midfielder Darren Fletcher has admitted that he cannot wait to step out for Scotland again, and that he is fit to feature in both of their World Cup qualifiers over the next five days.
The Red Devils battler has returned to health and fitness after being diagnosed with a bowel condition that threatened his career.
After making a return to action for the Old Trafford outfit, Fletcher is now relishing the opportunity to represent his country once more.
“I feel ready to play both matches. I feel fit, I feel strong and I feel ready for the games. It’s great to be back,” he confessed to reporters, published in The Daily Mail.
“It’s been a while and I’m just desperate for the game to start. Hopefully I’m playing and I can do my part in getting a good result for Scotland.
“I always believed I would be back and fortunately I’m here today.
“It proves that I always had the belief that one day I would be back and helping the lads qualify for a major competition,” he continued.
In-form striker Steven Fletcher has also returned to Craig Levein’s squad to add quality, but the United man feels that a team effort will be needed for the side to beat Wales on Friday.
“If we beat Wales on Friday it won’t just be because me and Steven are named in the team.
“It will need a good team effort. If it can be a boost to the rest of the players that’s great. You look for any small margin you can.
“But knowing the players, they will be ready for this game irrespective of whether me and Steven are in the team.
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“We’ll be looking to win the match and whoever is playing will give their all and hopefully we can get a positive result for Scotland,” he concluded.
While relegation inevitably means bad news for West Brom, it’s great news for any of their former Premier League rivals looking to pick up players on the cheap this summer. Indeed, that’s the curious thing about the Baggies’ season; when you look at the actual complexion of the squad, barring dearths of quality in certain key departments, it’s laced with players who have proven records in the top flight, alongside a few underrated gems.
Versatile defender Craig Dawson goes some way to filling both categories. He’s made over 150 appearances in the Premier League, having earned his move to the Hawthorns in 2011 by impressing in the Football League with Rochdale, and has unquestionably been amongst the Baggies’ most consistent performers over the last few years. Yet, perhaps because West Brom have been far from a fashionable club during their final few terms in the Premier League, Dawson has rarely received the acknowledgement his form’s deserved – at least, not from those outside of the west Midlands club.
And in truth, that unfashionable style is partly what has made Dawson such an effective and competent defender, especially under Tony Pulis, by mastering the basics of the trade while playing out of position. Clearly a centre-half by nature, Pulis deployed Dawson at right-back and that incredible height and power across the backline became a defining feature of the Welshman’s Baggies side – one which helped push them to an impressive tenth-placed finish last term.
Following Pulis’ departure, Dawson was allowed to undertake his more natural role, alongside Ahmed Hegazi at the heart of defence, and the 28-year-old impressed there too – playing at centre-back during clean sheets against Manchester United, Tottenham and Newcastle, which gave Darren Moore’s side a glimmer of hope of sensationally avoiding the drop.
Indicative of how influential Dawson’s been this season, regardless of position, the Baggies’ win-rate has moved from a mere 9% to 25% when the 6 foot 2 defender’s made their starting XI – the only time he hasn’t being the twelve games he missed between October and December through injury. Perhaps even more tellingly, that was the period of the season when West Brom’s campaign really began to spiral out of control.
That’s not to suggest Dawson’s absence is the primary reason West Brom have failed to beat the drop, but it’s clear the defence struggled at times in his absence and it also took an unlikely source of goals out of the team. Scoring has actually been a key feature of Dawson’s career; he’s finished the last two seasons with four apiece in the Premier League, and netted a staggering 22 in 94 appearances during his time with Rochdale.
Looking around the top flight, West Ham are amongst the clubs most in need of a reliable centre-half. While Declan Rice has established himself as a promising option ahead of 2018/19 and Angelo Ogbonna has been decent when fully fit, Winston Reid is nursing a long-term injury and James Collins will leave the club when his contract expires this summer.
Amid such dire straits, David Moyes was forced to depend on a teenager in Rice and a full-back in Aaron Cresswell to complete the Hammers’ often shaky back three. In fact, throughout the entire campaign, Italy international Ogbonna was the only out-and-out centre-half to make more than 17 top flight appearances for the east Londoners. Moyes’ successor, Manuel Pellegrini, has already told the press he wants “four or five players”, and a new centre-back will surely be on his wishlist.
March reports from Mirror Football suggest Dawson could be available for around £10million this summer, which seems a far price to pay for an English centre-half with a proven record in the Premier League. But potential competition from Burnley, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough could end up elevating that figure somewhat.
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So, West Ham fans, would you back a swoop for Dawson? Let us know by voting below…
According to reports in The Sun, Manchester United could be set to follow up a move to sign Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez by agreeing an exciting new five-year contract worth £250,000-a-week for manager Jose Mourinho.
What’s the word, then?
Well, The Sun says that the Portuguese boss is close to extending his stay at Old Trafford with the club said to be hopeful of announcing the deal in the next 10 days.
Mourinho initially only signed a three-year contract when he replaced Louis van Gaal in 2016 and has never managed longer than that period at any of his previous clubs, but he could be set to achieve a first with the Red Devils.
The Sun says that both parties are happy with each other and the progress that they are making, with the former Chelsea chief determined to win the Premier League title and the hierarchy pleased that he has got the spirit back that had been lost under Van Gaal previously.
How has Mourinho done this season?
Having finished in sixth position in the Premier League last term the Red Devils are much improved this time around, and had it not been for Manchester City’s outstanding campaign they would be right in contention to win the title.
As things stand they are 12 points behind their arch-rivals and while Mourinho won’t have given up hope just yet, it would take a major slip from City to allow their local neighbours to snatch the trophy.
United have also qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League and progressed into the fourth round of the FA Cup, and the Old Trafford hierarchy will hope for at least one trophy by the end of the season after the Portuguese boss delivered two last term.
Will he stay for many years to come?
As we mentioned previously, Mourinho has never lasted more than three seasons at any club and much could depend on their success next term as to whether he will stay for the long-term.
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However, the fact that he is happy with United and the fact that he already seems to have the fans on his side is certainly a good sign, and bodes well for an exciting future.
Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan has given boss Malky Mackay the vote of confidence after the departure of the managers close partner Iain Moody, as reported by talkSPORT.
Mackay is reportedly livid with owner Tan for dismissing his right hand man Moody, who was the head of recruitment at City, and replaced him with friend of the family Alisher Apsalyamov.
Apsalyamov was on work experience at the Cardiff City stadium just two months ago and now has key role at the club, leaving Mackay to ponder his future.
Mackay will attend a board meeting tomorrow to discuss the weeks’ events but unsurprisingly Tan will not be around.
“I have every faith in Malky and his team to lead us through the challenges of the Premier League,” Tan said on the clubs official site.
“I have supported him in the past and will do so in the future for many years to come.
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“I would say to all Cardiff City fans and everyone connected to the club, let us look forward to the future and remain united in our support of the team.”
Steve Harper admits he feared his career at Newcastle United was over; such was the form of the younger Tim Krul last season.
The 37-year-old’s Premier League appearance in Newcastle’s 2-2 draw with Everton on Monday was his first in over a year. Harper conceded it had been tough and that his motivation was faltering.
Speaking ahead of the Toon Army’s Thursday night Europa League clash with Maritimo, Harper said: “I didn’t think a night like this would come again. It looked a long way away.
“It was probably a little bit my fault as well. When Tim started last season, I admit I got the hump and let standards slip. That’s probably the reason I wasn’t involved.
“But the first morning of pre-season the manager came to see me. He said, ‘have you still got it?’ I said, ‘yes’. He told me if I showed him I still wanted it, there would be an opportunity, so credit to him.”
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Dutch international Krul, is currently missing with an elbow injury suffered playing for his country, giving Harper a chance to prove his worth to Alan Pardew.
Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish helped his team reach the Championship play-off final following their goalless draw against Middlesbrough at Villa Park on Tuesday night in the second leg of their semi-final tie, and Newcastle United should look to snap the 22-year-old up this summer if Steve Bruce’s men don’t win promotion.
The England U21 international, who earns £20,000-a-week according to The Sun, was impressive on Teesside on Saturday, and another decent performance in the middle of the park for the Midlands outfit in midweek saw them advance to what should be a brilliant clash between themselves and Fulham at Wembley later this month.
Grealish has suffered his fair share of injury issues and controversial moments off the pitch over the course of the last few seasons, but he has stood up to the plate this season.
He began the latest fixture with Boro behind Lewis Grabban in a 4-1-4-1 formation, although as well as playing as a central and attacking midfielder, he has also featured as a left winger.
The 22-year-old showed his quality on the ball with a passing accuracy of 85% against Tony Pulis’ side, while he successfully completed five dribbles and was fouled on seven occasions, as per WhoScored.com.
That proved the threat he can bring to opposition teams, and he also had three shots and made one key pass during the 90 minutes.
He would certainly be a good addition for Newcastle, whose fans on Twitter are fed up of the links to a player with 34 goals this season, as they surely look to provide Ayoze Perez – despite his brilliant end to the campaign – with some much-needed competition in the No.10 role.
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He could also play out wide on the left if a permanent move for Chelsea’s Kenedy doesn’t come to fruition.
As reported by The Scottish Sun, on loan Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday is expected to return to the Light Blues’ squad this week ahead of their winter training camp excursion to Florida.
Halliday has spent the first half of the season on loan at Azerbaijan club Gabala after former manager Pedro Caixinha deemed him surplus to requirements, but it appears Graeme Murty is looking to include him going forward.
The midfielder didn’t have the best of 2016/17 seasons and was criticised for his performances under both Mark Warburton and latterly Caixinha.
Supporters don’t seem particularly enthused by his return with some feeling it’s a step backwards, that he won’t improve on who is already at the club and that they need better if they’re to compete with reigning champions Celtic.
Can the boyhood Rangers fan prove people wrong, or will he continue to struggle to improve the Ibrox side’s midfield fortunes?
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This summer has been full of transfer sagas, and to the relief of most the closure of the transfer window has finally drawn a line in the sand under most of them. However Wayne Rooney’s protracted flirtations with other clubs is an issue that won’t go away, and for fans of English football in general, that ‘what if’ question still remains.
Rooney will now stay with Manchester United until January at the earliest, where the incessant merry-go-round will rear its head again. It appears that both Arsenal and Chelsea missed out on the frontman, much to the delight of United. But is the gain of one Premier League club going to be to the detriment of our national side in general?
Ever since Moyes’s implication in pre-season that Rooney would be no more than second choice to Van Persie, the Englishman has become increasingly unsettled. It didn’t start here though, a series of high profile fallouts with Ferguson left the Englishman cutting a frustrated figure at Old Trafford in the latter months of his tenure. An unhappy footballer playing second fiddle, hardly the perfect preparation for England’s main hope going into a World Cup year is it?
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Rooney has for a while now maintained a strained relationship with David Moyes, and unless something can be done to rectify the situation both United and England are going to suffer. It seems a waste that the clubs fourth all time goalscorer and a man with 141 league goals for the club has been forced into such a background role. The importance of Van Persie is marked, but a fit and firing Rooney is surely a worthy addition to any side?
Now of course Rooney may well be afforded the opportunity of playing in behind Van Persie week in week out, to be honest we just don’t know. However what has been made clear is that the team is no longer about Wayne Rooney, and as it stands he is going to be fighting it out with the likes of Welbeck, Kagawa and Hernandez for that first team berth. Some may argue this kind of meritocracy is good, but for someone with the emotional fragility of Rooney I think it really could do more harm than good.
Leaving Rooney to slug it out for first team scraps could well be the best move for United, in the end if someone like Kagawa proves himself deserving then why not move him up the pecking order? The issue is more of a national one in reality. Some may disagree, but for me United still boast a range of International stars ready to take up the gauntlet, the reality for England is that they just do not have this luxury. Wayne Rooney still represents one of a few world-class options for Roy Hodgson, and for the sake of the national side his future still needs to be nurtured.
So would a move have boosted England?
Moves to Chelsea and Arsenal were mooted, and in my opinion both would have benefited the respective clubs and the nation in general. Neither Chelsea nor Arsenal are endowed with the striking riches of United and clearly Rooney would have been a certain starter for both clubs. Chelsea’s willingness to play without a recognised striker just about says it all and in my opinion Olivier Giroud and Wayne Rooney just aren’t in the same league as each other. Now who knows Rooney could have been employed as a number 10 or an out and out striker, it is all pretty hypothetical but most would agree he would be the focal point of both attacking outfits.
Someone like Jose Mourinho openly admitting that Rooney is his only transfer target has a profound effect on the individual. Rooney needs to be wanted and his recent struggles may well have heralded the need for a new environment.
Playing in the confines of London, with consistent opportunities at a top club where he is wanted, surely the blueprint for a resurgent Rooney?
England’s national side, if recent performances are anything to go on, are in absolute tatters. Monotonous and dull, the national side have decided stifling the opposition is the only option for a side that has so little to offer going forward.
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If England are even to get to Rio let alone compete they desperately need a firing Wayne Rooney, and his prolonged stay in Manchester just could put pay to that.
Will Rooney’s failed move ultimately damage England?
It doesn’t matter at what level of football you play, being a goalkeeper can be a really unpleasant job.
Even on the school playing field, it has always been the position that nobody wants to play. You pick sides one player at a time. You slowly pick off the best players until eventually your team is left with the weakest, least competent member of the group. So what do you do with them? Well, it’s obvious. You stick them in goal in a vain attempt to keep them out of harm’s way. Then when your team wins, the focus is on the goalscorer and the goalkeeper’s efforts go unnoticed. When your team ends up losing, there is only one person to blame, isn’t there?
But in the professional game, is it any different? When people think of the greatest goals of all time, they think of Diego Maradona vs England (not the first goal, obviously!), Marco Van Basten vs USSR, Cantona vs Sunderland, Bergkamp vs Newcastle, Henry vs Manchester United, Zidane vs Bayer Leverkusen, Di Canio vs Wimbledon… the list goes on.
On the other hand, when people think of the greatest saves of all time… well, you’ve got Gordon Banks vs Brazil… and that’s about it. Take nothing away from goalkeepers such as Schmeichel, Zoff, Yashin, Khan, Van Der Sar, Buffon and Casillas. They have all produced mind-blowing saves during their careers, but it’s only ever Banks’ physics-defying save from Pele’s header that truly sticks out in the minds of the footballing public.
Sadly goalkeepers are rarely remembered for their heroics in front of goal. If anything, they are remembered for the exact opposite. If you type ‘great goalkeeping saves’ into YouTube, you will receive over 18,000 videos in response. But type ‘goalkeeping errors’, and the number of responses is almost trebled!
Yes, we all enjoy watching the old blooper every now and again (as long as it doesn’t happen to your team!), but it’s of little wonder or surprise that being a goalkeeper is one of the most stressful jobs in any sport. There is simply no margin for error. If a team has an off day and fails to score, the best they can hope for is a draw. But if the keeper has a bad day, his team could end up with nothing at all.
And the pressure just doesn’t go away. The new Premier League season is only just over a week old, and yet we have already witnessed no fewer than seven goalkeeping howlers. Even the League’s most reliable goalies, most notably, Petr Cech, David De Gea and Shay Given are amongst those to have fumbled already this season.
In the modern era, when every single match that is played is scrutinised right down to the finest details, goalkeepers always remain subject to criticism, scepticism and mockery.
The cynics amongst us might say that ‘they’re only job is to stop shots from going in to the back of the net. How hard can that possibly be?’ But being a goalkeeper is about so much more than that. It is about being a master of your own state of mind. It is about conquering your own self-doubt. It is about not letting your mistakes affect your ability as a player.
The question is how does a goalkeeper deal with all of these issues? Well, nowadays the biggest clubs have all kinds of facilities to help players psychologically, however most players are apparently too reluctant to commit themselves to dealing with their own self-doubt, for fear of what their manager and team-mates would think of them.
One of the biggest fears for a footballer is rejection. One week, you think you are playing well, but the next week you find yourself on the bench. This can have a massive psychological effect on any player, but for this to happen to a goalkeeper, where there is only one place in the team up for grabs, the thought that your manager favours another player over yourself can be very damaging to the psyche.
Back in March, former England goalkeeper David James wrote an article in the Observer about the lack of psychological support in football:
‘There’s a misconception that all footballers are very confident, but it is the opposite for most.
‘It is a great irony that in a game where we routinely talk of confidence on the pitch, psychological support off it is so appallingly neglected. When I was going through a bad time at Liverpool I approached the club for some support. Back then, I was told, “Shut up and deal with it”. Sadly, I don’t think football has moved on from that position.’
Every goalkeeper suffers from self-doubt, even if they won’t admit it. Even Edwin Van Der Sar, one of the greatest keepers of all time, has admitted to being prone to this. But the best thing they can do is simply try to brush it off, learn from that mistake and try not to let it happen again. Some are able to brush off their mistakes and move on even if their reputation takes a hit as a result.
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Robert Green’s reputation has been completely tarnished by his error during England’s match vs USA at the 2010 World Cup. Massimo Taibi seemed to completely disappear off the radar following his howler for Manchester United against Southampton in 1999. Even David James has suffered a similar fate, inheriting the nickname ‘Calamity James’ during a torrid spell at Liverpool. But the truth is all of these players did not let their mistakes get to them. Despite another error recently, Robert Green is still a top flight goalkeeper at QPR, Massimo Taibi went on to have a successful career in Italy, and David James, despite not currently being attached to a club, is still playing in his 40s.
Sadly, some goalkeepers are never able to fathom the amount of responsibility that they have to deal with. The most prominent and tragic example being that of German goalkeeper Robert Enke, who committed suicide in November 2009. In Ronald Reng’s book, A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke, we examine the life of a man struggling to battle with his own personal demons and are given an insight into the pressures and fears of playing sport at the highest level. Enke’s story is a shining example of how it could all go wrong for today’s professional goalkeeper.
It’s easy to say that clubs could do more to support their players psychologically, and there is no doubt in my mind that they should. But players need to take it upon themselves not to let their self-doubt get the better of them. Thankfully, the example of Robert Enke is one of a kind. But all goalkeepers, regardless of how good they are, should learn from him.
Goalkeepers simply need to learn one thing: they are only human. The chances are extremely high that a goalkeeper will make more than one mistake in his career. But this doesn’t mean that his reputation has to suffer. One mistake or one bad performance doesn’t define a goalkeeper. It’s how they bounce back from this mistake that defines them.
He and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who scored 77, added 196 for the seventh wicket, as visitors posted 565
Vishal Dikshit24-Aug-2024Mushfiqur Rahim turned the tables on Pakistan on a hot and humid fourth day in Rawalpindi with an innings of 191 by being a figure of patience, and exhibiting controlled aggression and compact technique. His 11th Test hundred was also his first against Pakistan in the format.Mushfiqur’s two century partnerships poured water on any hopes the hosts had of taking a first-innings lead at the start of the day. Riding on his knock, Bangladesh first took a sizeable lead of 117 runs by putting up 565, and then adding to Pakistan’s jitters by dismissing Saim Ayub late in the day, with the hosts still trailing by 94 runs with three sessions left in the game.Bangladesh’s opening bowlers Shoriful Islam and Hasan Mahmud swung the ball beautifully in the ten overs Pakistan had to see through. They drew multiple edges out of which only one carried, beat the edges of the bat consistently, and bowled stifling lines to create several tense moments for Pakistan to concede only 23 runs.Mushfiqur’s century partnership with Litton Das didn’t last long on Saturday, and when he added another hundred with No. 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, it made Bangladesh only the second team with two century partnerships after the fall of the fifth wicket in a Test innings against Pakistan. Mehidy gave Mushfiqur company in a massive stand of 196 runs for the seventh wicket with his seventh Test half-century – and only his second outside Bangladesh – which first loosened Pakistan’s grip on the game, and then strengthened their own by taking a lead after lunch.Bangladesh were 316 for 5 and trailing by 132 at the start of the day, which will make Pakistan rue the chances they put down to allow a wicketless second session. Seeing that there was nothing in the pitch for the bowlers, and that Pakistan were without any frontline spinner, the visitors changed gears after a slow first hour.The only time Mushfiqur came close to getting dismissed in the first session was when Mohammad Ali trapped him in front, on 59, but a review overturned the on-field decision. Ali jagged one sharply into Mushfiqur with the help of movement off the pitch to hit him in front of leg stump. Mushfiqur, however, reviewed with success, with ball-tracking showing the ball missing leg stump. Bangladesh had started the day with all three reviews intact while Pakistan had none left in the bank.Mehidy Hasan Miraz scored 77•AFP/Getty Images
Once Litton edged one behind off Naseem Shah’s short delivery outside off which he failed to get on top of, Mushfiqur hit the pedal – especially against the spinners. Soon after Mehidy, whose technique wasn’t as compact as Mushfiqur’s in the first session, collected fours in consecutive overs off Khurram Shahzad, Mushfiqur raced from 73 to 100 in just 20 balls. He punished Shahzad for two more fours in an over – a deft steer through gully, and a punch through the covers – before also driving Shaheen Shah Afridi straight for four in the next over, to reach 88.With Bangladesh chipping away at the deficit and Pakistan desperate for wickets, Masood brought on spin from both ends with 12 minutes left for lunch, and Mushfiqur cashed in. He smote Ayub for back-to-back fours, first against the turn over midwicket and then to the long-on boundary to reach 96, and in the next over nudged one to the leg side for two to spark off animated celebrations for his hundred.In the second session, the temperature had crossed 35 degrees Celsius, Pakistan had bowled over 100 overs already, and it was going to take something extraordinary to take the remaining four wickets quickly. Mehidy looked a lot more assured after lunch, while Mushfiqur continued to play the ball late and right under his eyes to collect runs. Ali soon resorted to a short-ball plan for Mehidy by placing six fielders on the leg side, but his wayward lines failed to create opportunities, and Pakistan moved away from that tactic a bit too soon.The scant Pakistan crowd at the ground thought Mushfiqur, on 126, was finally gone when he nudged a ball from Agha Salman to square leg, but the ball actually fell just short of Saud Shakeel. Mushfiqur wasn’t deterred though; he then lofted Salman over Shakeel two balls later to bring up the century stand as Bangladesh soon took the lead, and when he reached 140, Mushfiqur had overtaken Tamim Iqbal as Bangladesh’s top-scorer in away Tests.The real chance of dismissing Mushfiqur came after he reached 150, when he tickled the ball down leg where Babar Azam put down a catch at leg slip to his left. Mehidy, meanwhile, moved along to his half-century, and in the last over before tea, Mushfiqur smacked Salman for four over extra cover and then almost for a six to the long-on boundary to further stamp Bangladesh’s authority on the day.Once Mushfiqur fell in the last session by edging Ali behind just before the third new ball was taken, Shoriful gave his side the kind of attacking and late lift Afridi had given Pakistan, with 22 runs off 14 balls, while Afridi took two of the last three wickets with the new ball to help Pakistan take 4 for 37 and wrap Bangladesh’s lower order up.Among the Pakistan bowlers, Salman toiled the most by bowling a spell of 24 overs, split by the tea break, which saw 16 overs on the trot in the second session.