No one could’ve predicted the start Nottingham Forest have enjoyed to the 2024/25 Premier League season, sitting in third place after the first 20 matches.

Nuno Espírito Santo has worked wonders with the Reds side, losing just four times in the process, allowing them to sit just six points off league leaders Liverpool over halfway through the campaign.

The counterattacking system has been built on defensive stability with the settled back four and goalkeeper undoubtedly playing a pivotal role in their recent success.

Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo have formed a formidable centre-back partnership, along with goalkeeper Matz Sels, keeping nine clean sheets – the most of any side in England’s top flight, an unthinkable feat given the defensive issues during 2023/24.

The attack has also contributed to their unimaginable league standing, with one player in particular exceeding all expectations in front of goal over the last few months.

Chris Wood’s form for Forest in 2024/25

New Zealand international Chris Wood was seen as an unpopular addition back in January 2023, arriving on loan with an obligation to buy for £15m from Newcastle United – where he had scored just five goals for the Magpies.

However, fast-forward two years, the 32-year-old has been worth every penny of their investment, scoring 27 times in 55 appearances since his permanent transfer.

2024/25 has arguably been his best top-flight season to date, scoring 12 times in just 20 outings – working out at 41% of the Reds’ goals – highlighting his importance to the side.

His instinctive nature in and around the box has made him perfect around the likes of Morgan Gibbs-White, Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi on the counter in Nuno’s side.

However, given his current contract situation and his age, the club could look to look at alternatives in the January transfer window, including one player who could be their own version of a leading goalscorer in Europe.

The player who could be Forest’s answer to Gyokeres

Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres has caught the eye since his move to Portugal in 2023, scoring 73 times in 79 matches since joining from Coventry City.

This season alone, the Swedish international has produced a phenomenal goalscoring record, registering 30 goals in just 29 outings – including a hat-trick against Manchester City in the Champions League.

Every side must wish they had a clinical goal scorer like Gyokeres, but despite Forest’s recent run in the Premier League, they wouldn’t be able to afford his €100m (£83.6m) release clause in his current deal.

However, they could land their own version of the Swede in the form of Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez, who’s been ranked as a similar player to the Sporting man by FBref.

Owner Evangelos Marinakis tried to sign the Mexican in the summer, however, he turned down a move to the City Ground. Yet, given their recent run of form, he could be tempted by a move to the East Midlands – with rumours already swirling in recent weeks over renewed interest, amid a reported £35m price tag.

When delving into the 23-year-old’s stats compared to Gyokeres, he’s matched or bettered the one-time Brighton man in numerous key areas, highlighting what a superb addition he would be for Nuno’s side.

Gimenez, who’s previously been dubbed a “machine” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, may have scored fewer goals to date, but has registered a higher shot-on-target rate, evidently proving to be more accurate with his efforts on goal.

Games played

9

17

Goals scored

6

21

Shot-on-target rate

50%

44%

Goal per shot on target

0.50

0.44

Tackles made

0.5

0.2

Recoveries

3.2

2.6

The Feyenoord ace has also averaged more tackles per 90, showcasing his ability without the ball, making him perfect for the club’s counter-attacking style – also having the ability to transition quickly with his movement in behind.

Whilst the Mexican would be another big-money addition for Marinakis, he would certainly be worth every penny given his goalscoring exploits further bolstering their top four aspirations.

As for Wood, it could be harsh to see him lose his starting role under Nuno, with Gimenez potentially providing some healthy competition for the leading goalscorer.

PL rivals want him: Forest could face awful Johnson repeat over £60m star

The Forest star is wanted by PL rivals

ByJoe Nuttall Jan 8, 2025

MatériaMais Notícias

da pinup bet： Finalizada a partida, onde o Internacional buscou a vitória de virada por 2 a 1 contra o Ceará, o meio-campista Edenilson celebrou o fato da equipe assegurar um posto na fase de grupos da Libertadores 2023. Algo que, segundo ele, foi colocado como “uma das metas” da equipe na competição.

RelacionadasVídeoVÍDEO: os melhores momentos da vitória do Internacional sobre o Ceará pelo BrasileirãoVídeo27/10/2022BrasileirãoInternacional vence o Ceará, garante vaga para a Libertadores e segue com sonho de título do BrasileiroBrasileirão26/10/2022InternacionalInternacional é prioridade de Leandro Damião em futura volta ao Brasil, diz empresárioInternacional26/10/2022

da leao： >Paulinho crava que está de saída do Bayer Leverkusen

Apesar do cenário complexo onde a distância para o líder (Palmeiras) é de dez pontos, restando somente 12 em disputa, o jogador tratou de “não jogar a toalha”, afirmando que a equipe continua concentrada na possibilidade de título:

-Verdade, era um dos objetivos do clube, a gente fica feliz. Mas o campeonato ainda não acabou, temos muita coisa em jogo, mas é focar para a próxima partida.

Falando especificamente sobre a partida de quarta-feira, Edenilson pontuou a dificuldade para o Colorado fazer os três pontos mesmo atuando em seus domínios e contra uma equipe que briga para fugir do rebaixamento:

— Jogo difícil, a gente sabe que estão lutando na parte mais baixa da tabela, a gente em cima, é diferente. Cada um tem suas pretensões. Levamos o gol cedo, a equipe deles baixou as linhas para se defender. Foi fundamental ter paciência e tranquilidade para rodar a bola, mesmo com alguns erros conseguimos reverter.

Stats highlights from the Vijay Hazare Trophy final between Gujarat and Delhi, in Bangalore

Bharath Seervi29-Dec-20150 Vijay Hazare Trophy titles for Gujarat, before this season. They beat Delhi by 139 runs in the final at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore to get their maiden title. They were the runners-up in 2010-11, losing in the finals to Jharkhand by 159 runs in Indore. Tamil Nadu have won the most Vijay Hazare titles: four. Mumbai and Karnataka have two. Here is the list of Vijay Hazare Trophy winners.2 Finals played by Delhi in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, including this one. Their first was in 2012-13, when they beat Assam in Visakhapatnam by 75 runs to get their maiden Vijay Hazare title.139 Margin of victory for Gujarat in this final – the third-highest in a Vijay Hazare Trophy final. Jharkhand’s 159-run win over Gujarat in Indore in 2011-12 and Karnataka’s 156-run win against Punjab in Ahmedabad in 2014-15 top this list.0 Centuries by Parthiv Patel in 148 innings in List-A cricket before scoring 105 in this match. His highest before this was 95 in an ODI against England in Chester-le-Street in 2011. He had hit 27 half-centuries before his century in today’s match, and had the most List-A runs by an Indian batsman without a century. Now Pankaj Dharmani, who has 3212 runs list-A runs without a hundred, moves up to the first position on the list. Overall, Wasim Akram’s 6993 runs are the most by a batsman in List-A cricket without making a hundred.0 Runs Parthiv had scored the last time Gujarat played in a Vijay Hazare final, in 2010-11. On that occasion too he had kept wicket and opened and led Gujarat. His team had lost that final by 159 runs.21 Wickets by Gujarat’s Jasprit Bumrah – the most by any bowler this Vijay Hazare season. He beat his team-mate Axar Patel to the top of this list with a maiden List-A five-wicket haul in the final. Axar, who had 19 wickets before the final, went wicket-less from this five overs.0 Bowlers to take five-fors in a Vijay Hazare Trophy final before Bumrah. The previous best was Shahbaz Nadeem’s 4 for 6 for Jharkhand against Gujarat in 2010-11 final.111.84 Pawan Negi’s strike rate in this tournament – 170 runs in 152 balls for Delhi, in five innings. His strike rate is the highest among all players who aggregated over 150 runs in the season. His scores in this season batting at No. 7 and No. 8 read: 47* (57 balls), 0 (4), 28* (28), 38* (16) and 57 (47). His average of 85.00 was the fifth-highest among batsmen with 150-plus runs in the season.149 Runs added for the third wicket between captain Parthiv and Rujul Bhatt in the final – the highest for Gujarat this season. This was the third century stand for Gujarat this season and their captain was involved in all three: the other two were 120 runs with Rujul Bhatt against Railways in Alur on December 13 and 106 runs with Priyank Panchal against Jharkhand in Alur on December 11.

Vince, McDermott romp through run-chase after Turner leads penetrative bowling display

ECB Reporters Network18-Jun-2023Hampshire Hawks strengthened their bid for Vitality Blast quarter-final qualification by trouncing South Group leaders Surrey by nine wickets in a one-sided affair at the Kia Oval.A brilliant collective bowling performance by Hampshire, led by the impressive John Turner’s 3 for 17, resulted in Surrey being bowled out for just 124 in 19.2 overs.Ben McDermott, with a hard-hit 50 off 38 balls, and James Vince, who finished with a superb 62 not out off 40 balls, then ensured a Hampshire stroll to victory with an opening partnership of 92 in exactly 11 overs.The in-form Vince, who has now scored 476 runs in ten innings in this season’s Blast at an average of 79.33, saw the Hawks home in the company of Toby Albert and it was a first T20 win for Hampshire against Surrey in nine attempts, going back to July 2015. Vince hit two sixes and seven fours, his last a pull off Sean Abbott to end the game.McDermott ramped his fellow Australian international, paceman Abbott, for four and six from successive balls in the second over of Hampshire’s reply and he later top-edged a hook at Tom Lawes for another maximum before falling to Gus Atkinson. His 92-run stand with Vince equalled Hampshire’s T20 best for the first wicket against Surrey, by Michael Lumb and Jimmy Adams at the Ageas Bowl in 2009.Jamie Overton, with three sixes and five fours in a powerful 45 from 24 balls, was the only Surrey batsman to make a score of note as Turner, Chris Wood (3 for 20) and Nathan Ellis (3 for 21) exerted an almost total stranglehold.Surrey, joint top of the South Group alongside Somerset at the start of the game, with seven wins from their first nine matches, lost their first five wickets for just 32 after being put into bat and, at the halfway point of the innings, were in deep trouble at 39 for five.Only an extraordinary 56-run stand in a mere 3.1 overs between Overton and Tom Curran – particularly extraordinary in the context of the rest of the innings – hauled Surrey’s total up to something defendable. Their partnership was a seventh wicket T20 record for Surrey against Hampshire, beating the 52 put on by Zafar Ansari and Gareth Batty at the Ageas Bowl in 2012.When Surrey captain Jordan mishit Ellis to deep mid-off to go for 17 it left the total 53 for six from 12.4 overs, and his team in disarray.But Overton pulled Benny Howell’s medium pace for a huge six into the second tier of the JM Finn Stand to begin a much-needed revival in the 14th over. Howell’s delivery had also been a no ball, giving Overton the chance to muscle the next ball, a free hit, over wide mid wicket for another six as the over ultimately cost 20 runs.Nineteen more were plundered from the 15th over, with Overton taking three fours and a pulled six off James Fuller, while Curran then joined in the fun by pulling Wood for six and then creaming the left-arm seamer through extra cover for four before being caught at long on for an 11-ball 22 later that over.Turner returned to bowl Sunil Narine for 2, off his back pad, and Overton’s fine knock was ended in the 19th over when Ellis fired a full ball through another attempted big hit.Last pair Atkinson and Lawes came together with still nine balls of the innings to be bowled but they could not manage to see out the 20 overs, with Wood bowling Atkinson for five behind his legs.Wood had actually started Surrey’s struggle by forcing Will Jacks to chip the fifth ball of the game to mid wicket, to go for a duck, and Laurie Evans (1) skied Turner to mid on in the second over.Sam Curran clubbed Ellis to mid off in the fifth over, and Jamie Smith had only made two more runs than Curran when he fell for nine in the next over, mis-hitting the pacy Turner to mid on.The powerplay ended with Surrey a sickly 22 for four and Abbott was then sent back for 6 when he touched a Fuller lifter to the keeper.

Manchester City may have to brace for a departure this January, as former scout Mick Brown believes an “outstanding” player wants to leave.

Changes needed at Man City

Man City are at serious risk of missing out on Champions League football next season, amid their terrible run of form in the Premier League, meaning major changes could be needed at the Etihad Stadium.

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher believes City’s failures in the transfer market are the main reason for their incredible dip in form, alongside the loss of Rodri, saying:

“Rodri is a huge miss, but the player profile of who they have brought in – people say they have brought older players in like Kovacic and Gundogan, but the younger players they brought in didn’t work.”

One younger option at Pep Guardiola’s disposal is academy graduate James McAtee, however the 22-year-old has failed to force his way into the starting line-up, despite their struggles.

McAtee has made just two appearances in the Premier League this season, both of which came as very short cameo appearances from the bench, and there are now signs he is thinking of leaving in search of more game time.

In an interview with Football Insider, Brown has stated he believes the midfielder could push to leave this winter, amid widespread interest in his signature:

“There are a lot of interested clubs after his loan spell at Sheffield United. He benefited a lot from that move, and then training with the top players at City will have helped develop his game even without playing.

“But now he’s going to look to leave City in January, because he needs to play regular football. That’s the next stage for his growth as a player, to make that move away and test himself.

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He could be available for a bargain fee in January.

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Dec 25, 2024

“From City’s point of view, they might be worried because of what the likes of Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers have done since they left.

“So I understand they’ve been reluctant to let him go, but if he’s not going to play, he could push for the move because he has got to play football.“

Understandable decision for McAtee to leave Man City

It is always sad to see an academy graduate leave the club, but it would be understandable if the Salford-born ace tries to engineer a move this January, given his lack of game time.

Although the Englishman is still young, he is now at an age where he needs to be given regular minutes to aid his development, and it is clear he may not get that under Guardiola, given that he can’t get into what is a poor City side at the moment.

The maestro’s talent was on show for all to see during his time with Sheffield United, being lauded after scoring a remarkable solo goal against Blackpool:

As such, it will be no surprise if McAtee pushes to leave this January, but Guardiola may be wary of letting him leave and reducing the depth in the squad.

Former South African umpire Cyril Mitchley remembers his days on the circuit, giving Tendulkar run out at square leg and Atherton caught off the thigh pad

Luke Alfred05-Feb-2017Cyril Mitchley hears a voice rather than sees a face when you ask him a question nowadays. Eighteen months ago he started suffering from a hereditary disease of the retina – called macular degeneration – which blurs everything he looks at directly. His peripheral vision is fine but in the middle it’s indistinct and blurred, a soggy mess.He struggles in the garden and shouldn’t be driving his Toyota Tazz, but carries on regardless, vaguely relieved that he no longer needs to see whether Saeed Anwar or David Boon has feathered an edge to the keeper. “My paternal grandmother was an artist,” he said. “She painted water. When she started painting red and yellow water we realised that something was up and that her eyes were packing in. I’ve got the same thing.”There was a pinch of the showman about Mitchley the umpire. In his early umpiring days he used to go into a prize-fighter’s crouch before jabbing his index finger at you not once but twice or three times. “Dave Richardson complained – he said I took too much pleasure in it, so I didn’t use the flourish so much after that. Even when I wasn’t crouching I always used to stand with my head at a slight angle so my good ear was facing the batsman. I had one season as a 20-year-old inside-forward with Sheffield United – I had the choice of Charlton, Wolves or United, God alone knows why I chose United – and someone kicked a wet, heavy ball at my head. It burst my eardrum. After that my hearing in the left ear was always a bit dodgy.”Mitchley wasn’t about to allow the imperfections of a wonky ear get in the way of a job he loved. He was always engaged, never distant, always part of the game without allowing his personality to overshadow bigger names or larger spectacles. He remembers giving Sachin Tendulkar run out from square leg in South Africa’s first readmission Test (beside the third-umpire bells and whistles, the match was unspeakably dreary) and was scandalised by a stranger who he at first assumed was an autograph-seeker, offering him $50,000 to make sure Pakistan didn’t lose the third Test of their 1994-95 home series against Australia. He reported the approach to John Reid, the match referee, and promptly forgot about it. The high-scoring Test was drawn, so Pakistan wrapped up the series 1-0.Launching from the haunches: Mitchely crouches as fast bowler Brett Schultz bowls in a tour game against India, 1992-93•Getty Images”The best umpire I ever stood with was [the Tasmanian] Steve Randell, said Mitchley. “I thought he was brilliant. I was the first neutral umpire to stand in an Ashes Test [at the Gabba, in November 1994] and I stood with Steve, although he couldn’t stand Ian Healy for some reason. He came to me once and said: ‘If he steps out of line for anything we’re going to nail him’.”The biggest decision Mitchley ever made was when he was asked to judge on Sanath Jayasuriya’s run-out in the 1996 World Cup final in Lahore. Jayasuriya was later named Man of the Tournament, and Mitchley was well aware his decision would have far-reaching consequences. “[Steve] Bucknor and [David] Shepherd got the final and I wasn’t even sure I was going to be in Lahore because I was in Delhi, but Dave Richards [the ICC chief executive] phoned and said: ‘Look, we think there’s going to be a bit of shit and we want you there as TV umpire. We’ll send you a ticket.'”To cut a long story short, many of the tournament umpires had flown to the final in Lahore and we were all sitting in the same box-like booth, so when I worried about giving Sanath run-out there were many eyes on me. Not long after that we get a Sri Lankan delegation who’ve come to complain. I’m not happy but Clive [Lloyd], the match referee, says, ‘Relax, Cyril, let’s all have a look at the slow-motion together.’ So we look at the replay and he then asks them: ‘Are you happy with the decision?’ They say they are, and then he tells them in no uncertain terms to get the hell out of there.”Mitchley describes the 1996 World Cup – co-hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – as a tournament of considerable behind-the-scenes strain. With such a broad sweep of venues, competition logistics were already demanding, and with the Australians and the West Indians refusing to visit Sri Lanka, tensions rose. He had to be present in Colombo, just in case the Australians arrived, and signed an affidavit in the presence of an attorney to that effect. He remembers tournament organisers like Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev (“They didn’t trust the Australians”) being exceptionally tense and the competition unfolded in an atmosphere of mutual watchfulness. “I suppose the upside of the trip to Colombo was that I had four or five days free to visit the tea plantations and the hill stations and that was fabulous,” said Mitchley.Mike Atherton walks back past Mitchley, who gave him caught off the thigh pad, in Port Elizabeth, 1995-96•PA PhotosHe wasn’t one to dwell on mistakes but remembers a shocker he gave Mike Atherton in Port Elizabeth in 1995-96. “As soon as I saw his face he just knew I’d stuffed it up,” recalls the man many in South Africa still call “Squire”. Mitchley apparently gave Atherton, a man for whom he had immense respect, out caught off the thigh pad and the decision perched darkly on his conscience for the rest of the day.Squire’s humiliation was softened only slightly when Ian Botham told him to forget it after the close, but turned to wry amusement when he was later presented with the signed leg of a white plastic chair by Dermot Reeve. Atherton had smashed the chair in a fury once he returned to the dressing room and the token of his esteem was duly delivered by a smirking 12th man – Reeve. To this day it remains one of Mitchley’s treasured mementos, along with signed shirts and equipment from Brian Lara and Malcolm Marshall, two of his favourite players.Mitchley says he was a dogged wicketkeeper-batsman with a good eye, not much to look at but plucky. He kept to Hugh Tayfield (“what a taskmaster”) as a young club cricketer and reserves special praise for a long-forgotten Transvaal fast bowler called Ken Walter. “When he played at Pioneer Park [in Johannesburg’s Southern Suburbs] he could be well-nigh unplayable. John Reid brought the New Zealanders to South Africa in the early sixties. They always said that Ken was the best South African bowler they faced by far.”Mitchley was the first umpire to refer an on-field decision to the TV umpire•PA PhotosMitchley once hit a lippy young Brian Davison (yet to make his mark as an elegant middle-order batsman at Leicestershire) back over his head after Davison had terrorised a handy Transvaal B batting line-up during an away fixture in Salisbury. Mitchley had been put on the plane by the irascible Eric Rowan, who warned him to stay off “the sauce” and nail down a regular place.”Brian was giving our guys a send-off, telling them that they’d just been bowled by the legcutter and what not,” said Mitchley. “I didn’t have a good bat, I couldn’t afford one, but he bowled me one in the slot and I just pumped him onto the grass embankment for six.”‘You can call that whatever you like here in Rhodesia, sonny,’ I told him as I marched down the pitch, ‘but in the Southern Suburbs, where I come from, we call that a six.’ It was my highest first-class score, 66, I was proud of that.”Mitchley’s route past 66 soon took him into umpiring. He umpired in one B section game before being promoted and was always a firm favourite with the players. He was verbally adroit and exuded a kind of cheery calm that instantly made them comfortable. He enjoyed his time at square leg and is mildly relieved that he escaped much of the current culture of super-scrutiny. “We probably had an easier time because we actually made the decision. Every decision nowadays can be referred with the exception of a wide. We weren’t watched quite as much.”His capacity for the verbals must have had something to do with his love of poetry. He never did very well at school, receiving a couple of O levels, including 8% for Latin, but he can still recite poems by John Masefield and Sir Henry Newbolt by heart. He loves *”In Flanders Fields”, by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, and takes comfort from their heft and rhythm now that he can’t actually see the words on the page. “The degeneration happened about 18 months ago over two or three days. At first I thought to myself: ‘What’s wrong with my eyes, they’re going cockeyed?’ Then I thought it was cataracts, but that wasn’t it. I don’t have an income now, so I’m thankful that my wife still works. I’ll be 79 on Independence Day.”If anything, his fading eyesight has sharpened his memory. He remembers Harry Wolf, the Southern Suburbs chairman, walking around the change room and deftly placing folded five pound notes into the Tayfield brothers and Walters’ shoes. There were never any coins, they were liable to roll across the floor and so raise awkward questions. Notes were discrete, even delicate. Mitchley, the young whippersnapper, watched it all, knowing he had some way to go before he found a note in his.*The name of the poem was corrected

Former South Africa captain Kepler Wessels talks about the talent coming through in South Africa, the impact of T20 cricket, and playing with and against Allan Border

Interview by Crispin Andrews21-Apr-2016What was it like being made captain of the South African team after years of isolation?
The short limited-overs tour to India, before the 1992 World Cup, came out of the blue. It was a complete surprise to all the players. Clive Rice was captain, but a few weeks later, when the World Cup squad was announced, Rice was out, and I was captain. I knew that I’d be in the side for the World Cup but I didn’t think I’d be in charge.There was a little bit of bad feeling in Transvaal, where Clive and Jimmy Cook played. Neither had been selected for the World Cup team, and people over there took it out on me a bit. That didn’t bother me. I knew I hadn’t sought the job. It was the selectors’ decision.Did you think that South Africa was good enough to compete against experienced international teams in that World Cup?

We knew we’d be competitive, but we didn’t have much of an idea about how well we’d do at that level. I was the only one who had played any international cricket and that was a long time ago. After we beat Australia by nine wickets in our first match, we realised that we were good enough to be playing at that level.You were noticed very early as a schoolboy cricketer.

I averaged 259 for Grey College in Bloemfontein at one point. I made the South Africa schools side aged 15 and the Orange Free State Under-18 side aged 14. Played in a week-long tournament against the other states. Allan Lamb and Peter Kirsten were at the tournament. They were a couple of years older than me. All school sport in South Africa is competitive. When I was younger I played rugby as well as cricket. Grey College was more a rugby school than a cricket school.

“Donald could crank it up and be explosive when he wanted to, but it didn’t come naturally to him. As a captain, sometimes you had to force him to bowl aggressively”

What was the toughest cricket you played? The Currie Cup, Sheffield Shield, county cricket?
Sheffield Shield, without a doubt. One week you’d be playing a Test or a one-day international, and the next it would be a Shield game, with all the international players representing their state. Everybody played. New South Wales and Western Australia were full of international players. When I made my Test debut, there were seven Queensland players in the Australia squad. Sometimes Shield cricket was tougher than Test matches. Back then, only West Indies, or a really good England side, were bigger challengers.How would the mid-’70s South Africa team have fared against West Indies in an imaginary Test series in, say, 1977?
Difficult to say. In 1970, the South African team was stronger with all those players at their peak. After South Africa was banned from international cricket, that team and those players were never really tested against the sort of pace attack West Indies had over a sustained period. You would assume that Barry Richards and Graeme Pollock would have scored runs. Barry got runs in World Series Cricket in the first season against all those quick bowlers. Mike Procter did well too. But these greats were coming towards the end of their careers, and we don’t really know how the team would have reacted when faced with a side, and a bowling attack, as good as West Indies had.”Border was always a bit grumpy, but we can all be like that at times”•Getty ImagesViv Richards or Barry Richards – who was the best batsman?

Very difficult to say. They were both so different. Viv was destructive and powerful, Barry a great technical player. Both of them were brilliant in their time. It’s a pity that Barry wasn’t able to play more Test cricket.Garth Le Roux, Allan Donald and Dale Steyn – how do these great South African fast bowlers compare?
Allan Donald bowled quicker for more years than Garth. Garth was really quick for a couple of years and then settled down to bowl medium-fast outswingers. I never faced Dale Steyn, but I’ve seen a lot of him obviously, and to look at, you can’t distinguish between him and Donald.Donald was like a lot of fast bowlers. He had raw pace when he first started, then like Dennis Lillee and Richard Hadlee, as he gained more experience, he refined his action, bowled within himself, but always in good areas. He could crank it up and be explosive when he wanted to, but it didn’t come naturally to him. As a captain, sometimes you had to force him to bowl aggressively.

“I’m not so sure about all these private leagues springing up all over the world, though. That’s a bit excessive”

On the 1985 tour of England, when you were playing for Australia, Allan Border, the Australian captain, was criticised for being too friendly with the opposition. Is this true?

I was joking with Ian Botham about this the other day. During that series, Botham spent more time in our dressing room than in his own. Botham and Border were good friends, but it wasn’t a serious issue, and had nothing to do with the result. England were just better than us. They had a better bowling attack. For the first four Test matches we kept things even. But we knew that we’d just been hanging in there, and that sooner or later the dam walls would break.How had Border changed by the time you faced him, for South Africa, in the early nineties? It is said that he’d hardened up, become grumpier and more distant from opposition.
I didn’t see that he’d changed at all. We were pretty close when I was in Queensland, so I knew his personality. By the time I played against Border for South Africa, he was coming towards the end of his career, and when you get older you become more intense, we all go through it. He was always a bit grumpy, but we can all be like that at times.Is T20 doing for the game what Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket did in the late ’70s?
It probably is. In some ways it’s taking over [the game] and that’s inevitable. It’s not a bad influence, it has grown the game, brought a lot of money in, resulted in players being paid more. I’m not so sure about all these private leagues springing up all over the world, though. That’s a bit excessive. One year they take the best players, the next year they don’t pay their bills and they are gone. I’m hoping that somehow that gets controlled – I’m not sure how – and that international cricket takes preference.International T20 and the established leagues like the IPL and the Big Bash League – yes, that’s benefiting the game.”Kagiso Rabada’s emergence on the scene has been terrific”•Getty ImagesDoes South Africa have enough young talent coming through?
I think they do, but it’s inevitable when you lose players as good as Jacques Kallis, and with Dale Steyn coming towards the end of an illustrious career, it will take a while to replace them. In this country, though, there’s always enough talent coming through, in cricket or rugby. The question is harnessing that talent and developing it.Will South Africa be okay when AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla retire?
There’s nobody in domestic cricket right now who can replace those two. There are other guys who are good and consistent, and who can do well. Whenever players as good as Amla and de Villiers retire, though, there’s always a tendency to think that no one that good will ever come along again. Yet they do.How good is Kagiso Rabada?

Very good. He’s strong for somebody so young. I think he will continue to develop, if he doesn’t get injured. He’s already pretty quick for someone of his age, and I think he’ll be a force to reckon with. He’s got quite a heavy workload at the moment. Hopefully that won’t affect him in the long term. As a person he is mature, sensible, comes over very well spoken and has a good education. All good signs.Is it important for South Africa to have another top-class black quick bowler? It has been a while since Makhaya Ntini retired.
I think it’s massively important for South Africa to get as many of those guys coming through the system and playing well. It does wonders for the game, grows the game across the country, and gets the whole country behind the team. Rabada’s emergence on the scene has been terrific.

أعلن نادي زد، رحيل لاعبه إلى صفوف الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالنادي الأهلي، بشكل نهائي، بعدما لعب بالقميص الأحمر على سبيل الإعارة.

ويرغب الأهلي في تدعيم صفوفه بصفقات مميزة خلال فترة الانتقالات الصيفية الجارية للمنافسة على البطولات المحلية والقارية.

طالع| مصطفى العش: مباراة الملعب التونسي بروفة فنية لزيادة الانسجام.. وطموحي إسعاد جماهير الأهلي

وكان الأهلي قد حصل على خدمات مصطفى العش، لمدة 6 أشهر على سبيل الإعارة، في يناير الماضي، قبل أن يقرر النادي شراء اللاعب نهائيًا.

وكان العش عبر عن سعادته الكبيرة بالانضمام النهائي إلى صفوف الأهلي بعد انتهاء فترة الإعارة، مؤكدًا حرصه على أن يكون دائمًا عند حسن ظن الجماهير والجهاز الفني ومجلس الإدارة، في تصريحات للموقع الرسمي.

وكتب نادي زد عبر حسابه الرسمي على فيسبوك: “انتقال لاعبنا مصطفى العش لصفوف النادي الأهلي بشكل نهائي، شكرًا على كل ما قدّمته خلال سنواتك مع الفريق”.

Celtic and Brendan Rodgers are willing to allow a “superb” player to leave the club during the January transfer window, a transfer update has suggested.

Latest Celtic news

The Hoops are preparing for a huge Scottish Premiership clash on Thursday, with Rodgers’ men making the trip to bitter rivals Rangers. They have opened up a 14-point lead over them, and victory at Ibrox would surely give them an unassailable lead at the top of the table.

While Celtic are excelling on the pitch, gradually closing in on yet another league title, that doesn’t mean that they won’t want new signings to arrive during the January window. A reunion with former left-back Kieran Tierney has been mooted plenty of times in recent weeks, with the club weighing up sealing a pre-contract agreement in January, prior to signing him on a free transfer at the end of the season.

Burnley midfielder Josh Brownhill is going to be a wanted man in 2025, with his contract expiring next summer and as many as 13 different clubs eyeing up a move for him. The Hoops are thought to be one of those, seeing him as a strong option to snap up in the middle of the park.

On the flip side, there are three teams who are reportedly interested in completing the signing of Luis Palma, with the 24-year-old winger falling out of favour under Rodgers, starting only once in the league and making just five appearances in the competition.

Rodgers for "superb" Celtic player to exit in January

According to a new claim from The Daily Record, Celtic and Rodgers are willing to sanction the sale of Stephen Welsh in the January window.

The 24-year-old has found himself struggling for playing time this season, making only one start in the Scottish Premiership and Scottish League Cup apiece. He is contracted at the club until the summer of 2027, but it looks as though the Hoops are happy to cash in on him now.

Moving Welsh on in January makes complete sense for Celtic, allowing him to enjoy a fresh challenge and be a regular elsewhere, not to mention generating transfer funds for the Hoops. The centre-back has been a good servant for the Hoops, making 68 appearances in total, with left-back Greg Taylor saying of him back in 2021: “His all-round performance was superb, just the same as last Wednesday at Kilmarnock. He’s done superbly, really good.

“It was a terrific goal that he scored with a great delivery from David Turnbull and Welshy did really well. Welshy is not a quiet lad. Even at the start of the season. He leads and he talks. That is definitely beneficial for him and that is the reason he is doing so well at the moment.”

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2

By
Ross Kilvington

Dec 31, 2024

While keeping hold of Welsh would certainly be no disaster for Celtic, it feels like the right time to part ways, not least in terms of getting the best value for him at this point in his contract.

And just like that, another transfer window has slammed closed. It was a somewhat anti-climatic end to the winter market, but Everton still managed to get a deal done.

Gone are the days of frantic and breathless deadline-day drama. Manchester City were the only team to bring a player into their first-team squad for a transfer fee (Brighton’s new forward, Stefanos Tzimas, not joining until the end of the season).

Everton weren’t able to sign a new centre-forward, but David Moyes will be delighted with the signing of Charly Alcaraz from Flamengo.

Why Everton have signed Charly Alcaraz

Everton still lack a fresh striker to spearhead the new Moyes era. However, Alcaraz’s dynamism and fluidity across a number of midfield positions will serve to thread offensive positions together.

Last summer, Alcaraz joined Flamengo for an €18m (fee £15m) fee. It was the Brasileiro Serie A club’s record signing.

Now, he’s back in the Premier League, arriving at Goodison Park on loan until the end of the season, although a permanent buy option worth £12m will be activated should Alcaraz complete an undisclosed number of top-flight appearances.

Able in the middle of the park and playing off the central striker’s shadow, the 22-year-old brings some flair and excitement, crucially already having played 19 times in the Premier League with Southampton, notching four goals and two assists.

Alcaraz has a budding playmaking skill and will seek to thread balls through to Beto. However, there’s a member of Moyes’ squad who can achieve this to a greater effect.

Frustratingly, he’s yet to grace the field under the Scotsman’s management.

The Everton star who is worth more than Alcaraz

Dwight McNeil has missed Everton’s past nine Premier League matches with a knee injury and is still expected to be sidelined for the foreseeable future.

The attacking midfielder had been applauded by reporter Joe Thomas for his “magic” ability on the ball and will be a central cog in the Moyes machine when he does return, but Alcaraz will be able to operate in his area for now, with Abdoulaye Doucoure struggling to impress in his advanced deployment.

McNeil started the campaign in fine fettle, serving as a creative hub for a Sean Dyche side that was decidedly lacking in inspiration, posting three goals and three assists from eight opening Premier League games.

Matches (starts)

13 (13)

Goals

3

Assists

3

Shots (on target)*

1.8 ( 0.6)

Big chances missed

0

Pass completion

81%

Big chances created

9

Key passes*

2.5

Dribble (success)*

1.5 (56%)

Ball recoveries*

4.8

Tackles + interceptions*

1.2

Duels (won)*

3.5 (40%)

Energetic, potent and invariably creative, McNeil’s absence over the past few months undoubtedly added to the sapped nature of Dyche’s attacking line.

The 25-year-old has gone from strength to strength on Merseyside since leaving relegated Burnley for £20m in July 2022 and he’s sure to be excited about the future now that Moyes is in the dugout.

As per Football Transfers, the ball-playing specialist is worth £24m at present, about double the figure that was agreed for Alcaraz’s prospective permanent signing this summer.

It’s also worth noting that only two months ago, McNeil boasted a market value of £34m, with his fitness purgatory seemingly the cause of the depreciation, for his performances over the opening months of the campaign were worthy of such a figure.

Market Movers

In any case, Everton have hit the jackpot with this one, but with both Alcaraz and McNeil in the mix, there are exciting signs of stepping toward a more modern and expansive tactical style.

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