Rangers fans pleased Lundstram starts

A number of Rangers supporters are pleased that John Lundstram is starting away to Dundee on Saturday afternoon.

Steven Gerrard’s men returned to Scottish Premiership action, following their midweek League Cup triumph at home to Livingston.

The Gers’ form has been a little up and down so far this season and the hope is that now is the point at which they click into top gear.

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The league leaders took on a Dundee side rooted at the bottom of the table, suggesting it should be a relatively comfortable day at the office for them.

Lundstram is again named in Rangers’ starting lineup, as he looks to kick on further after his move from Sheffield United.

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Rangers fans react to Lundstram start

These Rangers fans took to Twitter to show their happiness at the news.

“Good to see Lundstram keeping his place today. He needs a run of games in his preferred position and he will shine. This is a strong Rangers side and I fully expect us to get all three points today. Mon The Gers!!! “

Credit: @CalRobertsonA4U

“Good to see Hagi starting. Roofe and Buff getting more minutes together  Lundstram playing ahead of Davis is the correct decision. Gives Davis more of a rest, which he needs and gives Lundstram more game time to get up to speed with Scottish football”

Credit: @Eddierfc55

“Davis /Lundstram the obvious dilemma but perhaps a little break with do Davis some good. He’s played a lot of football already this season”

Credit: @AMcKellar89

“Hopefully Lundstram continues to move the ball quickly”

Credit: @Cammy26_2

“Lundstram will have a class game today”

Credit: @neilscoles_

“Lord Lundstram”

Credit: @_72alex

In other news, some Rangers fans have been loving a player’s social media post. Read more here.

Milner must start for Liverpool v Man City

Following a breathtaking 3-3 draw at Brentford in their previous Premier League fixture and a convincing 5-1 win against FC Porto in the Champions League, Liverpool are set to welcome Manchester City to Anfield on Sunday.

The clash is set up to be an intriguing one with the Reds, who have scored 15 goals in six league matches, facing a City side who have conceded just one goal in six top-flight games.

Milner could make the difference

One Liverpool player who will be missing from the match is right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold after Reds manager Jurgen Klopp confirmed that he is out with an injury after missing the midweek win at Porto.

Following this news, the manager revealed that the options he has to compensate for the 22-year-old’s absence are to either play James Milner, Neco Williams or Joe Gomez there, or even change the system altogether.

In our view, it should be the 35-year-old, who was described as “remarkable” by Match of the Day host Gary Lineker last month, who gets the nod over Williams or Gomez to start in the right-back position, even though Klopp revealed that the veteran apparently doesn’t like playing there.

Liverpool signed Milner, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £140k-per-week according to Spotrac, back in 2015 from Sunday’s opponents on a free transfer.

Since then, the 35-year-old – who is currently valued at £2.7m according to Transfermarkt – has made 254 appearances for the Merseysiders, more than for any other club he’s represented, with 26 goals and 45 assists along the way.

Throughout his career, Milner has played in just about every outfield position possible, providing five assists in the 15 games he has played as a right-back. While he may not like the roles and may have more experience playing in other positions, he has shown he is capable of being very effective from there.

Looking at the Porto game, the 35-year-old won three ground duels and three aerial duels, made two key passes and ultimately earned himself a solid overall match rating of 7.1/10 according to SofaScore. That shows just how capable he is of playing as a right-back who can balance attacking and defensive duties.

In our view, that should make him the favourite to fill in for Alexander-Arnold when City come to Anfield tomorrow. His experience and ability to operate at right-back could make a crucial difference against the champions’ prolific attack.

In other news: Klopp could finally replace Coutinho for Liverpool with “talented” £40.5m-rated beast – opinion

Filip Helander struggling for fitness

Steven Gerrard’s fitness concerns are continuing to build ahead of their game against St Johnstone this weekend, with Filip Helander the latest doubt ahead of Rangers’ trip to McDiarmid Park.

What’s the word?

Gerrard’s squad has already been put to the test in recent weeks with injury and covid issues but they have also been impacted by the international break, with Nathan Patterson forced to withdraw from Scotland duty after picking up a knock against Moldova recently.

Now Helander looks like he could be the latest name on the list of doubts after Sweden manager Janne Andersson suggested that he could miss their clash with Greece on Wednesday due to a fitness issue.

He said:

“Filip Helander (has) run individually in the gym. Some players have been given an adapted training load and will step up gradually.”

“It’s too early to say. We can’t take it for granted.”

A blow for Rangers?

Given that Helander was the hero in Rangers’ last game as they triumphed 1-0 in the Old Firm derby thanks to his header, it would undoubtedly be a blow for Gerrard if he wasn’t fit for their game against St Johnstone on Saturday afternoon.

Whilst there is no real explanation as to why Helander is struggling, the fact that he is a doubt for Wednesday suggests that he might not be at full fitness when he returns to Ibrox after international duty, which will surely anger his club manager.

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Gerrard was full of praise for the Swedish defender back in 2019, saying:

“He did ever so well for us in Portugal and he has stepped up and been a leader for us again. So I’m delighted with what he has done this week.”

The 41-year-old manager does have plenty of options at centre-back but has generally preferred Helander and Connor Goldson at the heart of his defence during his time as Rangers boss and will be disappointed if he has to deviate from that in important upcoming fixtures, especially with a Europa League game against Lyon to come at Ibrox next week.

And, in other news… Gerrard dealt potentially big blow with “outstanding” Rangers star

برشلونة يجهز العرض الأخير لضم كوندي

كشفت تقارير صحفية إسبانية، أن نادي برشلونة يخطط لتقديم عرض جديد لـ إشبيلية من أجل التعاقد مع المدافع الفرنسي جوليس كوندي.

تشيلسي ينافس برشلونة على ضم اللاعب الفرنسي، وكان قريبًا للغاية من التعاقد معه خلال الصيف الماضي.

صحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو” الإسبانية، أكدت أن برشلونة كان يركز أولًا على تدعيم الهجوم، من خلال التعاقد مع روبرت ليفاندوفسكي، وتصريحات لابورتا الأخيرة كانت تؤكد على التحوّل الآن لدعم خط الدفاع.

طالع أيضًا.. موندو ديبورتيفو توضح أولوية برشلونة بعد حسم صفقة ليفاندوفسكي

تشيسي يعرض 65 مليون يورو وراتب سنوي 7 ملايين، ولكن النادي الكتالوني يثق في شخصية جوليس كوندي، خاصة أن برشلونة لن يتمكن من تقديم عرض أكبر من الذي قدمه البلوز.

برشلونة يجهز للعرض الأخير من أجل كوندي خلال الأيام القليلة المقبلة، وينتظر ما سيحدث، ويريد أن يتكرر سيناريو رافينها.

سيناريو البرازيلي، هو أنه رغم عرض تشيلسي وآرسنال الأكبر لضمه، لكنه فضل الانضمام إلى برشلونة، ويريد البلوجرانا نفس الأمر مع جوليس كوندي.

Newcastle transfer update on Kamara

A reason has now been given why Newcastle United’s Deadline Day offer for Boubacar Kamara was rejected.

The Lowdown: Late offer

As per Le Phoceen, the St. James’ Park faithful made a last-minute offer to try and sign the Marseille ace on Transfer Deadline Day.

However, he would have been ‘extremely hesitant’ to have made the move to the North East.

The Latest: Deal off

As per The Athletic, Kamara decided that he wanted to stay at Marseille in the end, despite offers from both Wolves as well as the Tyneside club.

The Ligue 1 team had hoped to move him on given that he only has a year left on his current deal, and now it is anticipated that he will either sign a new contract or leave on a free transfer in 2022.

The Verdict: Shame

It is a shame that a move for Kamara to Steve Bruce’s side eventually fell through.

Once dubbed a ‘phenomenon’ by his former teammate Rolando back in May 2020, the Frenchman still has a lot of potential at just 21 years of age, and his ability to be equally as comfortable at centre-back as well as in defensive midfield (Transfermarkt) would have been a valuable asset to have in the squad.

Nonetheless, the Magpies only managed to bring in one player on a permanent deal in Joe Willock from Arsenal, and given that he was on loan there last season, fans have every right to be worried about the lack of improvement from last term.

In other news, find out why this Toon ace’s move was blocked here!

Everton linked with Nathan Patterson

Everton have reportedly submitted a bid for Rangers defender Nathan Patterson, and it would be a huge blow for Steven Gerrard if the 19-year-old were to depart Ibrox this summer.

What’s the word?

According to The Athletic, the Toffees made a bid for the teenager last week, with Rafa Benitez looking to add to his right-back options at Goodison Park.

It has been previously suggested that Rangers may be forced to sell key players this summer in order to balance the books but thus far we have only seen fringe players such as George Edmundson and Jordan Jones depart.

The likes of Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent and Glen Kamara had been touted as potential options to leave but as it stands, Rangers are yet to receive an acceptable bid for any of those players, so they may be forced to consider an offer from Everton if they meet the Gers’ valuation for Patterson.

Would it be a blow to lose Patterson?

Despite only making 17 appearances in his first-team career at Rangers, Patterson is highly regarded at Ibrox.

The teenage defender came into the side last season when James Tavernier was injured and he seriously impressed with his performances, to the extent where some Rangers fans were calling for him to start ahead of the captain at right-back.

His displays were enough to convince Scotland manager Steve Clarke to include him in his Euro 2020 squad, and whilst the 19-year-old is yet to make an appearance for his country, he looks to have a huge future with the Tartan Army.

Rangers’ head of academy Craig Mulholland was full of praise for Patterson last season, saying: “Nathan has been fantastic for us this year.

“Again, we started the project five, six, years ago to get a level of player that we felt could go and compete in the Europa League, could go and compete in Old Firm games.

“And if you go and look at Nathan in the last 16 of the Europa League, if you look at him in the Old Firm game, it’s a great example for all the young players in here of what we’re trying to achieve.”

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Therefore, the vast majority of those involved with Rangers will surely be desperate for Patterson to stay at the club this summer and it would be a huge blow for Gerrard to lose him, but it may be difficult to turn Everton down if they come in with a serious offer.

In other news… Jordan Campbell reveals injury update on “superhuman” Rangers gem, fans will be gutted

Gilchrist's comments were taken out of context – Tendulkar

Adam Gilchrist has told Sachin Tendulkar that his comments in the media were taken out of context

Cricinfo staff24-Oct-2008
Adam Gilchrist says excerpts from his book were quoted out of context © Getty Images
Adam Gilchrist has told Sachin Tendulkar that his comments questioning Tendulkar’s evidence in the Harbhajan Singh racism case had been taken out of context. Excerpts from Gilchrist’s new book, published in the , questioned Tendulkar’s sporting spirit and his role in the hearings into the alleged racist remark made by Harbhajan. In , Gilchrist suggested Tendulkar had changed his statement.”Gilchrist called me up and clarified this issue,” Tendulkar told news channel . “He said his comments have been taken out of context.” To another channel, , Tendulkar defended himself against Gilchrist’s remark that he was “hard to find for a changing-room handshake after we have beaten India”.”Before, during and after the match I don’t like to enter the opposition dressing-room as it is not my culture,” Tendulkar said. “But I have nothing against other cultures. I have never walked off a ground without shaking the opposition players’ hands.”Indian cricket officials have already criticised Gilchrist for questioning Tendulkar’s honesty. MV Sridhar, the Indian team manager on the tour, had added a twist to the saga by offering a different version to Gilchrist of what Tendulkar had said.”During the hearing in front of Mike Procter, the match referee, during the Sydney Test, Tendulkar told him that he had heard some form of abuse,” Sridhar told Cricinfo. “But Procter didn’t probe any further and left matters at that. But subsequently in front of Justice Hansen, when both parties were cross-examined by legal counsel, Tendulkar said that he had heard Harbhajan say but clarified that it was an abbreviated form of an abuse.”Sridhar was present at both hearings after the Test, first with Procter and then with Justice John Hansen. Sridhar questioned the timing of Gilchrist’s revelations and said he used the incident merely to get cheap publicity for his book.”It is absurd that he [Gilchrist] is speaking after almost a year after the incident,” he said. “It’s just a cheap marketing gimmick to sell the book. Why did he try to go public now because he realised the importance of the moment like the India-Australia series which has gained Ashes-like proportions?”He said he was surprised at how Symonds, who claimed he was racially abused by Harbhajan in Hindi, got away despite admitting that he was involved in a heated discussion with him. Symonds saw Harbhajan hitting Brett Lee on the backside so he stepped in and “had a bit of a crack at Harbhajan”, telling him exactly what he thought of his antics. Harbhajan was initially banned for three Tests but his punishment was overturned on appeal.BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla said the board would not pursue any action against Gilchrist. “I think it is better to ignore Gilchrist’s comments,” Shukla said. “The only one to lose respect will be him, not Tendulkar.”Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary at that time, felt Gilchrist only wanted to “sensationalise the incidents” to sell his book. “Everything was properly handled by the authorities with the appointment of proper men to conduct the hearing after a proper procedure was put in place. After the matter is over, to claim these things in the book is nothing but foolishness.”

Crossley: All encouraging stuff coming out of Sheffield Wednesday

Former Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Mark Crossley believes it’s all encouraging stuff coming out of the club.

The Owls currently sit top of the League One table after an unbeaten start to the league campaign, which has seen Sheffield Wednesday draw their opening game of the season at Charlton Athletic and then follow that up with wins against Doncaster Rovers, Fleetwood Town and Rotherham United.

Manager Darren Moore has been active in the summer transfer window as 13 new players have arrived at the club this summer, but the club have also looked to tie players down to new contracts also.

Josh Windass put pen to paper on a new deal at Hillsborough with the forward staying with the Owls until 2023 and the Star reported that Sheffield Wednesday are looking to sort out a new deal for defender Dominic Iorfa in the coming weeks.

Crossley believes it’s all encouraging news coming out of the club currently, telling Football FanCast: “It helps that the football club’s got 10 points from four games, so Iorfa is obviously going to look at that and think if we can get automatic promotion, which I’m sure that they’ll all be expecting at Sheffield Wednesday this year, then there’s no reason to leave.

“If you can get the likes of Iorfa signing new deals, Josh Windass has put pen to a new contract, it’s all encouraging stuff coming out of Sheffield Wednesday.”

Iorfa has featured in all four of Sheffield Wednesday’s League One matches so far this season and has helped the team to keep four clean sheets in all of those matches.

Everton make Andreas Pereira loan offer

Everton have submitted a ‘loan proposal’ for Manchester United midfielder Andreas Pereira, according to Brazilian outlet TNT Sports. 

The lowdown

After earlier spells in La Liga with Granada and Valencia, Pereira was loaned to Serie A outfit Lazio last season. He was limited to just three league starts, making a further 23 substitute appearances.

The Brazilian has racked up 75 career appearances for United and directly contributed to nine goals (scoring four and assisting five).

His versatility is a real asset: he’s predominantly played as an attacking midfielder but can also adopt a deeper role or operate on either flank.

The latest

Everton have made an offer for Pereira and it includes an option to buy at the end of the season.

That sets them apart from rival suitors like Flamengo, who are pursuing a straight loan.

Flamengo are also hopeful that United will agree to pay a portion of the Brazilian’s salary, which stands at £30,000 per week.

The verdict

It’s true that Everton don’t have much financial leeway this summer, and so loan moves may be their best chance to strengthen the squad in the remaining weeks of the window.

But does Pereira represent a significant upgrade on the options they already have? Probably not.

At best, he would be handy squad player given his capacity to play multiple positions. At worst, he would continue the trend of mediocre arrivals from the biggest clubs (see Alex Iwobi, Andre Gomes and Fabian Delph).

We feel this is one the Toffees would do well do avoid.

In other news, fans were buzzing over this development. 

As bizarrices dos campeonatos estaduais em 2017 – Parte II

MatériaMais Notícias

Este domingo é o dia. No Rio, em Minas e no Paraná, clássicos previsíveis decidem quem leva a taça. E é a rivalidade, muito mais do que mais um título estadual, que mobiliza o torcedor. Já não há ingressos para o Fla x Flu do Maraca ou o Atlético x Cruzeiro do Independência. Com torcida dos dois times, apesar das tentativas cerceadoras de sempre dos procuradores de plantão. Torcida dupla que também haverá na Arena de Itaquera para ver a confirmação do 28° título estadual do Corinthians. O que não aconteceria se o adversário não fosse a Ponte, mas Santos, Palmeiras ou São Paulo. Uma outra aberração.

O Couto Pereira também vai encher para o Atle-Tiba. Já no Gauchão, impedido de jogar em casa por uma exigência esdruxula do regulamento, o Novo Hamburgo – “intruso” que só precisa de um empate para quebrar a série de seis títulos do Inter – fretou ônibus gratuitos para a torcida percorrer os 96 quilômetros de serra até Caxias.

A exceção do domingo são os campeonatos baiano e pernambucano, que terão apenas o primeiro jogo das finais de ida e volta. O mesmo Ba-Vi de sempre e Sport x Salgueiro, outro intruso, estreando o árbitro de vídeo da CBF em jogos oficias no país. De norte a sul, haverá motivos para comemorar. Não só títulos. Mas terem chegado ao fim esses torneios marcados pela incompetência, o descaso e as bizarrices das federações. Vejam aqui mais algumas delas (semana passada, publicamos outras cincos, Confira aqui!):

1 – Quando as quartas de final do Paranaense já haviam começado, com os jogos de ida realizados, uma decisão da Justiça puniu o J.Malucelli com a perda de 16 pontos pela escalação irregular de um jogador. E tudo teve de começar de novo, com o Londrina ganhando uma segunda chance – havia perdido o primeiro jogo – e passando a enfrentar outro time, o Rio Branco. Um remendo absurdo, em que a federação rasgou o próprio regulamento, já que a eliminação do Malucelli mudou a classificação de todos os times e deveria ter mudado também os confrontos das quartas.

2 – Sob o pretexto de manter os clubes em atividade, a Federação Paulista insistiu em promover o tal campeonato do interior. Mas jogar, nesse caso, não é sinônimo de ganhar ou perder. É de ter prejuízos. O torcedor não é bobo não joga dinheiro fora, ainda que os ingressos tenham preço de banana. O resultado: 96% dos jogos fecharam no vermelho. Red Bull e Ferroviária, em Campinas, teve apenas 75 pagantes que geraram uma renda de R$ 440 e um prejuízo de R$ 28 mil. Qualquer torneio escolar desperta maior interesse.

3 – Voltando ao Gauchão, para explicar a injustiça de que foi vítima o Novo Hamburgo. Embora a média de público da competição tenha sido de 4.500 torcedores (só Grêmio, com 15 mil e Inter com 14 mil ultrapassaram essa marca), de apenas 11 dos quase 80 jogos terem registrado um público superior a 10 mil pessoas, a federação estabeleceu que, para os jogos finais, essa deveria ser a capacidade mínima dos estádios. A Arena do Vale, do clube do Novo Hamburgo, tem 5 mil. O clube ainda tentou colocar arquibancadas tubulares, mas foi impedido. E terá de jogar fora de casa, apesar de ter tido a melhor campanha do campeonato.

4 – Se a Federação Gaúcha peca por excesso de rigor, a Ferj erra por excesso de liberalidade. O Carioca virou a casa da mãe Joana, onde todo mundo jogou onde quis. De Natal, onde a Arena das Dunas recebeu Flamengo x Boavista, a Brasília que assistiu a Fla x Vasco, passando por Cariacica onde o Fla enfrentou o Flu. Da várzea de Los Larios, na Baixada Fluminense, ao calor de Moça Bonita que desde o século passado não tinha tanto jogo, teve campinho para todo lado. Enquanto o Botafogo, numa implicância juvenil, impedia o Flamengo de jogar no Nilton Santos

5 – Chegamos, enfim, à maior bizarrice de todas: a atuação dos dirigentes, especialmente os chamados grandes clubes, nos tais conselhos arbitrais que as federações realizam antes dos campeonatos começarem. É ali que boa parte das mazelas contadas aqui, neste domingo e na semana passada, são decididas com a aprovação dessa cartolagem. Por masoquismo, negligência, esperteza. Ou será apenas burrice?

RelacionadasFlamengoA caminhada: veja em imagens a campanha do FlamengoFlamengo05/05/2017FluminenseA caminhada: veja em imagens a campanha do FluminenseFluminense05/05/2017InternacionalFinal do Gaúcho testa goleadores de Novo Hamburgo e InternacionalInternacional06/05/2017

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