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Rangers manager Steven Gerrard will hope that his side can continue their positive momentum as they host Aberdeen at Ibrox in the Scottish Premiership tonight.

The Gers are unbeaten in four matches in all competitions and eight in the Premiership and have a chance to extend those runs against the Dons.

They come into this clash with Aberdeen after goals from Alfredo Morelos, his 100th for Rangers, and Kemar Roofe secured a 2-1 win away at St. Mirren on Sunday.

How many changes will Gerrard make for the match? Here is our predicted XI…

There could be as many as three changes tonight, with Allan McGregor, Calvin Bassey and Glen Kamara coming into the side.

The first change comes between the sticks, with the experienced McGregor coming back in for Jon McLaughlin. Gerrard axed the veteran against St. Mirren, explaining that his body needs to be managed throughout the season to maintain his fitness.

He said:

“We are going to have to [rest him].

“He’s at that age. He’s made a decision for us to play on, and have had that chat and it was about me saying to Allan at times we are going to have to look after him. We want Allan fit for the rest of the season, he is so important for us, but I can’t ask him to go game, game, game. His body is at a stage where he needs looking after at times.”

After sitting out for one game, the head coach could bring McGregor straight back in. This is no slight on McLaughlin, who did nothing wrong against St Mirren, but it is simply rotation to keep both players involved.

The second change comes at left-back with Bassey replacing Borna Barisic.

Recently, Football FanCast published an article explaining why Gerrard should drop the Croatian international to the bench, with his performance against St Mirren was not being good enough to warrant a starting berth tonight. He was too lightweight at the weekend as he lost 66.6% of his duels on the pitch.

In midfield, Gerrard could axe 27-year-old John Lundstram from the team in order to start Glen Kamara in the middle of the park.

The Finland international had a watching brief against St. Mirren and Football FanCast published an article explaining why he should now be unleashed against Aberdeen, especially given Lundstram’s struggle for St. Mirren’s goal on Sunday.

Kamara’s metronomic passing could help Rangers control the match, with a 90% pass accuracy this season showing he is efficient on the ball. He could use his ability in possession to dictate the flow of the game and keep the Gers on the front foot.

The front three should stay the same. Morelos and Roofe both scored and Ianis Hagi put in a terrific display out wide on the right. The Romanian international recorded an impressive SofaScore rating of 7.5 as he won a penalty, created one chance and completed 90% of his passes.

AND in other news, Gerrard must ruthlessly axe £18k-p/w Rangers dud v Aberdeen, he was shocking on Sunday…

Cricinfo’s primer on the teams competing in the inaugural Champions League Twenty20

07-Oct-2009

Group A

Can Rohit Sharma recapture his IPL form?•Associated Press

Deccan Chargers

How they made it Winners of IPL 2009
Captain Adam Gilchrist
Headliner Andrew Symonds
Deccan Chargers went from zeroes to heroes in this year’s IPL, and are now one of the favourites for the Champions League. They swaggered into the inaugural IPL with an array of bludgeoning batsmen, tipped by many for the title, only to flop dramatically and wind up in last spot. This year, with lesser expectations, and Gilchrist as captain, they sneaked into the semi-finals before bulldozing their way to the title. They have an incisive bowling attack led by Fidel Edwards and RP Singh, who took the most wickets in IPL 2009, with left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha providing back-up. They need performances from their lesser-known Indian batsmen when their big three – Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds and Rohit Sharma – stumble.

Somerset

How they made it Runners-up in the Twenty20 Cup 2009
Captain Justin Langer
Headliner Marcus Trescothick
Star import Langer
Much of the attention surrounding Somerset’s campaign will centre on their star batsman, Marcus Trescothick. This will be his first overseas assignment since pulling out of Somerset’s pre-season visit to Dubai in 2008 with a recurrence of his stress-related illness that originally occurred in 2006. Trescothick has been in sparkling form all season, and was rewarded with the Most Valuable Player award by the Professional Cricketers’ Association for 2934 runs across all competitions. He is part of a redoubtable top order, which also has Justin Langer, the promising wicketkeeper-batsman Craig Kieswetter, and James Hildreth. The bowling inspires less confidence, though, with the spin department being particularly weak.

Trinidad & Tobago

How they made it Winners of Stanford 20/20 2008
Captain Daren Ganga
Headliner Dwayne Bravo
Victory in the Stanford 20/20 in early 2008 has proved to be the gift that keeps on giving for T&T. Besides the million dollars they pocketed for the title, it gave them entry to the Stanford Super Series last year and now the Champions Twenty20 League. The batting is their strong suit with a mix of some of the Caribbean’s most exciting youngsters – Darren Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Adrian Barath and Kieron Pollard – and the experience of Daren Ganga and Dwayne Bravo. The bowling attack looks shaky though, one of the main reasons they are viewed as long shots for the title.

Group B

Brett Lee is back at his lethal best•Getty Images

New South Wales

How they made it Winners of the Big Bash 2008-09
Captain Simon Katich
Headliner Brett Lee
The sheer depth of their international talent makes New South Wales one of the tournament favourites. Even without Michael Clarke, Nathan Bracken and Brad Haddin, the Blues still boast a squad featuring eight men who have played for Australia. David Warner and Phillip Hughes are a potentially explosive and unconventional opening pair, while Simon Katich gives the middle order valuable experience. An attack consisting of Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Doug Bollinger and Nathan Hauritz is of Test quality but their challenge here is containing in foreign conditions. In any case, they are certainly one of the main teams to beat.

Sussex

How they made it Winners of the Twenty20 Cup 2009Captain Michael Yardy
Headliners Luke Wright
Star imports Dwayne Smith, Piyush Chawla
Sussex may have been relegated to the second division for the first time but they have been the stand-out team in England’s limited-overs competitions this season: storming to both the Pro40 Division One and the Twenty20 Cup titles, and finishing runners-up in the Friends Provident Trophy. Their middle order is boosted by hard-hitting allrounders, Dwayne Smith and Luke Wright. The fast bowling is in safe hands of James Kirtley and Yasir Arafat (the only Pakistan player in the tournament), and the spin department has been bolstered by the smart swoop for Indian legspinner Piyush Chawla.

Eagles

How they made it Runners-up in the Standard Bank Pro 2008-09
Captain Boeta Dippenaar
Headliner Er.. Ryan McLaren?
Eagles have never let the lack of marquee names in their line-up stop them from succeeding, winning the Pro20 twice and making the finals this year. Morne van Wyk, who provided some rare bright sparks in a dreary Kolkata Knight Riders IPL campaign, is among their best Twenty20 batsmen. Much is also expected from the young duo of Dean Elgar and Rilee Rossouw. Like many a South African team, they are packed with fast-bowling allrounders – including Ryan McLaren, Dillon du Preez, Alan Kruger – giving them great balance. Two problems that could derail Eagles’ campaign are the presence of only one frontline spinner (Thandi Tshabalala) and the lack of experience in subcontinental conditions.

Group C

Dale Steyn is one of four South African internationals in Royal Challengers Bangalore•PA Photos

Royal Challengers Bangalore

How they made it Runners-up in IPL 2009
Captain Anil Kumble
Headliners Kumble, Dale Steyn, Jacques Kallis
Royal Challengers Bangalore are another solid IPL team. Anil Kumble inspired them to the finals of this year’s IPL after a dispiriting start, losing four of the first five matches to bring back memories of an abysmal campaign the previous year. The dynamic Ross Taylor will be a vital cog in a batting line-up strewn with players not renowned for their big hits – Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Virat Kohli. It will also be a big test for young opener Manish Pandey, who sparkled in his limited chances this year. Bangalore’s main drawback is an attack which has struggled to contain the runs; barring Kumble, the rest of their regular bowlers leaked at least seven.

Cape Cobras

How they made it Winners of the Standard Bank Pro 2008-09
Captain Andrew Puttick
Headliners Herschelle Gibbs, JP Duminy
Cape Cobras are seen to be the stronger of the two South African teams in the tournament, despite the loss of captain Graeme Smith. Herschelle Gibbs and JP Duminy may be their drawcards but their most important player is likely to be death-overs specialist Charl Langeveldt. He already saved Cobras twice during a stop-start Pro20 campaign; once grabbing wickets off the final two deliveries to force a tie, and in the deciding leg of the semi-finals, he gave away only three runs in the Superover. Veteran left-arm spinner Claude Henderson is another bowler to watch out for. The close-in fielding should also be a treat, with Gibbs and Duminy joined by the electric Sybrand Englebrecht.

Otago

How they made it Winners of State Twenty20 2008-09
Captain Craig Cumming
Headliner Brendon McCullum
Star import Dimitri Mascarenhas
New Zealand’s only representatives are widely considered to be a team with little chance to hit the US$2.5m jackpot on offer, but their string of power-hitters (Otgao made 189 or more in five of their seven Twenty20 games last season) could spring a surprise or two. How Twenty20 experts, Brendon McCullum and Dimitri Mascarenhas, fare will have a huge bearing on Otago’s progress. Other batsmen likely to make an impact are Aaron Redmond (who though uninspiring at the Test level, has proved competent in Twenty20s, topping the run charts in the domestic tournament) and 20-year-old Hamish Rutherford (who bludgeoned a 38-ball 87 against Wellington). The bowling looks a bit thin, despite the presence of a rejuvenated Ian Butler and the crafty Nathan McCullum.

Group D

Will Tillakaratne Dilshan get an opening spot or will it be a middle-order slot?•AFP

Delhi Daredevils

How they made it Topping the group phase of IPL 2009
Captain Gautam Gambhir
Headliners Tillakaratne Dilshan, Virender Sehwag
If any other team had lost the services players of the calibre of AB de Villiers, Daniel Vettori and Paul Collingwood in the space of a week, it would have been a crippling blow. Delhi, however, have the luxury of calling on Glenn McGrath as back-up; this depth is one of the reasons they have the shortest odds for winning the Champions Twenty20 League. They were by far the most impressive team in the IPL group phase this year, and were only knocked out in the semi-finals by a vintage Adam Gilchrist onslaught. An electric top order and a capable bowling attack (including Dirk Nannes from group stage opponents Victoria) make them title contenders. The one question over Delhi is their middle-order: can the likes of Dinesh Karthik, Manoj Tiwary and Mithun Manhas step up if the big names at the top fail?

Victoria

How they made it Runners-up of the Big Bash 2008-09
Captain Cameron White
Headliner Brad Hodge
A team that could slip under the radar, Victoria are not the Australian champions but have won the Big Bash three of the four years it has been held. They have also only ever lost three domestic Twenty20 matches. It is a remarkable record built on powerful batting from Cameron White, David Hussey and Brad Hodge, who is one of the most prolific Twenty20 batsmen in the world, even if he can’t get a game for Australia. The loss of the fearsome fast man Dirk Nannes to Delhi Daredevils is a blow but there is plenty of depth in the attack, which still boasts Peter Siddle, Shane Harwood, the under-rated Clint McKay and Bryce McGain, who is surprisingly effective in Twenty20. If they can adapt to the conditions, they are a genuine chance for the title.

Wayamba

How they made it Winners of inter-provincial Twenty20 2008-09
Captain Jehan Mubarak
Headliners Mahela Jayawardene, Ajantha Mendis
Wayamba seem a good bet with a squad chock-a-block with players who have international experience. Their bowling line-up looks dependable, including the likes of Ajantha Mendis, Farveez Maharoof, Isuru Udana (the standout bowler in Sri Lanka’s domestic Twenty20 tournament with 16 wickets at 8.12, economy 6.09) and a new-and-improved Rangana Herath. However, they are possibly in the toughest pool, grouped with Delhi and Victoria. Also, their batting seems a touch under-powered, lacking a lethal-hitter who can really turn on the fireworks. Maharoof is likely to be a key player; he can make big contributions with bat and ball, and his inside knowledge of the Delhi team (with whom he played two IPL seasons) and the Kotla pitch will prove handy.

A round-up of matches from the second day of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

Cricinfo staff21-Oct-2009West ZoneIn his second match in two days, Zaheer Khan, making a comeback from his shoulder injury, took two wickets to keep Gujarat down to 160. Rohit Sharma and wicketkeeper Aditya Tare chased the target easily to give Ranji champions Mumbai their second win, at the Deccan Gymkhana Ground in Pune. After Zaheer’s two top-order strikes, Jay Desai’s quick 41 and Bhavik Thaker (30 off 28 balls) looked to have given Gujarat the upper hand. The two compiled 58 for the fourth wicket to help them end on 160. Paul Valthaty provided some solidity during Mumbai’s reply, but at 79 for 3 in the ninth over, it was Rohit and Tare who took them through with nine balls to spare. While Rohit hit three fours and two sixes during his 33-ball 43, Tare clubbed five boundaries and two sixes en route to 49 off 36 balls.An all-round show from Ganesh Gaikwad took Maharashtra to their first victory of the tournament, with a narrow two-wicket win against Gujarat at the Pune Club Ground. Chirag Pathak (26) looked to have given Gujarat a solid start batting first, but two crucial strikes each from Sajin Sureshnath and Gaikwad kept them to 107. Gaikwad was once again at the forefront during the reply, securing the Maharashtra innings when they were stuttering at 51 for 4. His breezy 23-ball 33, comprising five fours took Maharashtra to safety, and Kiran Adhav and Sureshnath then sealed the victory with seven balls to spare.East ZoneParvez Aziz’s lightning 74 helped Assam continue their winning ways, with a 35-run win against Bengal at the Railway Stadium in Dhanbad. Opting to bat, Assam got off to a strong start with openers Aziz and Avijit Roy putting on 110 by the 13th over. Aziz tore into the opposition bowlers, smashing six fours and six sixes during his 44-ball innings. Offspinner Saurashish Lahiri picked up three quick wickets to keep Assam to 157. Bengal replied strongly during the chase, with Wriddhiman Saha and Deep Dasgupta putting on an opening stand of 53. But once Sairaj Bahutule made the initial inroads, Dhiraj Goswami and Sarupam Purkaystha ran through the middle and lower order, picking up three and two wickets respectively, to wrap up the Bengal innings in 17.4 overs.Orissa picked up their first points of the tournament, thrashing Tripura by 65 runs at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Dhanbad. Choosing to bat, Orissa were boosted by a string of forties from three of their top four batsmen. Having lost Natraj Behera for 7, Paresh Patel (41 off 39) and Niranjan Behera anchored the innings with a second-wicket stand of 50. Niranjan, who remained unbeaten on 44 off 42 balls, then combined with Rashmi Das to take them near the 140-mark. Das became Rana Dutta’s second victim, having hit four boundaries and two sixes during his 25-ball 45, as Orissa ended on 154. Having been dismissed for the lowest Twenty20 score ever in the previous match, Tripura’s disappointment continued as they folded for 89, with Patel being the pick of the Orissa bowlers with 3 for 16.North ZoneMedium-pacer Jitender Billa’s three-wicket burst helped Haryana seal a 10-run win over Himachal Pradesh in Delhi. In pursuit of 147, HP lost early wickets but recovered to reach 126 for 4, with 21 needed off 9 balls. Billa then removed Abhinav Bali, who had threatened with a 45-ball 54, and dismissed Rishi Dhawan to ensure HP were beaten. Joginder Sharma supported Billa with two wickets. Haryana’s competitive score owed largely to an aggressive half-century from opener Ankit Rawat and some hitting at the death by Sachin Rana.Sunny Sohal and Ravi Inder Singh both scored 42 to deliver a strong start for Punjab, but their efforts were in vain as Delhi overhauled a target of 137 at the Palam A Ground with little difficulty. Barring the opening partnership of 75 between Sohal and Ravi Inder for Punjab, there was little support from the batsmen who followed. Rajat Bhatia impressed with three wickets and also starred with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 37, while boosted by important contributions from the middle order, to take Delhi home with five wickets and five balls to spare.Wicketkeeper Manvinder Bisla’s hurricane 75 handed Jammu & Kashmir a convincing nine-wicket victory against Services at the Palam A Ground. Mumtaz Qadir propped up Services to 127 with 51, including eight boundaries. He played a lone hand as the J&K bowlers, led by Samiullah Beigh (3 for 15), kept chipping away to prevent any batsman from playing a support role. While the opening stand for J&K yielded 57, Bisla and Hiken Shah’s unbeaten second-wicket partnership put on 71 to end Services’ hopes. Bisla smashed six fours and a six as J&K sealed the win with five balls to go.Central ZoneMonish Mishra blitzed 84 off 37 balls to lead Madhya Pradesh to a comfortable six-wicket victory against Vidarbha in Indore. Chasing 164, Mishra hammered 10 fours and five sixes and by the time he was dismissed with the score on 118 in the 11th over, his team was comfortably placed. Jalaj Saxena and Abbas Ali scored 24 each as Madhya Pradesh reached the target with 15 balls to spare. Earlier Alind Naidu had scored 55 off 41 balls and Shalabh Shrivastava 44 off 27 to lead Vidarbha to 163 for 6 in 20 overs.

Many Everton fans lambasted Allan as the Blues went down 2-1 to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday night.

Rafael Benitez’s fell to a third straight defeat, with Alex Iwobi’s second-half strike not enough to ignite a comeback after first-half efforts from Max Kilman and Raul Jimenez.

They’ve now slipped to 10th in the Premier League table with just 14 points from the first 30 available.

Recapping Allan’s evening at Molineux

Allan continued his run of starting every top-flight game under Benitez, lining-up alongside Jean-Phillipe Gbamin in the centre of midfield.

But his SofaScore rating of 6.4/10 was the third lowest in the side. Only Ben Godfrey, who made an error leading to the Jimenez goal, and Gbamin, who was withdrawn at half-time, scored lower.

He misplaced 13 passes – including all of his attempted long balls – lost seven of his 12 duels and was dribbled past three times over the course of the game.

Here’s what a selection of Toffees on Twitter had to say about his performance.

Allan comes under fire

“Delph wasn’t revolutionary, he simply did all the things a competent midfielder should be doing as standard. The elephant in the room is that Allan has been bitterly disappointing at EFC considering the reputation he arrived with.”

Credit: @TonyG___

“People can complain about zonal marking, but the problem is desire to win the ball. Allan (again) and Gbamin are being made to look clueless”

Credit: @caehoward

“Gbamin and Allan all over the place”

Credit: @ryanc10efc

“Does our midfield exist? There’s so much space in behind allan and gbamin”

Credit: @EthanCarr03

“I’m going to call this out, & it pains me given how well he started last season: Allan’s dreadful. Like Lucas Digne, he looks good when the team’s playing well, & looks awful when it’s not. Neither player ever lifts the team’s level through their own performance.”

Credit: @BlueDino38

“Allan without doucoure is ridiculously poor”

Credit: @EssenceEverton

In other news, fans also ripped into this defender. 

Shane Watson would like to stay at the top of Australia’s Test order

Cricinfo staff12-Nov-2009Shane Watson would like to stay at the top of Australia’s Test order but is open to the idea of shuffling back to the middle to help cope with his bowling duties. The opener Phillip Hughes is gaining strong support for a return and Watson is more suited further down despite scoring three half-centuries after coming in for Hughes during the Ashes.”It would be nice to be able to open,” Watson said after landing in Sydney following his early departure from the India tour. “I loved the opportunity of opening in the Test matches during the Ashes. It will just be interesting to see how they try to balance my bowling. I’m back bowling a lot more now and I feel like I’m bowling quite well.”Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, remains unsure how to use Watson best. ”We’re not fixed as to where [Watson] will bat, he is quite flexible,” Hilditch said in the Sydney Morning Herald. “The advantage we’ve got with Shane is that he is proving himself to be quite a versatile player.”Watson displayed his all-round skills during the one-day series in India, where he scored 256 runs and took 10 wickets to earn the Man-of-the-Series award. “It has been a nice reward personally for such a great tour for us as a group,” he said. “For us to be able to win with quite a few setbacks we did have with a few injuries, it’s really good for us.”Watson also stayed injury free and had the bonus of coming home a match early to prepare for the first Test against West Indies on November 26. “It’s actually very rewarding to know that I’ve been able to get through the cricket that I have over the last few months especially,” he said. He is not sure whether he will debut for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield next week or be rested by Cricket Australia.

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been left buzzing as news emerged involving academy player Lewis MacKinnon.

As shared by the official Twitter page of Rangers B & Academy, the defender scored in the final few seconds of their game away at Cumbernauld Colts in the Scottish Lowland League on Wednesday night.

The goal meant that Rangers B left Broadwood Stadium with a 3-2 win and all three points, with Tony Weston grabbing the other two goals (rangers.co.uk).

With the club confirming this morning that Steven Gerrard has left Ibrox to join Aston Villa as their new permanent manager after the departure of Dean Smith, the Rangers B result and performance at least gave the Ibrox faithful something to cheer about, as it looks as if they have a few promising youngsters coming through.

Rangers fans on MacKinnon goal

These Gers fans buzzed as the news of MacKinnon’s goal was shared on Twitter, with one supporter even going as far as to claim that the youngster is already a ‘brilliant’ player:

“Brilliant big Lewis”

Credit: @mccauslandalan

“Get in. Is the manager watching the promising players today?”

Credit: @Beesh24240265

“Something to smile about in life”

Credit: @38821090G

“Brilliant!!!”

Credit: @speedy430

“Class”

Credit: @sc__morton

“YESSSS”

Credit: @JJ271099319

In other news, find out how these Gers have been reacting to the latest news on Gerrard

Flocking to Twitter, many West Ham United fans have raved over a fresh transfer claim as new head of recruitment Rob Newman seemingly sets his sights on a brand new target.

The transfer chief, brought in to work with manager David Moyes and identify a mix of first team stars and talent for the future (The Athletic), comes in with plenty of credentials.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-developments-2/” title=”West Ham developments” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Having worked with some prestigious figures at former club Manchester City, including their sporting director Txiki Begiristain, Newman has been credited with playing a role in the transfer of Aymeric Laporte among others (The Athletic).

As he now looks to orchestrate West Ham’s dealings, it appears the 57-year-old has his eyes on a new target as ExWHUemployee shares news on Norwich City star Todd Cantwell.

The club insider, speaking on his West Ham Way Podcast, explains that the Irons have been linked with a move for the Canaries playmaker.

His contract expires at the end of this season, meaning West Ham could sign him as a free agent in 2022, with many supporters raving over this update.

West Ham fans rave…

According to WhoScored, only 2020/2021 star men Michail Antonio and Jesse Lingard averaged a higher rate of shots on goal per 90 than Cantwell domestically last season.

As well as this, out of West Ham’s squad, only Aaron Cresswell could match the 23-year-old’s impressive rate of 1.6 key passes per match in the final third (WhoScored).

Taking his creative quality into account, not to mention the fact he still has years ahead of him and could be on the move for absolutely nothing, it’s no wonder Irons supporters are raving over this link – even if his impressive 20/21 numbers to come from the Championship

Find all of their best verdicts down below:

“I think he would thrive under Moyes! Young, English, if we can get him for cheap/free it would be a steal!”

Credit: @WestHamNRU

“He’s a baller”

Credit: @prior19042000

“this makes me happy”

Credit: @WestHamAimee97

“Oh yes please”

Credit: @whualfie1

“Would love him tbh”

Credit: @Kayron27

“This is at the top of my wish list for us”

Credit: @SamSton13741567

“Yes yes yes”

Credit: @StefGoodridge

In other news: ‘Increasingly likely’…Sky reporter breaks news on ‘clinical’ striker in big boost for West Ham, find out more here.

New South Wales picked up two points after taking a 79-run lead on first innings despite a spirited batting display from John Hastings

Cricinfo staff20-Dec-2009New South Wales 8 for 390 dec & 0 for 14 lead Victoria 311 (Hastings 84, Wade 59, Sheridan 54) by 93 runs
Scorecard
John Hastings top scored for Victoria•Cricket VictoriaNew South Wales picked up two points after taking a 79-run lead on first innings despite a spirited batting display from John Hastings and poor catching by the hosts. Victoria were dismissed for 311 late on the third day following Hastings’ 84 and the Blues were 0 for 14 in reply as the match heads towards a draw.Hastings, the allrounder at No. 8, led a gutsy lower-order fightback after the Bushrangers were in serious trouble at 6 for 90. Half-centuries to Matthew Wade (59) and the debutant Will Sheridan (54) delayed the Blues, who had only themselves to blame after putting down seven chances. They were also forced to call on various substitutes after injuries to Ben Rohrer and Usman Khawaja.The captain Moises Henriques (3 for 69) struck twice early in the day to remove Lloyd Mash and David Hussey while Mitchell Starc caused the problems for Nick Jewell (47) and Cameron White (14). However, Hastings forced Victoria away from most of the danger during an innings containing two sixes and 11 fours. Phillip Hughes, who can seal his spot in the MCG Test squad with another strong display, was unbeaten at stumps on 7, the same score as Phil Jaques.

West Ham centre-back Issa Diop has given David Moyes one huge selection headache once again after he delivered another colossal display in the Europa League on Thursday evening.

The Irons sealed top spot in Group H and advanced into the knockout stages of the competition with a 2-0 victory over Rapid Wien, meaning they remain unbeaten in Europe across five matches, and the French defender was instrumental in keeping the clean sheet and helping the side on their way to the win.

With Angelo Ogbonna ruled out for the remainder of the season with an ACL injury, Diop did his chances of replacing the Italian veteran in the Premier League no harm whatsoever,

He may well have actually bolstered them substantially heading into this weekend’s major clash with defending champions Manchester City.

‘Did everything asked of him, Strong in the air, read the game well,’ is how football.london reporter Tom Clark in his post-match column and indeed, that was certainly the case as he was the more productive of Moyes’ two centre-backs.

[snack-amp-story url = “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/west-ham-news-transfer-updates-rumours-gossip-david-moyes-gsb-premier-league” title=”Read the latest West Ham news, transfer updates and much, much more!”]

As per SofaScore, Diop registered a match-high five clearances, won 100% of his aerial duels, and also made an interception and block apiece.

It follows up from his performance earlier in the campaign against Manchester United in the Carabao Cup, where assistant manager Stuart Pearce dubbed him a “colossus” for his impressive performance, whilst in the past, Jose Mourinho once dubbed him a “monster” for the way in which he contained Paul Pogba.

But the towering 24-year-old, who is currently valued at £13.5m by Transfermarkt, wasn’t just a big physical presence in the heart of defence but he was also adept with the ball at his feet, managing a passing accuracy of 99% from 77 attempts, as well as notching 89 touches of the ball.

After the Hammers’ defeat to Wolves on Saturday, with Craig Dawson getting the nod over Diop, Moyes now has plenty to ponder ahead of Sunday as the Frenchman just delivered a major statement as to why he could be the better option, in the big absence of Ogbonna.

Perhaps it is time to see if the former Toulouse beast can continue such form into the English top-flight. The Scotsman now has a massive call to make seeing as the centre-back continues to deliver each and every time he plays.

AND in other news, 108 touches, 100% duels won: £50k-p/w beast stole the show for Moyes vs Rapid Wien…

Jacques Kallis’s participation in this Test was in such doubt last week that South Africa packed him off to an oxygen chamber to hasten his recovery from a rib fracture

The Bulletin by Andrew Miller16-Dec-2009Close South Africa 262 for 4 (Kallis 112*, Duminy 38*) v England
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJacques Kallis was unstoppable as England rued bowling first at Centurion•Getty ImagesJacques Kallis’s participation in this Test was in such doubt last week that South Africa packed him off to an oxygen chamber to hasten his recovery from a rib fracture. The success of his treatment was plain for all to see on the opening day at Centurion, as he produced a brilliant unbeaten 112 to asphyxiate England’s ambitions in the rarefied Highveld atmosphere.In a performance buttressed by solid contributions from Ashwell Prince, AB de Villiers and JP Duminy, South Africa reached the close of a classic Test-match day on 262 for 4, a healthy return that left Andrew Strauss ruing his decision to bowl first on a green-tinged wicket. There could be no legislating, however, for the class of Kallis, who consigned his shaky form in last year’s tour of England to history to produce his 32nd century in 132 Test appearances.His recent experiences in the IPL have transformed Kallis’s mindset to such an extent that he is even unleashed as an initiative-seizing opener in limited-overs internationals. But nothing rouses him quite like the opportunity to drop anchor and bat all day, and for 203 deliveries he was the epitome of insuperable – just as he had been on England’s last tour of South Africa in 2004-05, when he top-scored for the hosts with 625 runs in five matches.In the course of his masterclass, Kallis had just two significant moments of alarm – the first from his very first delivery when Graham Onions induced a low edge through the cordon, and then again six overs before the close, when Stuart Broad, armed with the new ball, induced a streaky top-edge that flew wide of fine leg to secure his century in an improbably undignified manner.In between whiles, however, he paced his performance to perfection – bedding in when the sting went out of the attack; cashing in when the part-timers, Paul Collingwood and Jonathan Trott were handed exploratory spells; and counterattacking with premeditated effectiveness to knock Graeme Swann off his stride, after England’s offspinner had struck with his second delivery of the match to remove Prince for 45. Just when Swann believed he was turning the screw, Kallis dropped to one knee to put him back in his box with a six and a four through midwicket.Regardless of that indignity, Swann was the stand-out performer for England. Both of his dismissals were straight out of the textbook, with sharp turn and bounce accounting for Prince at slip and de Villiers at short leg in the last over before tea. It added up to the impression that Strauss had been suckered by the lurid nature of the Centurion wicket – to such an extent that he shelved his pre-series plan to hand a debut to the allrounder Luke Wright, and instead turned to the extra batting insurance in Ian Bell.In mitigation, Strauss was also let down to varying degrees by his three-pronged seam attack. England were given a flying start when Graeme Smith was strangled down the leg side for a duck by Broad’s third delivery of the morning, but instead of building on his good fortune, Broad quickly reverted to his back-of-a-length default setting. After an injury-plagued fortnight, James Anderson could not locate his rhythm despite two promising new-ball spells, and though Onions showed the way with a toiling wicket-to-wicket line that accounted for Hashim Amla (19), he succumbed to a calf strain midway through the final session and was limited to 14 overs in the day.To compound England’s frustrations, they also squandered both of their umpiring review opportunities during a foreboding afternoon session in which de Villiers and Kallis added 66 in 20 overs to push South Africa into the ascendancy. In the morning session, Prince had successfully overturned an lbw appeal from Onions when he had made just 19, and England were unable to redress the balance.Strauss had steadfastly (and correctly) refused to be drawn on three earlier occasions, but his resolve cracked twice in quick succession – first when Anderson ducked an inswinger off an inside-edge and into Kallis’s pads, and then when Swann and Prior were convinced that de Villiers had under-edged an attempted slog-sweep. With no HotSpot available to the third umpire, however, that decision was never likely to be overturned, and Strauss was rightly left kicking himself afterwards.As the afternoon wore on and Kallis’s bat grew broader with every delivery, Duminy settled into a tempo to match his senior partner, and was unbeaten on 38 from 103 deliveries at the close, with four fours and a two-stepped driven six off Swann to his name. South Africa’s measured tempo means that England remain very much in contention, especially with a still-new ball in their possession. But Kallis’s intent knows no bounds. Curiously, he has never yet managed a double-century in Tests. The time, he will feel, is nigh to put that right.