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While Leeds United have improved immeasurably since Andrea Radrizzani’s purchase of the club from Massimo Cellino back in 2016, there are nevertheless a number of scars that have been left on the Premier League side from the Italian’s disastrous two-year spell in control of the Whites.

And, while the vast majority of these are financial, there are also some very tangible transfer decisions made by the 65-year-old that are still haunting the club to this day, such as Cellino’s decision not to pay the £7m fee required to prise Michail Antonio away from Nottingham Forest back in 2015.

Cellino had a nightmare on Antonio

Indeed, since his move to West Ham United, the 31-year-old centre-forward has gone from strength to strength, becoming one of the most feared strikers in the Premier League due to his strength, speed and clinical nature in the final third.

All three of these traits have been prominent over his 28 top-flight appearances this season, with the £25m-rated hitman having bagged eight goals, registered seven assists and created seven big chances for his teammates, as well as taken an average of 2.4 shots and made 1.5 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the £69k-per-week forward average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.04, ranking him as David Moyes’ fifth-best performer in the Premier League – playing a crucial role in the Hammers’ push to secure a top-four finish.

And, with Patrick Bamford having missed the best part of six months of the current campaign due to injury, something that has undoubtedly contributed towards Leeds finding themselves in the midst of a relegation scrap this season, it would very much appear as if the Whites could have used the services of the player who Rio Ferdinand dubbed “absolute fire” in leading their line.

However, it has not only been this season in which Antonio has been in excellent form for the Irons, with the Jamaica international having scored 58 goals and registered 36 assists over his 215 appearances for the East London outfit – a highly impressive feat considering the 31-year-old is a converted winger.

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As such, while hindsight is a wonderful thing, considering the fact that Cellino had the chance to land Antonio for just £7m back in 2015, it is clear for all to see that the Italian’s decision not to make a move for the centre-forward has cost Leeds greatly in the long-term.

AND in other news: Marsch can save Leeds millions with “massive” 18 y/o who could “be the next Van Dijk”

	Matthew Elliott reinvented himself as a damaging one-day player at South Australia after his less-attacking days as a Victorian opener earlier in his career, when he was often compared to Bill Lawry © Getty Images

Matthew Elliott, the opening batsman who was a regular member of Australia’s Test team during the late 1990s, has announced his retirement from first-class cricket in Australia. Elliott, 36, follows his South Australia team-mate Darren Lehmann in quitting the game and he said it was time the state’s younger players were given a chance to establish themselves.Wednesday’s one-day match against Tasmania at Adelaide Oval will be his final appearance unless the third-placed Redbacks secure a spot in the FR Cup decider. “After much thought and many discussions I’m convinced the timing is right,” Elliott said.”It has to be about the team and what is right for the team now, it’s not for an old boy like me to battle out the rest of the season. Retiring now will give the younger players in the Redbacks squad the same opportunity that I was afforded early in my career.”Elliott’s first-class form waned in recent years and he did not make a Pura Cup century in the three seasons since he moved to South Australia. However, he remained a formidable one-day player and is the leading run scorer in the FR Cup this season following an equally impressive 2006-07, in which he was named the tournament’s Player of the Year.That limited-overs form has made him a target of the Indian Cricket League (ICL) and Elliott said he was considering an offer to take part in the Twenty20 tournament. He is weighing up how the opportunity would affect his university studies; he is doing a course in construction management in Adelaide. “I’m thinking about it,” Elliott said of the ICL offer. “It’s more about what’s best for me after my cricket career.”At his peak while opening for Victoria, Elliott was one of the most dangerous batsmen in Australia. He managed 21 Tests, although at the highest level he never quite lived up to his potential and had to settle for 1172 runs at 33.48. A naturally reserved character, Elliott reportedly had trouble fitting into the Australian dressing-room culture and he also had problems on the field.His second Test, against West Indies in Sydney in 1996-97, looked like becoming memorable as he worked his way to 78 and he was within sight of a maiden century when the game suddenly turned unforgettable for other reasons. A mid-pitch collision with his partner Mark Waugh left Elliott sprawled on the ground with torn knee cartilage and he did not play another Test for two months.Elliott’s first century came at Lord’s on the 1997 Ashes tour and he followed with 199, which would remain his highest Test score, at Headingley. Those innings, at the age of 25, established him as an excellent hooker and driver and earned him the honour of being named a Cricketer of the Year.However, that tour was his career pinnacle and he ended up on the sidelines following a string of low scores. An unsuccessful recall came for the tour of West Indies in March 1999 and his only appearance after that was a one-off chance against Sri Lanka in Darwin in 2004, when he was surprisingly called up at the age of 32 to replace Ricky Ponting at No. 3. He managed only one run from the two innings and his international career was over.Elliott remained a force at state level, and the summer before his 2004 comeback he had registered what was then an all-time record of 1381 Pura Cup runs at 81.23, with seven centuries. Most of his 17,251 first-class runs came at Victoria, or during his county stints at Glamorgan and Yorkshire, before he switched to South Australia in 2005-06 and reinvented himself as a damaging one-day opener.

Uniting fans from different countries in the West Indies is an important role for the players, according to Lance Gibbs © Getty Images

Cricket in the Caribbean continues to be hurt by infighting over money and a lack of pride within the West Indies team, according to Lance Gibbs. The current line-up did not take their responsibilities seriously enough, Gibbs said.”Where is the pride for representing the Caribbean?” Gibbs, who has travelled from his home in Miami to watch the World Cup, told . “They must know about pride as, apart from cricket, we are separate nations. Cricket is a cohesive force and these players have a responsibility to unite the Caribbean, which they are failing to do.”West Indies face an uphill battle to reach the semi-finals and need not only to win all three of their remaining matches but also rely on other results falling their way. Gibbs said a strong West Indies unit was important and the players needed to understand that cricket should come before money.”West Indies are always a proud team, so a strong West Indies team is what world cricket needs, just like when the West Indies under Clive Lloyd ruled the world and became an inspiration for other teams,” he said. “If you perform you will be well rewarded – money as well as in terms of progress – and when successful cricketers walk in the streets they are recognised which even presidents and prime ministers of countries sometimes aren’t.”Gibbs said nearly a decade later, the 1998 tour to South Africa, when the West Indies players revolted over a pay dispute, remained a prime example of the troubles within the sport. “There are lots of problems afflicting Caribbean cricket, the foremost being the players’ association bickering over money,” Gibbs said.”I’m not saying they should not be paid, it’s not a matter of jealousy – it could be done in much better ways. You don’t always wash your dirty linen in public.”The tour to South Africa was a disaster when players stayed back in England and the West Indies Cricket Board president had to fly out and solve the problems. I would have gone there for nothing to see what Nelson Mandela had done there and learn lessons.”Gibbs also criticised World Cup organisers for using new grounds, which were as foreign to the hosts as to the visiting sides. “One of the reasons the West Indies are not doing well is that we have lost the home advantage with the new grounds and new pitches,” he said. “Sri Lanka knew more than us about the pitch in Guyana. Antigua was new, Grenada will be new.”

Zaheer Khan tries to pick up the ball but it got deflected off Shoaib Mailk’s boot © AFP

Just as the dust was settling over the storm created by Inzamam-ul-Haq’s dismissal at Peshawar, there was nearly further controversy early in the second game at Rawalpindi. Shoaib Malik steadied Pakistan’s wobbly ship with a punchy 95 but when on 47, he almost entered dangerous territory.At Peshawar, Inzamam had blocked the ball from going on to hit the stumps while still outside the crease. He then claimed that he hadn’t known the law, and his allegation that the Indians had been “unsporting” in their appeal created a minor storm. Several former cricketers reacted to his comments, all of which forced the Indian team to issue a statement saying that the matter was probably better off put to rest.The fifth ball of the 18th over, though, brought with it a sense of déjà vu. Younis Khan pushed a Zaheer Khan delivery to the off side and thought about taking a single, forcing Malik, at the non-striker’s end, to charge down the pitch. But he was soon caught in a tangle with Zaheer, trying to field the ball, and could have found it difficult to get back to the crease had Zaheer picked up and thrown down the stumps.Malik, though, deflected the ball away with his boots (whether willfully or not we may never know) and got back into the crease without a problem. There was just a brief hint of a protest from the fielders, and Yuvraj Singh was even on the verge of appealing, but Rahul Dravid, who had read out the statement two days back and asked everyone to let the Inzamam issue pass, intervened and urged everyone to get on with the game.”To be honest I haven’t seen the replays,” Dravid said after the game. “From my fielding position, it didn’t appear as if he had deliberately kicked the ball or obstructed the fielder. So I didn’t think there was any need to appeal.”The laws states that a batsman is out ‘if he wilfully obstructs or distracts the opposing side by word or action. It shall be regarded as obstruction if either batsman wilfully, and without the consent of the fielding side, strikes the ball with his bat or person, other than a hand not holding the bat, after the ball has touched a fielder’. Even after watching replays, though, it was difficult to conclusively say if Shoaib kicked the ball deliberately or not. Unlike Inzamam’s case, which was pretty straightforward, this would have been a greyer area for the umpires and it might have been interesting to see their verdict.That wasn’t the only offbeat incident in the first 30 overs of the Pakistan innings. At approximately 10:30am local time, after the 13th over had been bowled, one could feel minor tremors around the ground. More drama was to follow in the 28th as Ajit Agarkar, fielding at third man, complained to the umpires about a small black object being thrown inhis direction. None of these, though, caused any major interruption with a packed house enjoying a good contest between bat and ball.”We are confident of the security arrangements,” said Dravid when asked about the third incident of missile throwing on the tour. “It’s only a few people who spoil the fun. They are a minority who don’t respect the players but I’m pretty confident and happy about the arrangements. There is no issue.”

Scorecard
Daniel Manohar’s fighting 63 kept Hyderabad afloat in a low-scoring tussle at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi. Like Anirudh Singh in the first innings, Manohar shone bright amid a faltering scoreline as the middle order hardly made a contribution.Resuming 103 for 4, Railways managed to gain a slender 14-run lead thanks to Jai Prakash Yadav and Murali Kartik. But the bowlers continued to dominate the proceedings with Pragyan Ojha, the left-arm spinner, completed a five-wicket haul.Tirumal Suman and Manohar began the Hyderabad reply in spirited fashion and their opening partnership could turn out to be decisive. But Suman’s dismissal by Murali Kartik triggered a mini collapse with four batsmen falling without reaching double figures. Manohar, though, battled on and was undefeated at the end of the day.Railways hold the smallest of advantages. One or two wrong moves can settle this one.

Jason Gillespie: back in the hunt © Getty Images

Australia have announced their 13-man squad for the final Test against India at Sydney. As expected, Steve Waugh gets a chance to bid farewell to Test cricket at his home ground. Jason Gillespie returns to the squad, while the 12 who did duty at Melbourne retain their places.Gillespie suffered a groin strain in the course of the second Test at Adelaide and was forced to sit out at Melbourne. His selection to the squad, which would be pruned down to 12 men in the lead up to January 2, is subject to a fitness test. Although rested, Gillespie travelled with the Australian team to Melbourne, and was monitored closely by team medical staff. Erroll Alcott, the Australian team’s physiotherapist, said, “Jason has undertaken a thorough rehabilitation program since suffering the injury in Adelaide and his progress is certainly encouraging. He has bowled off a full run a number of times now, and despite not showing any signs of pain, he will remain under daily review up until the Sydney Test.”Squad 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Justin Langer, 3 Ricky Ponting, 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Steve Waugh (capt), 6 Simon Katich, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Brett Lee, 9 Brad Williams, 10 Nathan Bracken, 11 Stuart MacGill, 12 Andy Bichel, 13 Jason Gillespie.

The bad news for England after last night’s 155-run loss to New Zealand in the National Bank Series ODI in Wellington is that Stephen Fleming and his side are only partly on the journey to where they want to be.Delighted as he was with the margin and manner of the victory the CLEAR Black Caps captain was looking for bigger and better things.The side had developed a lot of resolve in Australia recently and that had been reflected in the first and second games of this series. They understood there was still a lot more to do.”We haven’t nailed it, we haven’t cracked it, but we’re a lot closer to it,” he said.Part of the reason for yesterday’s effort was the performance of the side in the middle-order batting.”We’ve flirted with it in the last few games but we haven’t put it together as a middle-order unit and we were determined to rectify that. We did some good things today and while I’m very happy because I’m part of it we’re very happy that that base was given to the team.”Fielding is something we’re very proud of. It’s a way of creating pressure, it’s a way of creating outs and it’s a way of trying to assert some dominance. If you’re fielding well it becomes tougher as a batter, the bowlers get a lift from it. A good stop or a great catch and all of a sudden you can turn a game around with a couple of good bits of fielding,” he said.The slow pitch had been a concern going into the game and Fleming said he would have bowled first had he won the toss.As it turned out the pitch held no demons.”It just played slow. We’ve certainly got the players to use those conditions. And they did a fantastic job with the new ball. We took points out of today and we certainly adjusted better than the opposition and came away with a very good win and go 2-0 up in the series which is a very good position to be.”In Napier we’d like to stamp our dominance with a different form of cricket with our pace bowlers which that wicket is more conducive to,” he said.Andre Adams’ effort in opening with the new ball had been impressive.”He’s just growing in confidence. We all know he’s got exciting ability but with confidence that can be dangerous. And he’s certainly playing with confidence at the moment. His batting has been explosive. Some times it’s going to be high risk.”And there was more evidence of Lou Vincent’s versatility, back in the middle-order where he made his mark last summer.”He’s a quality player, he’s fast. Don’t ever under-estimate what a fast player will do for you in the middle.”It can often be just as destructive as a hitter and combine him between Chris Cairns and Andre Adams you have got some work to do in the last 10 to defend it. And in the field as well he adds massive value,” Fleming said.

There was plenty of activity on the second day of Jammu & Kashmir’sNorth Zone Ranji Trophy match against Services at Jammu. Eighteenwickets tumbled during the day and after all the dust had settled, thehosts have been left on the brink of victory. Chasing a fourth inningstarget of 108, Jammu & Kashmir were 44/1 at stumps.Earlier in the day, Jammu & Kashmir were bundled out for 176 in theirfirst innings for a lead of just 14. Ashwani Gupta remained undefeatedon 56, watching in frustration from the other end as the last sixwickets fell for 38 runs. Services seamer Sudhakar Ghag did the bulkof the damage with a haul of 6/56.J&K hit back immediately by routing Services for 121 in under two anda half hours. Skipper and lead strike bowler, Abdul Qayoom, who hasbeen in impressive form ever since the season began, added a bag of4/19 to his first innings pickings of 5/42. Ghag’s blistering 31 off17 balls was the top score in an innings that was over in 28.2 overs.Openers Vidya Bhaskar and Ajay Bhatti put on 43 in just ten overs asJ&K began strongly in their runchase. Although the former fell justbefore stumps for 30, the hosts are heavily favoured to bring a speedyconclusion to the match on Monday.

Aston Villa were involved in one of the biggest transfer deals that the Premier League has ever seen during the previous summer transfer window when Jack Grealish made the move to Manchester City for a British record fee of £100m.

Understandably, not every player that leaves the Midlands club gets as much coverage as the former Villa captain got.

One player that left the club in recent years in a much more low-key affair that has gone under the radar is Andre Green, who was released as a free agent back in the 2020 summer transfer window.

As a product of Villa’s youth academy, the winger racked up 89 appearances across their U18, U23 and senior teams, scoring nine goals and providing nine assists along the way as well as having loan spells with Portsmouth, Preston North End and Charlton Athletic.

Described as a player that has “got ridiculous pace and goes past people like [Cristiano] Ronaldo used to,” by former Villa manager Tim Sherwood, the attacker ultimately never got his senior career at the club going.

A few months after leaving the Villans, Green joined Sheffield Wednesday in the 2021 January transfer window, only to leave in the summer after making just 15 appearances with no goals to his name.

Moving on from the Yorkshire club, the 23-year-old joined Slovakian club Slovan Bratislava in the summer, where he has made 26 appearances across all competitions, scoring ten goals and providing five assists in the process.

While it took him a fair amount of time to do so, it seems as though the Englishman has finally found his feet in Slovakia after failing to make a mark on British shores.

Taking into account how little he offered the club he started his career at in their first team, it’s safe to say that Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris had a lucky escape and were right to let him go when they did, as he would have been nothing but a drain on the club’s finances if they kept loaning him out for more unsuccessful spells away from Villa Park.

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Moving forward, while the former youth prospect is seemingly having a good time at his current club, it seems unlikely that he will be making a return to the Midlands club in the future.

In other news: Lange plotting bargain AVFC swoop for “monstrous” £6m-rated gem, he’d be a big upgrade – opinion

	Adam Gilchrist was pleased to equal Mark Boucher’s world record but there was little fanfare when he finally passed Boucher after India’s tail wagged © Getty Images

A bottle of champagne is usually the gift for a world record holder, but Mark Boucher should save the postage after Adam Gilchrist became the game’s most successful wicketkeeper. The two glovemen will play pass the parcel with the mark as they wait for the music to stop on Gilchrist’s career.The milestone of 414 has arrived at a testing time for Gilchrist, whose sloppiness behind the stumps has spread through the team. Ian Healy described the wicketkeeper as the drummer in the band, but during the India series Australia have lost their beat and their previously impeccable standards have dropped.Gilchrist has a strong collection of 35 dismissals in the past seven Tests, but it is the four catches and two stumpings he has missed against India that are being remembered. Agendas to have him removed are premature, but at 36 each mistake is magnified by those looking to the new generation. Slowing reflexes and heavier legs are normal for those in middle age and Gilchrist has to regain his sharpness to fend off Brad Haddin, another attacking batsman and rounded keeper.Footwork has been a problem for Gilchrist at times over the past four weeks, preventing him from making enough ground for more comfortable takes, but regulation offerings have also been spilled. VVS Laxman benefited from Gilchrist’s error on the first day and the affliction was caught by Phil Jaques, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey on the second.Seven offerings were grassed in India’s first innings of 526 and when Gilchrist moved clear of Boucher with the final wicket there was no Warnesque fanfare. The edge from Anil Kumble’s drive was accepted and the celebration involved Gilchrist brushing his gloves together like he does after taking most deliveries.Almost two days in the field wore down Australia and only Ponting, Brad Hogg and Brett Lee congratulated Gilchrist on his achievement. Matthew Hayden, who spilled a take at first slip on Thursday, sprinted off the field to prepare to bat and the hardest backslaps came from the crowd on the way up to the dressing room. Head-to-head battles for untouched marks seem more riveting when the gloves are off.Gilchrist accepted his two chances on the second day and both were comfortable, Harbhajan Singh lobbing a sweep for a running take before the Kumble nick. The men around him were not so fortunate and when a bowling attack is experiencing hard days, like it has in Adelaide and Perth, it looks to the fielders for a boost.Only one chance was floored by Gilchrist in the innings, but his performances set the pulse for the side, and not just through sharp running between overs and sprints for balls in close. The mood is also relevant to his run-making, which has become hit and miss since the 2006-07 Ashes, when his scores were 0, 64, 0, 102 not out, 1 and 62.In this series his results have been mixed again, with a half-century pushing his tally to 136 runs at 22.66. Australia expect more from someone who changed the role of the wicketkeeper-batsman, but the slide has been starting since his problems with Andrew Flintoff in the 2005 Ashes. From the beginning of that campaign he has averaged 30.66 in 27 Tests with only two centuries.Over the past couple of years Gilchrist has complained about the workload before returning refreshed and energetic from off-season breaks. Unless the Pakistan tour is cancelled there will be no holiday this year and it would not be a surprise if Gilchrist shaved his one-day duties. A 100th Test is looming – he is playing his 96th – and so is more time with his family.The lure of being a world record holder has also gone and a cross-Asia battle with Boucher is unlikely to hold his interest. Boucher, who has played 109 Tests, overtook Healy’s 395 dismissals in Pakistan in October and South Africa will be playing India in March while Australia are scheduled to tour Pakistan.However, wicketkeeping remains largely unfashionable despite Gilchrist’s all-round exploits and the title fight for the record will not be covered like the Warne v Murali duels over the past four years. After the subdued reaction from his team-mates, Gilchrist may have to wait for a meeting with Boucher before the corks for the world mark really start to pop.