to concerns about the pitch after some balls reared violently off the surface, but play resumed and Haynes had no trouble with the conditions.She and Nitschke (43) put on 50 for the third wicket and useful lower-order contributions from Jess Cameron with 33 and Perry (30) kept the pressure on the visitors, whose best bowler was Abby Burrows with 3 for 27. In reply, New Zealand’s batting failed to show much improvement at the end of a disappointing 50-over campaign.Nicola Browne’s 37 was the major innings but she had too little support as Perry and Nitschke caused problems. The teams now head to Hobart for three Twenty20 internationals.

Leeds United goalkeeper Illan Meslier is attracting interest from FC Barcelona.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Spanish journalist Gerard Romero (via Sport Witness), who stated that the 21-year-old goalkeeper is one of four options Xavi Hernandez is considering a move for in the event that Marc-Andre ter Stegen were to leave the Camp Nou at the end of the current campaign.

Romero goes on to claim that Ajax’s Andre Onana, Wolfsburg’s Koen Casteels and Fiorentina’s Bartlomiej Dragowski are the other three candidates who Barcelona believe could potentially replace their current 29-year-old number one.

Leeds must avoid Meslier disaster

Considering just how important a part of Marcelo Bielsa’s side Meslier has become since his £5.85m permanent switch to Elland Road in the summer of 2020, were Leeds to lose the services of the France U21 international at the end of the season, it would undoubtedly be an outcome that would leave the 66-year-old manager furious.

Indeed, over his 35 Premier League appearances last season, the £18m-rated shot-stopper kept 11 clean sheets and made an average of four saves per game – the second-most of any ‘keeper in the league.

These returns saw the player who Bielsa himself claimed “transmits security” earn a highly impressive seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.13, ranking him as the Whites’ fourth-best player in the top flight last time out.

And, after putting pen to paper on a new £22k-per-week contract which runs until 2026 back in August, the goalkeeper has once again been in impressive form over his 16 Premier League appearances in the current campaign, keeping three clean sheets and making an average of 3.1 saves per fixture – the joint seventh-most in the division.

These metrics have seen the 21-year-old average a SofaScore match rating of 6.94, ranking him as Bielsa’s sixth-best performer so far this term.

As such, with it appearing as if Victor Orta and Bielsa believe that Meslier will be Leeds’ number one shot-stopper for many a year to come, the ‘keeper being pinched by one of the biggest clubs in the world – a move that would surely tempt the Frenchman – next summer would come as a gutting blow to both the director of football and manager, who simply must do all they can to ensure there is no way for Barcelona to get a deal over the line for the former FC Lorient man.

In other news: LUFC handed huge Jan boost on “unbelievable” £34m-rated “storm”, Bielsa surely buzzing

The PCB chairman has promised to take “more than significant” action against leading Pakistan players in the aftermath of an inquiry committee report

Osman Samiuddin09-Mar-2010Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, has promised to take “more than significant” action against leading Pakistan players in the aftermath of an inquiry committee report looking into Pakistan’s recent tour of Australia, during which they lost every single international match they played, as well as tours to New Zealand and Abu Dhabi before that.Recommendations of the report, compiled by a six-man committee headed by Wasim Bari, include heavy fines and bans on top Pakistan players, including Shahid Afridi, the Akmal brothers, Naved-ul-Hasan and Shoaib Malik.Butt refused to identify any of the players or the nature of the punishments, though he confirmed that bans and fines were part of the action the board is expected to announce either on Tuesday or Wednesday. “We are looking at fines and bans as punishment and the action that we will take will definitely be more than significant,” Butt told Cricinfo.The report was discussed on Monday among senior officials in the board and the selection committee, where the selectors were essentially told to keep the 15-man squad for the World Twenty20 as flexible as possible, the implication being that some big names might not be travelling.Officials who attended the meeting confirmed to Cricinfo that Malik and Naved were possibly facing bans for breaches of discipline on tour, while Afridi and the Akmal brothers would be fined between Rs2-3 million and be placed under probation for a set period.Kamran and Umar Akmal are likely to be fined for their part in the run-up to the final Test in Hobart, when Kamran repeatedly and publicly insisted he would be picked despite a PCB release stating the opposite, and Umar allegedly feigned an injury and threatened to not play. Afridi is expected to be pulled up for his ball-biting incident while captaining the side in the last ODI in Perth, for which he has already been punished by the ICC.Though the recommendations have been leaked out, the report itself is not expected to be made public. “We met with the selectors yesterday and discussed the report,” Butt said. “Some of the information was leaked from that and I will not comment on the identity of the players for now. We will make public the actions that we take, not the report itself.”But I can tell you that the report is very concrete. It has taken inputs from the reports of the captain, the coach, the manager. The committee called these people in as well and asked pertinent questions based on what they read. It is a solid document.”The inquiry committee also included the board’s legal advisor Tafazzul Rizvi and it is believed that the recommendations have been vetted for their legal solidity.

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been lauding a goal scored by Tony Weston for the club’s B team on Saturday.

The striker opened the scoring for the young Gers away to East Kilbride in the Lowland League, but it was not enough as the hosts eventually won 2-1 in the end at K-Park.

Nonetheless, it was yet another goal for Weston, who had scored five goals in eight games across all competitions this season prior to his latest strike (Transfermarkt), as he really starts to hit top form.

If the 18-year-old keeps on scoring goals for Rangers B, then he will surely catch the eye of Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who may want to start thinking about promoting him to the first team sooner rather than later.

Rangers fans laud Weston goal

These Gers fans were left lauding Weston’s goal as news of it was shared by the club’s Academy channel on Twitter, despite the team’s loss:

“It’s that man again”

Credit: @JM5472

“What a season the kid is having.”

Credit: @RangersBanter17

“Main man doing main man things”

Credit: @HeartandHutts

“To the surprise of nobody, well in Tony”

Credit: @grumpyhaggissss

“Goal machine”

Credit: @LBeattie92

“Get in there Tony”

Credit: @harryhastings

In other news, find out what injury news has been bemoaned by many Gers fans