Wrexham have been told they would need a "lot of surgery" to survive in the Championship as Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney seek another promotion.
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Wrexham flying high in League One
Aiming for promotion to Championship
Told theyd need a lot of work to survive there
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WHAT HAPPENED?
Former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood says Wrexham's story in recent years under Reynolds and McElhenney has been "amazing" but they would need to invest heavily in the squad if they get promoted to the Championship this season.
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WHAT TIM SHERWOOD SAID
He told OLBG: "It’ll be harder for Wrexham to go back to back [to reach the Premier League] than Birmingham, obviously the fanbase is a little bit bigger there so they can spend more money. But it's been an amazing story for Wrexham. Everyone's been following it. They're famous in the United States because of the documentary and it's been great for them. There is a lot of surgery they’d need to be able to do to survive in the Championship, to their players and the playing squad. Whether you can make that many changes and be successful is another question, but they’re ticking every box at the moment, so you wouldn't rule it out. It's a Cinderella story, and they've got the right people involved."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Wrexham sit second in League One and are aiming for an historic third straight promotion in as many years. They are locked in an intense battle with Wycombe Wanderers for the final automatic promotion spot, with Birmingham City on the cusp of the title. If Reynolds and McElhenney's side do go up again, their task will get even harder, though, with the Hollywood co-owners having made no secret of their ultimate ambition to reach the Premier League.
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WHAT NEXT?
Wrexham will hope to pull clear of third-placed Wycombe this weekend when they host lowly Burton Albion on Saturday. Phil Parkinson's team were held to a 2-2 draw at Cambridge last time out.
Manchester City are now ready to sanction a player sale, which will help them to sign a new £70 million defender, according to a recent report. Pep Guardiola’s side continued their terrible run of form on Wednesday night, as they were beaten 2-0 in the Champions League by Juventus, putting their chances of qualification in severe jeopardy.
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It is now just one win from their last ten games in all competitions for City and Guardiola, and with their season in danger of falling apart, January could be arriving at a good time, as the Blues have their eye on potential arrivals.
The first player City are looking to sign in January is midfielder Ederson from Atalanta. The Blues have been missing Rodri since he suffered his season-ending injury, and now, they believe Ederson is the man to replace him. The Italian side want to keep hold of the Brazilian, but a deal could be done for around £42 million.
City are also seriously considering signing Antonee Robinson from Fulham in January. The USA international is under contract until 2028, and it will cost City £40 million to get a deal over the line in 2025.
Man City ready to sanction Dias sale to sign England star
According to TEAMtalk, Manchester City are considering the sale of Ruben Dias, so they can sign a new centre back, with Marc Guehi the main man on their shortlist.
Dias, who earns £180,000 a week, has been at the Etihad since 2020, when he joined from Benfica, and during his time there, he has been a key part of the defence that has won Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Champions League titles. The Portuguese has even gone on to captain the City team on numerous occasions, but he could soon be on his way out.
This report states that City are considering a “reluctant” sale of Dias so they can bring in a new centre-back. The club are keen to refresh their squad with top young talents, and Guardiola is aware that he needs to strengthen his defence, so is keen to bring in a new centre-back either in January or the summer at the latest.
Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi celebrates
City are interested in signing Crystal Palace’s Guehi, who was labelled as being “great” in the summer by John Stones, and have placed him on their transfer shortlist. City are keeping a close eye on his situation, and he could be available for less than £80 million; Palace were looking to get £70 million during the summer. However, his arrival is likely to depend on an exit, and Dias’ name is the one being mentioned.
Premier League Stats 2024/25
Ruben Dias
Marc Guehi
Apps
12
15
Goals
0
2
Progressive passes
70
63
Passes attempted
1072
801
Passes completed
1006
679
Tackles (Won)
9 (5)
20 (10)
Interceptions
11
9
Blocks
9
26
Clearances
31
77
There are a number of teams interested in signing Dias, with Chelsea very interested in a potential deal. Furthermore, Dias remains focused on helping City, but he would also be open to taking on a new challenge at an elite European club.
Leeds United moved to the top of the Championship table on Tuesday night with a fantastic 3-1 win over Middlesbrough at a noisy Elland Road.
The Whites are now two points clear of Sheffield United in the division, before the Blades play on Wednesday night, and will certainly end the gameweek in the automatic promotion places.
Wilfried Gnonto, Dan James, and Brenden Aaronson scored the goals for the hosts to secure a fantastic result against Boro, who had beaten Leeds 3-0 at Elland Road in the League Cup back in August.
One of the star performers for the West Yorkshire outfit was the scorer of the second, and arguably best, goal of the night – Wales international James.
Dan James' electric performance against Middlesbrough
The rapid former Manchester United winger was selected to play on the right flank for the Whites and was involved in all three goals for Daniel Farke’s side.
James burst down the right wing and produced a teasing cross into the box that Seny Dieng in the Boro goal made a complete mess of, allowing Gnonto to tap the ball into a virtually empty net.
The 27-year-old star then scored his fourth goal of the Championship season in superb style, firing into the far top corner from the edge of the box to put Leeds 2-1 up after Max Wober’s unfortunate own goal had made it 1-1.
James played a big role in the third and final goal with his driving run on the counter-attack leading to a pass to Ao Tanaka in the box, which allowed the midfielder to square the ball to Aaronson to score.
There was another Leeds player who was just as good as the Wales international, though, and that was Joe Rothwell, who has proven himself to be Farke’s most underrated player.
Performance in Numbers
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Leeds' most underrated player
Rothwell has been unfortunate, in a sense, to be playing alongside an incredibly talented and popular midfielder in Tanaka, who won the club’s Player of the Month award for October and November.
Whilst the Bournemouth loanee will, surely, love to play alongside such a quality player, it does mean that the majority of the acclaim goes the way of the summer signing from Fortuna Dusseldorf.
Rothwell’s performance against Middlesbrough was a reminder, however, that he is just as important to the team with his terrific displays in the middle of the park, with LeedsLive handing him and James a player rating of 8/10 each.
Minutes
89
Key passes
2
Pass accuracy
92%
Duels won
6/8
Dribbled past
0x
As you can see in the table above, the Englishman was a midfield metronome in the middle of the park with his impressive pass success rate, whilst he was also superb out of possession.
Meanwhile, Tanaka also completed 92% of his attempted passes but lost nine of his 15 ground duels and was dribbled past three times, which shows that Rothwell offered more solidity defensively.
The Englishman tops the team for key passes (1.6) per game and ranks fifth for passes completed (39.9) per game, which speaks to his progressive use of the ball for Leeds.
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He is key to the way the teams turns their possession into dangerous attacks with his progressive passes, as shown by his impressive number of key passes, and that – along with his showing against Boro – is why he is, arguably, the most underrated star in the team alongside his more heralded midfield partner.
Attritional contest reaches third and final game, with hopes of livelier surface in store
Andrew Miller23-Mar-2022
Joe Root poses on Grand Anse Beach in Grenada ahead of the third Test•Getty Images
Big PictureSo far, England’s tour of the Caribbean has been one for the purists. Ten days of attritional cricket, interspersed with flashes of hopeful flamboyance, and nothing yet to show in the series ledger for either side’s efforts. Could that be about to change, as Grenada prepares to host a Test match for only the fourth time in the ground’s 23-year international history? The rumours from the Spice Island are of spicier times in store … but it’s probably prudent to temper one’s expectations in light of what we’ve witnessed so far.Whatever happens in this final Test, both sides can already take heart from the competitive spirit that they’ve shown in this series. West Indies remain without a Test victory in 10 attempts since February 2021, while England’s current record reads one win in 16, so for neither team to have yet racked up another loss has to count as progress on both fronts.For West Indies, their captain, Kraigg Brathwaite, has personified the competitive zeal that the region seeks to reignite in their Test cricket. His extraordinary refusal to buckle in Barbados has bagged him a place in the pantheon of batting barnacles – Geoffrey Boycott and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, among others, would have been proud of his indefatigable performance, even if Boycott, in his Telegraph column, was rightly concerned about the tedious nature of the Bridgetown pitch – an anti-competitive mud-strip that did little to elevate the contest beyond a grim pursuit of statistics.Even so, England showed, with a final-day flourish in each of the first two games, a willingness to break the deadlock – first with some sparky declaration batting, led on each occasion by Dan Lawrence’s unconventional strokeplay, then backed up with an early flurry of wickets as West Indies’ inherent brittleness briefly came to the fore.It was a fleeting glimpse on both occasions, however. Despite Saqib Mahmood’s impressive debut in Barbados, and some lively turn and bounce for Jack Leach when armed with the new ball, England haven’t yet shown they have the weapons to transcend pitches of such tedium – unlike, say, the startling inroads that Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins have been able to make on similarly flat decks in Pakistan.For that reason, while it’s true that a handful of bore-draws in themselves cannot threaten the future of an inherently insecure format – one whose death has been predicted for 145 years and counting – the issue of substandard Test pitches is not one that should be allowed to be brushed off as an anomaly.By all accounts these are not the surfaces that CWI ordered – coming into the series, after all, West Indies arguably had the more threatening roster of fast bowlers in their ranks and therefore would have wished for more pace and bounce to work with. It appears that the final decision was left in the hands of the local boards in Antigua and Barbados, both of whom valued the guarantee of five full days of Barmy Army patronage over the guarantee of a result. If the Grenada authorities can be persuaded to place more value on the spectacle than the bottom line, then who knows, they might also lure a few disenchanted supporters over to their shores next time around.Away from the pitch politics, there’s plenty at stake as England’s tentative rebuild reaches its first of what will surely have to be many mini-peaks. In Lawrence and Zak Crawley, they have two young guns who can stride into the 2022 home season with renewed confidence after last year’s challenges; in Joe Root and Ben Stokes, the team’s most important batting pillars are looking sturdy once more after their wobbles in the Ashes, while Jonny Bairstow’s renewed red-ball focus looks here to stay as well.Kraigg Brathwaite was West Indies’ mainstay in Barbados•Getty Images
But there’s plenty about this team that isn’t yet where it needs to be. Alex Lees could do with at least a medium-sized innings to firm up his status at the top of the order, while Chris Woakes’ series-long toothlessness has done little but reaffirm the overseas suspicions that have dogged him for most of his career. With Ollie Robinson’s fitness issues resurfacing again, and Mark Wood’s elbow injury leaving England more bereft of 90mph/145kph options than at any time since the 2017-18 Ashes, there’s been little about their seam attack that will have ushered James Anderson and Stuart Broad into an early retirement.And then there’s the spin issue. Leach has been diligent without threatening to tear through West Indies, while the legspinner Matt Parkinson remains on the fringes, waiting for the moment to be trusted. It’s possible that chance has been and gone, however – Barbados was where England needed his ability to rip it past well-set defences, but as the management proved in Brisbane and Adelaide last winter, they are perfectly capable of picking the right team for the wrong Test. They confirmed their side on Wednesday afternoon, with Craig Overton replacing Matthew Fisher as the only change.West Indies, meanwhile, will surely be content with more of the same. Brathwaite stole the show in Barbados, but it’s been far from a one-man mission from his team. Nkrumah Bonner may have endured a rare quiet game in the second Test, but a week before that he was producing a similarly indomitable display in Antigua, and Jermaine Blackwood’s gutsy, and largely out-of-character, hundred at Bridgetown personified the extent to which West Indies raise their game when England are in town.Given half a chance, West Indies’ quicks are surely gagging to show similar devotion to the cause. Both Kemar Roach and Jayden Seales have had their moments, most particularly on the first morning of the series, while the talismanic Jason Holder has had, by his standards, a quiet series against his favoured foes. If he can rediscover even a modicum of the form he showed in 2019, there’s no reason to assume that a 0-0 lockout is the upper limit of West Indies’ ambitions.Form guide(Last five matches; most recent first) West Indies DDLLL England DDLDLIn the spotlightAfter his extraordinary feats of endurance in Barbados, it’s hard to look beyond Kraigg Brathwaite for a West Indies focal-point this week. When you’ve batted for a notch shy of 16 hours across two innings, to rack up 216 runs from 673 balls in a single Test match, it’s fair to presume your eye is in. Brathwaite demurred, however, when asked if West Indies would be looking to pick up their tempo going into the series decider. He’s quite happy letting England come to him, asking questions that their bowlers struggled to answer as they were kept in the field for 187.5 overs in the first innings last week. And on his watch, West Indies have given themselves every chance of extending their proud unbeaten record at home against England.Related
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Jack Leach will have been a Test cricketer for almost exactly four years by the time this Test ends, having made his debut in New Zealand in March 2018. But by his own admission, he’s still feeling his way in the role, after a rollercoaster year in 2021 that started and ended with some fearful treatment against India in Chennai and Australia in Brisbane, and encompassed a home summer in which he didn’t feature in a single Test. Leach’s efforts in the series to date have been admirable – with 11 wickets at 26.36, he’s the only bowler on either side to reach double figures, while his tally of 168.3 overs is almost 100 more than the next busiest bowler (Stokes with 77). But the sense persisted in both Tests that he could have been braver with his flight and loop, and sought to bowl West Indies out rather than wait for the mistakes that never came. Now that he’s feeling more valued within the set-up, and with a diet of Graeme Swann YouTube clips to fall back on, perhaps his attacking instincts can start to materialise.Team newsWest Indies have stuck with the same 13-man squad for the third match running, which is a vote of confidence from Desmond Haynes, the convenor of selectors, after a series in which the batters – Brathwaite in particular – have been willing to dig deep for the cause. There’s a possibility of a rejig for this final match, however, with Kyle Mayers on hand to step in for Shamarh Brooks, whose top-score in a bat-dominated series has been 39. There’s also the thorny issue of workload to consider. Jayden Seales, for instance, has ploughed through 65 overs for his seven wickets in the series. Given the rapid turnaround between Tests, and that he is still a work in progress at the age of 20, it may be prudent to give him a rest and hand a debut to Anderson Phillip, the uncapped Trinidad fast bowler.West Indies (possible) 1 Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), 2 John Campbell, 3 Nkrumah Bonner, 4 Kyle Mayers/Shamarh Brooks, 5 Jermaine Blackwood, 6 Jason Holder, 7 Joshua da Silva (wk), 8 Alzarri Joseph, 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Veerasammy Permaul, 11 Jayden Seales/Anderson PhillipThere was plenty to ponder for England in the bowling stakes, after a series of flux in which injury and illness has forced their hand in both Tests, and maybe taught them more about their personnel than they might have anticipated learning. Robinson missed each of the first two Tests with a back spasm, and despite optimistic noises, another flare-up has ended his participation here too. As a consequence, there has been a stay of execution for Woakes, whose role in overseas Tests would surely otherwise be at an end. Overton, too, has recovered from the bout of sickness that afflicted him in Barbados. He returns in place of Fisher, who let no-one down on debut and whose chance will come again before long.England 1 Alex Lees, 2 Zak Crawley, 3 Joe Root (capt), 4 Dan Lawrence, 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jonny Bairstow, 7 Ben Foakes (wk), 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Craig Overton, 10 Saqib Mahmood, 11 Jack LeachPitch and conditionsNo-one is quite expecting the sort of snorter that was served up in St Lucia for the third Test of England’s last tour in 2019 – on which Mark Wood touched speeds of 96mph in one of the fastest bowling displays in English history – but the omens are good for the fast bowlers on both sides, with a surface that appears to have a tinge of green on top, and the prospect of a bit more pace and carry than was in evidence in Antigua and Barbados. The weather this week is expected to be cloudy but with no real prospect of disruption from rain. “It looks like a good cricket wicket,” Phil Simmons, West Indies’ head coach, said.Stats and trivia Grenada has not hosted a Test match since England’s tour of the Caribbean in 2015, when the visitors won comfortably, by nine wickets, on the back of an unbeaten 182 from a certain Joe Root. West Indies have yet to win a Test match in three attempts at St George’s. The ground’s inaugural Test, against New Zealand in 2002, was a high-scoring draw (dominated by a Chris Gayle double-century), while their other fixture in 2009 was famous for a rare Bangladesh overseas series win – albeit it came against a third-choice West Indies side, weakened by a row with the team sponsors, Digicel. Joe Root is within striking distance of becoming the 14th man, and the first since Younis Khan in 2017, to reach 10,000 Test runs. He is currently 116 runs short, on 9,884 runs, and having made a century in each of the previous two Tests, he is in the form to chalk them off. If he does so, he will also be the first of the so-called Big Four to reach the mark.Quotes”Ollie wasn’t as good as we would have liked or he was expecting himself. It’s just frustrating for him as it is for me. He’s working very hard but there’s something that’s nagging away at him. I’m not sure exactly of the medical prognosis.” Joe Root, England’s captain, confirms that Robinson is unable for selection once again.“In both Test matches so far, it was necessary to make sure that we got to the 350-400 mark in the first innings. The situation will dictate how we up the tempo, because so far we have been happy with the fact that we’ve had big partnerships, and three hundreds in the two Test matches.” Phil Simmons, West Indies’ head coach, wants more of the same application from his batters.
Pholetsi Moseki has been appointed CSA’s permanent CEO, 15 months after taking over the role in an acting capacity, in December 2020. Moseki’s position was confirmed by a unanimous decision on the part of the CSA board, which took nine months to find a CEO. Moseki’s official tenure begins on April 1, for a period of five years.Moseki was confirmed after a lengthy process, which started with the position advertised in August last year. CSA engaged the services of a recruitment company, which proved unsuccessful in delivering suitable candidates, readvertised the post and used a second agency, which recommended former South African Airways CEO Vuyani Jarana for the job. But Jarana was unable to take up the role, which prompted CSA to look internally and appoint Moseki, a qualified chartered accountant with two decades of experience in the corporate world. Moseki joined CSA in June 2019 as chief financial officer before stepping in as acting CEO.Related
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CSA has not had a full-time CEO since Thabang Moroe was suspended in December 2019. In that time, the board has rotated through three acting CEOs: Dr Jacques Faul, who resigned to continue his role at the Titans domestic team, Kugandrie Govender, who has since been fired for misconduct, and Moseki, who has led the organisation through the bulk of the Covid-19 pandemic.He has identified his most pressing task as being to rebuild trust in the organisation, which has been through 27 months of administrative upheaval. “We need to rebuild faith in our organisation,” Moseki told a press conference on Wednesday. “Breaking trust is very easy but building it takes a long time. There’s been numerous challenges, which resulted in a lot of our stakeholders losing trust, and me being confirmed CEO doesn’t necessarily mean there is going to be trust. It will be a process, but it is something we are focused on.”The most important stakeholders for CSA are the players, and the relationship with them suffered under Moroe, and has continued to go downwards. Most recently, Test captain Dean Elgar joked that, “we’ve had so many different administrators that we don’t even know who’s there now”, and Moseki did not shy away from speaking of the challenge: “A lot of our stakeholders have lost faith in the organisation – that includes SACA (South African Cricketers’ Association). It’s something we focused on improving. It’s a work in progress. Our relationship with SACA has improved tremendously from where it was two years ago. Ultimately, all of us want the same thing, which is sustainability in cricket.”CSA and SACA are currently in discussions over the memorandum of understanding, which governs players’ contracts and commercial agreements, and hope to finalise it “in the next couple of months,” Moseki said. It is understood that they have already agreed on some key points.The second major stakeholders are the sponsors, and since the Moroe affair, CSA has lost several including headline sponsors Standard Bank. “Finance is an important priority for us. The environment has totally changed. The economy is quite tough, not only for cricket but for the other sporting codes as well,” Moseki said. “Part of our strategy is looking at our whole ecosystem and seeing how we can diversify our revenue streams.”Graeme Smith will not be reapplying for the role of CSA’s director of cricket•Getty Images
He will have to do all of that without current director of cricket [DOC] Graeme Smith, whose contract with CSA ends this month. CSA has confirmed it will advertise the position as is, after some consideration to split the role into separate cricketing and commercial positions, and ESPNcricinfo has confirmed that Smith would not be reapplying for the role. CSA is interested in re-engaging Smith in a consulting role but a well-placed source said no discussions regarding Smith’s future involvement at CSA have taken place yet.”The contract of the DOC comes to an end at the end of this month. We have publicly said that the position will be advertised, and it will be advertised any day now together with a number of other positions,” Lawson Naidoo, CSA board chair, said. “It will be subject to an open and competitive process.”The position is an incredibly important one. As we have reviewed the structure, we have looked at the many responsibilities and while there might be some tweaks to it, the job spec as a whole will remain intact.”Moseki was hopeful that the confirmation of a permanent CEO would help create the environment for CSA to fill other vacancies so the organisation can begin to operate at full capacity. “The company could not advertise for vacancies until the CEO position was confirmed,” he said. “CSA has been acting without two-thirds of its EXCO (executive committee) for the last while, as they were either being suspended or dismissed. We hope to go to the market within a day or two to open the process to fill positions.”
Glasgow Rangers manager Philippe Clement saw his side claim a solid point away from home in their latest Europa League tie.
Olympiacos were stern opposition, but a Cyriel Dessers equaliser kept the club’s hopes of reaching the last 16 well and truly alive.
Cyriel Dessers
Seven points after four games is a decent total, but the Light Blues do have ties against Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in the coming months.
They face Hearts at Ibrox today in the Premiership, although they will be without Tom Lawrence due to injury.
Tom Lawrence's injury absence
Following the 2-1 win over Motherwell at Hampden Park last weekend, Clement stated that Lawrence suffered a leg knock during the tie and would be ruled out for between 4–6 weeks.
Tom Lawrence
The Welshman has emerged as a key player under the Belgian this season, scoring five goals in 15 appearances for the Gers, while chipping in with three assists too.
Although not the most mobile player in the number ten role, Lawrence has delivered several excellent performances in recent weeks.
His injury comes at the worst time for the club as fixtures will ramp up ahead of the festive season.
For the game against Hearts, Clement will need to unleash one of his summer signings in a slightly different role to what he has been playing of late…
The Rangers star who can replace Lawrence
Nedim Bajrami joined in the summer for a fee in the region of £3.4m and has proven to be one of the club’s most impressive signings so far.
Nedim Bajrami’s Rangers stats
Metric
Premiership
Europa League
Goals
1
1
Assists
0
0
Big chances created
3
5
Successful dribbles per game
2
3.3
Key passes per game
1.3
2.8
Via Sofascore
In 12 games for the Ibrox side, the 25-year-old has scored three goals and grabbed an assist, looking like the type of player that Clement requires to fit his system.
The Albanian has been forced to play out on the left flank due to injuries to several wingers. This clearly isn’t impacting his performances. In Europe, the midfielder has created five big chances, averages 2.8 key passes per game and succeeds with an impressive 3.3 dribbles per game – a success rate of 72% – which proves he is contributing effectively from the flank.
These skills could be transferred to a more central position, however, filling the void left by Lawrence over the next few weeks.
For Sassuolo last season, Bajrami played 15 times as an attacking midfielder, registering four goal contributions in the process – three goals and one assist.
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This should be all the evidence Clement needs to unleash his summer signing in a new role for the club, one that saw him shine last term in Serie A.
There is no doubt the former Sassuolo gem can cause the Hearts’ defence all sorts of problems, regardless of where he plays. But due to Lawrence’s injury, Bajrami being unleashed just behind Dessers could prove to be a wise tactical change that may lead the club to victory this afternoon.
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Quando Giuliano entrou em campo, no intervalo da vitória corintiana por 2 a 1 diante do Ituano, pela quarta rodada do Campeonato Paulista, no estádio NovellI Júnior, em Itu, no último domingo (6), o jogo mudou favoravelmente ao Corinthians.
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E no fim da partida, quando o mesmo Giuliano concedeu entrevista à HBO Max, que exibia a partida com exclusividade, deu para entender o motivo do atleta ser diferenciado em campo.
Para compreendermos o contexto disso, temos que voltar ao início da partida e a escalação que Fernando Lázaro, interino no comando corintiano, enquanto o time procura um treinador para substituir Sylvinho, demitido após a derrota para o Santos na última quarta-feira (2), realizou algumas mudanças de peças no Timão, que, a primeira vista não impactaria na postura tática do time, mas que, na prática, dizia muito devido as características dos jogadores.
Cantillo voltou da seleção colombiana e já sentou na janelinha, fazendo a sua estreia na temporada como titular, e barrando Du Queiroz, que não vinha atuando muito bem como primeiro volante e foi para a reserva. Gabriel Pereira foi outro que perdeu espaço, sendo preterido por Gustavo Mosquito. E Lázaro também optou por abortar a ideia de utilizar Gustavo Mantuan como falso nove e promoveu o retorno de Jô à titularidade.
> TABELA – Confira e simule os jogos do Corinthians no Paulistão > GALERIA – Cai bem no Timão? Confira os técnicos estrangeiros no mercado
O Ituano, por sua vez, se colocou com uma linha de cinco defensores, atentatada por Giuliano na já mencionada entrevista, para dar a bola para o Timão jogar, se defender de forma consistente e explorar a forte marcação na saída de bola e a velocidade de transição. E foi assim que o Galo de Itu conseguiu dois gols nos primeiros sete minutos da partida – o segundo anulado pela arbitragem de vídeo por impedimento no início do lance.
O Corinthians teve 73% de posse de bola no primeiro tempo, mas não tinha quem criasse, por isso ficou refém de inversões de jogo e toques de bola que visavam quebrar a última linha do adversário. Quando trocou passes de pé em pé o clube alvinegro até chegou ao gol, mas em um lance que contou um vacilo de Rafael Pereira, que derrubou Paulinho, que foi até o fim da infiltração, em uma jogada em que só bastava fazer a cobertura.
O Ituano ainda volto à frente do marcador ainda no primeiro tempo, e necessitou do segundo para uma mudança de postura por parte dos corintianos, algo pouco visto nos times de Sylvinho, que, embora organizado defensivamente, não possuía reportório algum.
Méritos a Fernando Lázaro, que fez uma ótima leitura de jogo, tal qual Giuliano, com a bola nos pés e ao microfone, que ousou ir para frente. Naturalmente, poderia ele recuar Paulinho para ser primeiro volante, mas o treinador optou por usar Renato Augusto, que tem uma qualidade de passe refinado para atuar de fronte ao jogo, e força física para suportar a pressão, como primeiro homem de meio-campo, e colocar a dupla Giuliano e Paulinho para pisar na área. E foi assim que o Corinthians construiu o gol de empate logo na sua saída de bola na etapa final.
Entre os 13 e 36 minutos do segundo tempo o ‘quinteto fantástico’, tão aclamado pela Fiel Torcida, jogou juntos. E a interpretação do camisa 11 corintiano sobre a utilização desses atletas juntos está baseado justamente na circunstância na qual estava a partida em Itu: o Timão precisava criar e ser agressivo, transformando aquela superioridade da posse de bola em chances claras e manifestas de gol.
Na entrevista, ao fim da partida, Giuliano fazendo uma leitura de jogo perfeita afirmou com clareza que os cinco atletas mais badalados recentemente no Corinthians podem jogar juntos, mas com equilíbrio de jogo em compreensão dos adversários.
É incrível ver um quinteto da qualidade técnica de Giuliano, Paulinho, Renato Augusto, Róger Guedes e Willian jogando juntos, mas é preciso que haja consistência defensiva e reconhecimento dos times em que o esquema com esses atletas ao mesmo tempo em campo precisará varias das condições que o time oponente vai dar ao Timão.
Sluggish chase against Bangladesh proves costly, but Boucher proud of team’s revival
Firdose Moonda06-Nov-20213:58
Moody: SA must be feeling robbed
Too few runs, scored too slowly in the early stages of the T20 World Cup cost South Africa a place in the semi-finals, according to coach Mark Boucher. He called their victory over England, and elimination on net run-rate, a “bitter pill to swallow” but recognised the missed opportunities from two matches, in particular, that could have pushed them into the final four.”The first game [against Australia] was tight,” Boucher said. “We just didn’t bat well enough. It was tough, we lost the toss, we batted first and we weren’t 100% sure what a good total was because that was the first game. We looked at getting 160 but we probably needed 130 or 140 to be competitive so we could have maybe done better there.”South Africa scored 118 for 9 in that opener against Australia, and very nearly defended it. Then, they rallied to chase 144 against West Indies, 143 against Sri Lanka and 85 against Bangladesh, but it took them 13.3 overs to get those runs. By contrast, Australia, the team who finished above them on NRR, chased 74 in 6.2 overs against the same opponents. If South Africa had beaten Bangladesh inside eight overs, all other things being equal, they would have leapfrogged Australia.But Boucher explained, it was not as simple as just the numbers. “Chasing a small total against Bangladesh – people can maybe look at that and say we should have gone harder there. That was the intention. But, we lost three wickets on a wicket that was going all over the shop and unfortunately, ifs and buts don’t count now.”Watch cricket live on ESPN+
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Although Boucher hinted that having the teams divided into two groups skewed the balance of the tournament, he accepted NRR as the yardstick by which they are measured. “We knew what the rules were before,”he said. “As long as there is clarity around there, you’ve got to play what the rules are. Guys are chatting, it’s not only us, about what a good competition is – where everyone plays everyone. But I’m not here to make those calls. We knew what the rules were. We didn’t pass the test.”Tabraiz Shamsi and Kagiso Rabada celebrate after the former got Jonny Bairstow•AFP/Getty Images
Despite what Boucher ultimately called an unsuccessful campaign “because we are knocked out of a World Cup”, he was heartened by South Africa’s continued improvement over the last few months. Since losing at home to England last year, South Africa have won three successive T20 series and four of their five World Cup games.”We are improving. We can look at the results. Since we were given a directive that it’s not just about getting games of cricket out there, it’s about results as well, before West Indies, guys have played really well and played good cricket,” he said. “Guys have upskilled. We’ve been learning how to play different situations as well and we’ve got a lot of confidence, but it’s not the finished product.”Crucially, Boucher believes South Africa have turned a corner when it comes to crunch situations. “Every game we played was under pressure. That’s one thing we haven’t done well in the past – played big games, pressurised games,” he said. “It’s a young side, we are still developing. We are heading in the right direction. We need a bit of luck and a bit of good fortune to go our way. Hopefully we can put something in the trophy cabinet soon.”Related
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How soon is the question on most South Africans’ minds and the answer is always maybe next time. Under Boucher, who is contracted until the 2023 ODI World Cup, there are two more opportunities, especially as South Africa’s performance at this tournament has likely taken the heat off the incumbent coach.Since Boucher took over in late 2019, South African cricket has been embroiled in drama, including most recently at the Social Justice and Nation-Building hearings, where Boucher was named among those accused of racial discrimination in the past. He submitted a response, although he did not appear at the commission, and, like everyone else, awaits the ombudsman’s report at the end of the month which may include recommendations for the current set-up.Already, South Africa have had the board direct them to all take a knee, and amid the fall-out of Quinton de Kock’s refusal to do so against West Indies, the instructions almost derailed them at this tournament. “It has been tough,” Boucher said. “It’s been tough on this team. We are finding the headlines for the wrong reasons.”Now that South Africa are returning home, to a busy summer that starts with a full series against India, Boucher hopes the headlines will be for the right reasons. “This team is in a very good space,” he added. “They are very strong and together and hopefully that is reflecting in our performances and hopefully people can come and see that for themselves when we are back home.”
The biggest surprise in Pool B of the Provincial T20 Cup, the CSA’s domestic T20 competition, came from the skies as rain washed out one match entirely and severely reduced another to put a damper on proceedings in usually dry Bloemfontein. The Knights and the Titans, both first-division teams, will proceed to the quarterfinals, with Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland and Mpumalanga eliminated.The Knights were the strongest of the four teams and announced themselves with a six-wicket win over the Titans before a convincing win over the Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland side. They would have fancied full points in their finale against Mpumalanga, but the match got abandoned on Thursday afternoon.The Titans, on the other hand, wobbled, but successfully defended 66 in a seven-over affair against Mpumalanga, who lost both matches they played. A plucky Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland side could not match up to the Knights or the Titans but comprehensively beat Mpumalanga.Related
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Runs for Rilee Rossouw As one of the players who left, leaving a bitter taste in South African cricket’s mouth (remember the time he sent the then national coach Russell Domingo an email when he signed a Kolpak deal, and spelt Russell incorrectly?), Rilee Rossouw is already catching eyes on his return. He scored an unbeaten 73 off 51 balls to anchor the Knights’ chase of 144 against the Titans and then scored 67 off 47 balls to help the Knights post a match-winning 154 for 5 against Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland. His two half-centuries put him second on the run-scorers’ charts, behind Zubayr Hamza, and potentially back on the national radar.Delport does the business Another returnee is Cameron Delport , who played for South Africa before becoming something of a journeyman. Delport has an impressive array of teams to his name including franchises in the PSL, CPL and Afghanistan’s Shpageeza Cricket League and has now signed on for Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland. He made an instant statement with his 39-ball 72 not out in their successful chase of 113 against Mpumalanga and though it may be too late for him to continue pushing for an international career, he is guaranteed to entertain.Dean dropped? Test captain Dean Elgar is one of very few nationally contracted players in this competition – those who are not at the IPL are in a camp ahead of the T20 World Cup – but even his appearances were limited. Elgar captained the Titans in their first two matches, where he scored 41 in a losing cause against the Knights and 7 in their victory over Mpumalanga but sat out the must-win third game against Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland. Aaron Phangiso led the Titans in Elgar’s absence, while Jandre Pretorius opened the batting in his first appearance for the province and scored 40 runs off 39 balls to help the Titans post a winning target.Matheson’s Mpumalanga won’t take this lying down Their twin defeats and the fact that they are one of two teams (Limpopo being the other) whose red-ball matches will not count as first-class fixtures, Mpumalanga have a lot of pride and a reputation to make. So little known are they that they were incorrectly called Limpopo by the broadcasters, and their coach Gordon Matheson was quick to point it out at the first chance he got. They may be little-known, but Mpumalanga have a few potential headliners. Wicketkeeper-batter Rubin Hermann was their top-scorer with 32 off 31 balls against Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland, and their captain, pace bowler Luvuyo Nkese, appears a good prospect.
Ipswich Town hadn’t been blown away in any Premier League contest to date, with valiant displays against the likes of Aston Villa and Fulham sticking out, until their visit to West Ham United this weekend.
The Hammers, who went into this game on a poor run of form under new boss Julen Lopetegui, ended up just brushing the Tractor Boys aside, as Kieran McKenna’s side fell victim to a 4-1 bruising on their travels to London.
The popular Ipswich boss will have plenty to ponder concerning his troops after this collapse on the road, mainly whether or not he should persist with Kalvin Phillips in the middle of the park, who struggled against his former loan employers.
Phillips' performance in numbers
It was always going to be a big risk bringing the Manchester City flop in and expecting him to instantly set the world alight considering how poor he was for West Ham last season.
Phillips must have felt charitable coming up against some familiar faces this weekend, with the ex-Leeds United man inexplicably surrendering the ball within the first minute, which then allowed Michail Antonio to find the back of the net.
Moreover, after some horrible play out from the back presented an opportunity for Jarrod Bowen to run at the Tractor Boys’ defence early in the second 45 minutes, the brand new Ipswich number eight just couldn’t get tight to the ex-Hull City attacker who fired home a decisive strike to make it 3-1 on the day.
Phillips was hauled off the pitch late on consequently after failing to show to his former side his true self, as the 28-year-old continues to slip up when it comes to resurrecting his career.
Not many Ipswich players could hold their heads high after this humbling loss, in all fairness, with Omari Hutchinson notably poor too in attack for McKenna’s visitors.
Hutchinson's performance in numbers
Hutchinson isn’t quite living up to his summer price tag of £20m playing in the Premier League, after regularly coming up trumps for the Tractor Boys in the Championship.
The ex-Chelsea youngster only has a mere assist next to his name from seven top-flight games so far, with zero goals also a worrying number when looking at his output, and it was clear for all to see why he’s been so ineffective this season watching his display up against the free-flowing Hammers.
Minutes played
83
Goals
0
Assists
0
Touches
44
Accurate passes
21/26 (81%)
Possession lost
17x
Shots
0
Successful dribbles
3/4
Duels won
4/12
As much as Hutchinson would trouble the West Ham defence on occasion with a slaloming run, the 20-year-old lacked any end product to go with a mazey burst forward, with zero shots attempted on Alphonse Aréola’s goal.
He was also poor on the ball in patches of the contest, with the former Chelsea man squandering possession 17 times in total away at the London Stadium.
It would result in a low 5/10 match rating being dished out to Hutchinson come full-time by journalist Alex Jones, who was said he was given ‘little space’ by the Hammers defenders to strut his stuff.
McKenna will be tempted to rejig his attack now in an attempt to get more out of his underperforming number 20, with the 5 foot 9 trickster perhaps moved out to the wing – where he shone last season during his side’s promotion heroics.
He could, also, just be dropped, with Phillips no doubt worried about his starting spot too moving forward.
Hutchinson does have an audacious strike like the one above up his sleeve, but the top-flight is a different kettle of fish altogether from the Championship, as many of Ipswich players are now well aware of.
Ipswich must regret not signing £16m PL star who's better than Hutchinson
The exciting star would have been incredible under McKenna.