The Indian cricket board has finally announced the itinerary for this winter’s home Test series against Australia and South Africa. A four-Test series is scheduled to begin against Australia at Bangalore on October 6, with further matches scheduled for Chennai, Nagpur and Mumbai. Kanpur and Kolkata will host the two Tests against South Africa in late November.India’s Test series against Australia is widely being billed as one of the showcase match-ups of the past decade. On their previous visit in 2000-01, Australia led 1-0 in the three-match series and had forced India to follow-on at Kolkata, when VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid turned the game – and the series – on its head with a wonderful 376-run partnership. Australia went on to lose 2-1, and have not won a series in India since 1969.The current evenness of the two teams was emphasised when they met again in Australia last winter for an eventful four-Test series that was drawn 1-1. The finale came at Sydney, where Steve Waugh bowed out as Australia’s captain, even though it had been his long-stated aim to be victorious on Indian soil.South Africa had been pencilled in for just a one-day series, because it had been feared there would be no time to complete a full tour. But in the end, they have opted for a two-Test stopover, with the one-day games deferred until next year.Australia tour 30 Sep – 2 Oct v Indian board president’s team, Hyderabad 6-10 Oct First Test, Bangalore 14-17 Oct Second Test, Madras 26-30 Oct Third Test, Nagpur 3-7 Nov Fourth Test, Bombay South Africa tour 14-16 Nov v India A, Jaipur 20-24 Nov First Test, Kanpur 28 Nov – 2 Dec Second Test, Calcutta
Thursday, March 6, 2003::: “I was able to get hold of a copy of the Duckworth-Lewis printout and, having seen them so often, I knew we had to better the par score printed on that. So we were all shouting at Mark Boucher to take a single off the last ball, but to no avail. I have no idea why the team didn’t realise they needed to do better than 229, except that the pressure of the situation maybe went to their heads.” Former South African coach Graham Ford Source: The Natal Witness, South Africa”We committed schoolboy errors and the team’s management has to take a hard look at itself. What happened out there was unacceptable.” Former South African off-spinner and current national selector Pat Symcox Source: The Independent, South Africa”I think a strong character like Hollioake in the middle order would be very good and they need a captain who has been successful. Neither Vaughan nor Trescothick have County Championship captaincy experience although Trescothick has captained a bit for England. Vaughan is the favourite but personally, I would like to see Adam Hollioake.” Former England spinner John Emburey, on Nasser Hussain’s successor as English one-day captain Source: This is Cornwall, UK”A (banned) athlete can go and practise running around an oval if he is a sprinter or a hurdler or a shot-put thrower, so why shouldn’t Shane Warne be able to practise his craft against the best players?” Victoria coach David Hookes, on Warne practising during his ban against first-class opposition Source: The Sunday Times, AustraliaMonday, March 3, 2003::: “A game against Australia requires some special performances, but we don’t need that against Sri Lanka. We don’t need anything special, just the basics. We mustn’t drop catches, mustn’t get run out and need to keep things tight. We just need simple, percentage cricket.” Former South African fast-bowler Fanie de Villiers Source: The Star, South Africa”I know he would be disappointed because he felt we stood a chance, as everyone else felt we stood a chance. But these things happen in sport and I think it’s important having dialogue with him to see where we go from here.” Former West Indian skipper Viv Richards, on captain Carl Hooper’s World Cup Source: CaribbeanCricket.com”There’s probably one or two players who have hung on a bit too long. I know Australia has over the last four years pretty much been moving guys out and bringing new guys in. So far it’s proving to be a good decision for them. But I’m not quite sure that South Africa is blessed with the riches of talent that they (Australia) are, so it’s a little bit more difficult.” Former South African cricketer Kepler Wessels, on South Africa’s current team Source: The Age, Australia
The 16 members of the Bangladesh National Squad were awarded with Test Caps in a flamboyant ceremony in the Winter Garden of the Hotel Sheraton, Dhaka last night. The President of Bangladesh Cricket Board, Mr. Saber Hossain Chowdhury, formally handed over the green caps with the BCB’s logo on top.The event started with a documentary on Bangladesh Cricket named “Sabash Bangladesh”. After that the President distributed the caps among the 16 tigers of Bangladesh who are representing the country. Statistics of the players were shown on a large screen.Cash awards were given to Aminul Islam, Habibul Bashar, Al-Sahariar, Naimur Rahman and Mohammed Rafique who displayed outstanding performance in the inaugural Test against India. Centurion Aminul Islam and Naimur Rahman (six wickets in that Test) received cheques of Taka. 200,000 each. Habubul Bashar and Rafique were awarded Taka. 100,000 each and Al-Sahariar collected Taka. 80,000. The Partex Group and the BCB distributed the cash awards jointly.About 500 guests were present, and a cultural program was arranged. Renowned singer Tapan Chowdhury and Baby Naznin took part in the entertainment.Mehrab Hossain’s wife won a Grameen cell phone, and coach Imran’s wife won a Dhaka-Hong Kong-Dhaka Air Ticket in a raffle. The presentation was followed by a buffet dinner.Former state minister for Youth and Sports, Obaidul Quadir Chowdhury, was present as the special guest. He was honoured for his contribution to cricket over the last five years. Guests were shown a nostalgic film of the matchwinning shots of the sixth ICC Trophy in Kuala Lumpur.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is being considered by Man City as Pep Guardiola’s potential heir next year, with the Blues making contingency plans.
Enzo Maresca tipped to replace Pep Guardiola at Man City
BlueCo are now bracing themselves for potential interest from City in Maresca, with the Italian emerging as a prime candidate to succeed Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium.
The 44-year-old’s impressive stint at Stamford Bridge has not gone unnoticed by his former employers, where he served as Guardiola’s assistant during City’s historic treble-winning campaign in 22/23.
Media sources suggest the Premier League title contenders view Maresca as ideally positioned to maintain their footballing identity when Guardiola eventually departs.
City’s interest carries particular weight given Guardiola’s contract expires in 2026, meaning that an approach could materialise very soon.
Chelsea would demand enormous compensation for Maresca’s services, though City’s financial muscle makes any negotiation feasible if they prioritise his appointment.
Maresca guided the west Londoners to two major trophies last season — the Conference League and Club World Cup — whilst steering Chelsea to Champions League qualification on the final day of 2024/2025.
Chelsea submit bid to sign 'one of the most promising players of his generation'
He’s very highly rated.
ByEmilio Galantini
Some reports suggest that Maresca doesn’t see eye-to-eye with some members of the Chelsea hierarchy and there’s been tension behind-the-scenes at times, but the tactician himself is adamant that his head isn’t being turned.
While Maresca publicly denies any interest in a return to Eastlands, things can change very quickly in football, and we’ve seen high-profile figures go back on their word before.
Taking this into account, as any elite club does, Chelsea have contingency plans in mind for when/if Maresca departs Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea identify Zinedine Zidane as 'dream' Enzo Maresca replacement
According to CaughtOffside, alongside the usual suspects like Strasbourg’s Liam Rosenior and Frank Lampard, former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane is seen as a top target.
They report that Zidane is their ‘perennial dream’ candidate for the hot seat, and he ‘tops Chelsea’s wishlist’ almost every time a managerial conversation is held.
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The 53-year-old footballing icon is best known for his very productive stint at the Bernabeu, where he led Real to 11 major trophies — including three consecutive Champions League titles, two La Ligas, two UEFA Super Cups and two Copa del Reys.
Zidane has been a managerial free agent since leaving Real in 2021, despite interest from a host of top sides since then, including links to Man United.
His style of play would excite Chelsea supporters too, according to former Los Blancos defender Raphael Varane.
Provided Zidane doesn’t take up another job in the meantime, he could be a fine candidate to succeed Maresca in the event he does leave.
Chelsea earmark 23-year-old as a future player as scouts watch all of his games
Well, we’re deep into the summer recess now, and with no league or cup action to satisfy our footy cravings, we turn to the Euros.
Here’s my latest blog on players and staff at Euro 2012 with strong, or extremely tenuous links to Crystal Palace FC.
Where better to start than the manager of the England team?
Roy Hodgson grew up in Croydon and was on the books at Crystal Palace as a school boy during the mid-1960s. Hodgson never quite made it as a pro player, knocking around the non-league ladder before finishing up at another local club Carshalton Athletic. (Author note – I’ve actually played a couple of games for Carshalton too, although I think it was the 7th team or something!)
Hodgson has selected as his right hand man a coach with much stronger links to the boys of SE25. Ray Lewington joined Crystal Palace as coach in the late 1990s, before becoming assistant manager to squint-eyed gaffer Alan Smith. Following Smith’s demise, Palace had a short-lived spell where they tried to adopt a more ‘continental’ approach to football management with Lewington being appointed as Head Coach, but again this did not really work out. Lewington has been around the football circuit from managing Brentford to coaching in the Premier League with Fulham, and is highly respected amongst the footballing fraternity.
You might think this is where the Palace connection’s to the England coaching staff ends, but no. Ray Clemence, one of the two goalkeeping coaches that Hodgson is taking to Poland, is actually Dougie Freedman’s father in law. Clemence’s daughter Sarah is married to our Dougie, lucky lady. Not a lot of people know that… If I can stretch the tenuousness of these Palace connections to breaking point, clearly Gary Neville, another of Hodgson’s new coaches, is a Palace fan.
Who could forget him describing Darren Ambrose’s wonder strike against Neville’s other love, Manchester United, as “…the best goal I have ever seen an opposition player score at Old Trafford.”
So, what players heading for Poland and Ukraine have any connections to the Red n Blue army? Well the most obvious one is Ashley Cole. Before Cashley was tainted by the glitz and glamour of the Premier League, he was loaned out to Palace from Arsenal in the 1999-2000 season making 14 appearances in the red and blue, scoring once. It was during this period that Cole made 2 appearances for England under 20s. Cole now holds the record for the most capped England left back, eclipsing another former Palace player, Kenny Sansom in 2011.
Away from England, Paul McShane was a last minute called up to the Republic of Ireland squad. In fact, the call up was a slightly controversial one, replacing Kevin Foley who was in Trappatoni’s originally announced final squad of 23. McShane, the flame haired defender, spent the latter half of the season on loan to Palace from Hull. The big Irishman had hoped to get some game time in order to impress the Ireland manager enough to make the plane to eastern Europe. Clearly Palace had worked their magic again.
Another Irishman started out at Palace too. Stephen Hunt came through the Palace academy and made three appearances for the first team before moving to Brentford under the influence of Sir Steve Coppell. He followed Coppell to Reading before moving onto Hull, and was relegated this season with Wolves.
Slightly more exotic, Cédric Carrasso, the third choice French ‘keeper had an extremely brief interlude at Crystal Palace during the 2001/02 season. He came on for the injured Matt Clarke during a 0-0 draw against Birmingham City. Carrasso had been on loan from Marseille at the time, as part of his rehabilitation following a broken leg. Hopefully his roly-poly physique of that era can be attributed to his lengthy lay off, and having broken into the French squad, he now has the frame more befitting an international level athlete! Carrasso has is now plying his trade at Ligue 1 side Bordeaux.
So, will a connection to Palace be a good omen to those out in Poland and Ukraine? History would suggest otherwise. Remember England crashing out at the group stage in 2000? Who was in goal for the final game against Romania? Former Palace keeper Nigel Martyn. Martyn, a top drawer club keeper for Palace, Leeds and Everton, never really captured the same form at international level and performed poorly on the night.
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What about 1996? What a great tournament! Would have been even better if former Palace skipper Gareth Southgate hadn’t pea-rolled the decisive penalty comfortably into the German keeper’s arms in the shoot-out. Anyway, not sure if Southgate can claim to have any remaining Palace connections, having been disowned by a lot of Eagles fans due to his development of the much criticised Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP).
It felt as though he was handing the keys of the very academy that brought him through, over to the dirty handed agents and scouts of the Premier League. We all want the national team to do well, but does it need to cost the integrity of the league, and the soul of small clubs like Palace?
Come on England! PS Keep your eye out for the number of players wearing red and blue striped boots. It’s surprisingly high.
Juventus and Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini says his team-mates are impressed by new head coach Antonio Conte.Conte, who led Serie B side Siena to the top-flight in the last campaign, was pegged to take over at the Stadio Olimpico following Luigi Delneri’s sacking in May.
Delneri was axed after Juve finished the 2010/11 season with a whimper, winning just one of their last six games and finishing five points shy of the Europa League places.
Chiellini, who has made nearly 170 appearances in six years for the Old Lady, believes the injection of fresh ideas will serve Juve well as they look to return to challenging for the Scudetto, a trophy that has eluded the club since 2003.
“The first impression is positive. He is a very clear coach, convinced of his ideas, he knows what he wants,” Chiellini said.
“We are working very hard to do 100 percent what he wants. We still have a lot of time ahead, and we will improve day after day, and match after match, but he proved he is convinced, competent and above all, clear.”
The 26-year-old also predicted Juve would show signs of improvement in the coming Serie A season without the distraction of a European campaign.
“It’s true we are a new group, but it’s also true we are a group to discover and we can have pleasant surprises too,” he said.
“The fact we won’t play in international competitions will help us give something more in the championship, as it happened in (Claudio) Ranieri’s first year (in 2007/08).”
“We are working and we must keep working with this intensity and the same desire to do well, after these two unhappy seasons.”
What on earth is going on at Chelsea at the moment? After last night’s 1-0 defeat to Wolves at Molineux, the Blues sit 5th in the Premier League table, outside of the Champions League qualification places. Chelsea have won just once in their last 9 Premiership fixtures, and that was a less than convincing victory over Bolton at Stamford Bridge. There seems to be no escape from the current dreadful run of form that Carlo Ancelotti’s men find themselves in, but ultimately who is responsible for the mess that Chelsea are in?
There are a few people that you can direct the blame towards here. The firing of Ray Wilkins still seems like a strange decision and Chelsea chairman Roman Abramovich has to take the wrap on that one. Unsurprisingly Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is under extreme pressure right now, and less than positive post-match press conferences from the Italian in which he seems to have already given up on the Premier League title will not please the fans. Then there’s the players, with the likes of Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda simply not reaching the levels of performance they did last season. So who do you think is to blame for Chelsea’s current predicament and is there a way forward out of this mess?
Dimitar Berbatov has admitted that he will leave Manchester United this summer, after becoming frustrated at a lack of first-team opportunities.
The Bulgarian forward has fallen behind the likes of Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck in Sir Alex Ferguson’s preferences, and has had to watch on from the sidelines for the majority of this campaign.
Berbatov will look for a new club, and feels he can still play at the highest level.
“My time at Manchester United is running out. I no longer feel like a valuable part of this team,” he told bTV, translated to English by Sky Sports.
“I think I did well in the few opportunities that I received. But I am a little frustrated by the way this happened, I do not think I deserved it.
“I’ve talked 10 times or even more with the manager and he always told me there would be a place for me in the team. But after that I continued to stay on the bench.
“But I have dignity and I stopped going to such meetings, it is clear that I’m leaving United. It’s obvious that I have to leave.
“I’m looking for a new place now… I know I can still play at the highest level,” he concluded.
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Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has stated his desire to bring both Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri to Eastlands.The Italian believes Argentina forward Aguero could be the ideal replacement for the unsettled Carlos Tevez and has not been shy in announcing his interest in Arsenal’s Nasri, either.
Atletico Madrid star Aguero put football’s biggest clubs on alert after revealing his intentions to leave the La Liga club, and is set to make a decision on his future after playing for Argentina in the Copa America.
Atletico’s rivals Real Madrid look to be City’s biggest competition in securing the 23-year-old’s signature, with the player reportedly open to a move within Spain or to England.
Mancini believes Aguero would be a perfect fit at the English Premier League club: “At the moment I am waiting because if we lose Carlos, Aguero is a player that can play for Manchester City because he is young, because he is a good player like Carlos, he can score a lot of goals and can play with Mario (Balotelli), with Edin (Dzeko),” Mancini told Sky Sports News.
“It is probably yes, (we will make a bid). I think in this moment we only have to wait.”
The former Inter boss also made no secret of his desire to bring in France midfielder Nasri as he continues to stall on a new contract at Arsenal.
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“Samir is under contract with Arsenal. Also, for Samir it depends on many things,” Mancini said.
“I hope that we can buy because we need other players and I hope that this player can arrive before the end of the month.”
Yes, Christmas is finally here. Well, not really, but we have already entered the festive period and whilst many are counting down to the 25th of December and the New Year, most football fans are counting down to the opening of the winter transfer window! I don’t normally get excited about January transfer windows since they are usually low-key for us, our last major January signings being Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic for a total fee of £12.5m but for those who have experienced the Football Manager revolution, it can be fun to speculate on squad changes! Here are some thoughts in bullet points:
1. Replacing the old guard: You might have noticed that we have a fair few oldies in our squad who will be most probably retire in a year or two. I think we are well covered for Gary Neville (who hasn’t really been indispensable recently) with Rafael finally showing some kind of consistency. I still hope De Laet has a future at United, given his versatility and promise. Yesterday I read Giggs hinting about this season being his last and we could see problems in ‘replacing’ Giggs and Scholes. We do have Anderson at the moment, but unless Gibson gets more chances, I don’t think we would have enough options in midfield once the Ginger Prince leaves. I am more worried about our left wing. Park is an able winger, but he is more dangerous when he ventures infield and as for Obertan, he also looks better just behind the striker. We are crying out for a natural left-winger. If only Adam Johnson was really unhappy at Eastlands…
2. VDS defying Father Time: Van Der Sar has been a mainstay of the United side for some time now and as he recently turned 40 and with Fergie effectively saying that this season could be his last, we need some changes in the goalkeeping department. With Lindegaard joining us in January, speculation about incoming goalkeepers refuses to go away. We could potentially have an unhappy Kuszczak on our hands too who despite his less than stellar performance against West Ham during the week, I still value and I would be gutted if he didn’t get a crack at the No.1 spot.
If he does leave, I would rather have someone with more experience than Lindegaard. If we are planning to throw cash at this, instead of a young De Gea who admittedly is a tremendous talent, I would rather go for Lloris or even Buffon! Akinfeev looks good too and very experienced for his young age but I don’t know if how long he might take to settle down in North West England.
3. Creative attacking midfielder™: United have been in need of a creative attacking midfielder for years. I don’t remember us ever having a creative attacking midfielder in the last 10 years, not in the mould of the ones we have been linked to. Scholes has been very creative for us, but he likes to lie deep and occasionally venture in the area for a goal or two. Fans and the press have been talking about Sneijder, Ozil and Van Der Vaart who I think would definitely improve our side, but we are not a team who just buy players who would theoretically make us have a stronger starting XI, so we need to think about what exactly we need and what we could realistically acquire.
I, for one, don’t think we are screaming for a creative attacking midfielder we just need more options in the centre of midfield and I think Bastian Schweinsteiger, who is stalling over a new contract, would be an utterly brilliant acquisition… Even Ballack thinks so!
Continue to PAGE TWO for the final two points…
4. Defence review: Since some of our youngsters were ‘exposed’ in the Carling Cup, we are in a state of crisis and Jonny Evans is now officially the worst player in England or indeed the universe! I still think he has a future at United, although, on current form it really makes you think! Rio and Vidic have some more years left, so it is not critical to think about their replacements. Smalling looks like a good signing, one who is only going to improve and defeats like Tuesday’s are part of the learning process for our youngsters. Wes Brown is also around for to relieve Vida and Rio when need be. In the full-back positions, the Da Silva twins are finally getting more games and the only way is up for them. Evra will be dominating that left-back position for another 3-4 years I reckon and John O’Shea is an option on either side so no big upheavals expected or required in defence.
5. Youth: Now, we might not need to replace or revamp any of the above players or areas if we can find someone in our youth and reserves sides to help us out! At the moment, apart from Rafael, Welbeck seems to be our brightest young talent. He is having a great season at Sunderland, playing Premier League football week in week out. My only worry is that we do not actually need strikers at the moment, and the only way he could come back to United would be if we sell 1-2 of our current attackers. Even then, he will be on the bench. The fact that he is increasing his price tag might sadly mean that we could be tempted to sell him off for a nice profit. Cleverley is another one to look out for finally getting some games at Wigan. He might provide further options in midfield for us, for free! We also have loads of burgeoning talent in the form of Eikrem, Morrison etc, but it may be a while before any break into the first team.
Finally a word about Macheda who doesn’t seem to be lighting up Old Trafford according to some. I would preach patience, he can still succeed at United and hopefully he gets to play with a partner rather than on his own when he is reduced to holding the ball up and passing it back to a midfielder!
What are your thoughts regarding potential squad changes in January and beyond?
Written by Yashi
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