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Explainer – What South Africa's cricket crisis is all about

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

With the CSA board asked to step aside, South African cricket has hit rock bottom. What went wrong?

Firdose Moonda11-Sep-2020South African cricket has hit rock bottom after the CSA board and its executive were instructed to step aside by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) following nine months of administrative implosion.In that time, CSA suspended and dismissed a CEO (and other senior officials), saw another CEO and its board president and three other board members resign, was caught in racially-charged battles, which have exposed deep-seated divisions, and attempted to keep a financial crisis at bay.With the storm at its peak, here’s an explainer to help you navigate the high winds and rough seas which are threatening to drown the South African cricket.So, silly question but who is running cricket in South Africa right now?If you ask CSA, they are. “Business as usual” was the official word on Friday morning with acting CEO Kugandrie Govender continuing to work in her role with her full complement of staff. That may change when the SASCOC appoints its task team, which is expected imminently. And we don’t know if an interim administrator will be put in place.Right, and what’s brought this on?Essentially, unstable governance. In the last three years, CSA has had four CEOs – Haroon Lorgat, Thabang Moroe, Jacques Faul and Govender – and although all but Govender worked under the same president, Chris Nenzani, CSA as an organisation has floundered. It’s facing major financial losses, has lost sponsors and its relationship with the South African Cricketers Association (SACA) is troubled. If we’re looking for a starting point, the failed attempt to launch the T20 Global League in 2017 was probably it.The T20 Global League was Lorgat’s brainchild but just like the tournament, Lorgat too was ditched shortly after. It was replaced by the loss-making Mzansi Super League, for which no television rights have been sold. Combine that with CSA’s plans to restructure the domestic system without consulting the SACA and the stage was set for chaos.The SACA has taken legal action against CSA twice since Moroe was appointed and has come out victorious both times. CSA has since abandoned its restructure plans and is due to be coming up with new ones, but the relationship between CSA and SACA has not healed and the game has suffered as a result.What is SASCOC and why should I care about this acronym?The SASCOC is a legislatively created umbrella body under which all South Africa’s sporting federations operate. In its constitution, it says its main agenda is to “promote and develop high-performance sport”. While it is not a government institution, it can be regarded as quasi-governmental because it stems directly from the country’s laws. The SASCOC is not an example of a well-functioning organisation and is currently operating with an acting CEO and acting president as a result of delayed elections. Sounds familiar?The MSL proved to be a loss-making venture•Mzansi Super LeagueCan SASCOC really do what it has just done to CSA? Yes. According to clause 9.1 35.4 of the SASCOC’s constitution, “members shall be subordinate to SASCOC and must comply with the Constitution of SASCOC and any directives issued by SASCOC from time to time subject to the proviso that any directive shall not be in conflict with any requirement of the relevant international body to which that member is affiliated”.But hang on, doesn’t the SASCOC’s intervention contravene the ICC’s constitution?Possibly. Former ICC head of legal David Becker believes the ICC will be “concerned,” with the SASCOC’s actions and will be keeping a close eye on developments.So the ICC can intervene too?They can, and there are examples – such as in Zimbabwe last year when the country’s Sports and Recreation Commission disbanded the Zimbabwe Cricket board, it led to Zimbabwe’s subsequent suspension from the ICC. But it does not mean they will do the same with South Africa. There are other examples of member countries’ governments who appear to be pushing the envelope of the code of conduct without the teams getting suspended.One such example is Pakistan, where the head of state has always been a patron of the cricket board and has, in the past, appointed members directly to the board and recently decreed a complete overhaul of the domestic game. That has not invited the ICC scrutiny and neither has the role of the Indian government in the cricket-field impasse between India and Pakistan.We might conclude that the ICC is more likely to respond to CSA in the same way they react to the PCB and the BCCI, rather than the way they deal with smaller members like Zimbabwe and Nepal.Is there a Hail Mary CSA can pull out to make things better?There is, and they should have used it weeks ago: make the forensic report public.Wait, what forensic report?The report was first mooted when Moroe was suspended in December last year and was intended to look into allegations of misconduct. Work only started on it in March and there were delays in completing it but CSA now has a copy. It is believed to be 468 pages long but very few people have actually seen it. Not even the vast majority of CSA’s own Members Council – the 14 provincial presidents who form the highest decision-making body in the organisation. CSA required any of the members who wanted to see it to sign a non-disclosure agreement, which some have refused to do.Neither the SASCOC nor the country’s sports minister Nathi Mthethwa has seen the report despite Mthethwa insisting on viewing it before CSA’s AGM, which was scheduled for September 5. Instead of showing Mthethwa the report, CSA postponed the AGM.Why the secrecy?That’s the million-dollar question and we can only guess, educatedly. The report was due to cover CSA’s activities in full, including activities of members of staff other than Moroe and that of the board. CSA’s insistence on keeping the report under wraps seems to indicate there are things they don’t want to be made known. Whispers are that the report implicates several people other than Moroe, which would force CSA to take action against those people too.The players will be fine, right?For now, the players are unaffected with ten men’s players at the IPL and seven women’s players preparing for the WBBL. However, the immediate future of the game in the country is in question. It is already early September and, Covid-19 aside, in a regular season, by now South African cricket would have confirmed domestic and international fixtures for the next summer.Understandably, the pandemic has delayed this but there is no indication of whether CSA has made any progress about when franchise competitions will start and if the national teams will be in action any time soon (albeit that they need the borders open for the latter to happen). If fixtures are scant, CSA will eventually lose money and that will impact the players.

The pitch boomerang: how India's rank turners are biting them, not the opposition

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

In recent years India have been rolling out Test pitches with high turn, but rather than boosting the home side, they have brought the opposition into the game

Himanish Ganjoo15-Jan-2025After making the final of the World Test Championship for two consecutive cycles, India have failed to qualify for this year’s match. While they were blanked 1-3 in Australia, it was the shock whitewash by New Zealand at home that really went against expectations and deflated their chances of making the WTC final. The last two losses of that series came on spinning pitches, where Mitchell Santner and Ajaz Patel ran riot. With India’s insistence on turning, difficult surfaces, this kind of upending was always lurking around the corner.The second half of this millennium has seen a significantly higher percentage of outright results in Test cricket compared to the first half. The rarity of draws in the past decade or so has been attributed to stronger bowling attacks and tougher pitches on which teams have had to chase results in the quest for WTC points. This shift in pitches has directly reduced the average runs per wicket. The drop is drastic after 2016, first due to the colloquially dubbed “pace pandemic” of spicy, fast-bowling-friendly conditions across the world, and after 2019 due to teams creating bowler-friendly surfaces to chase outright wins. From 2000 to 2015, the cost of a wicket was 34.1 runs, which has fallen to 30.16 since then.The arrow plot above shows country-wise batting averages since 2014, broken down into the pre-WTC and WTC eras. The averages versus pace have gone down in the WTC era in almost all countries. Averages against spin, on the other hand, have gone down in fewer countries. The change is most drastic in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, but the WTC-era figure is the lowest in India, by far. India have doubled down on spinning surfaces in the hunt for results, and perhaps to take the toss out of the equation.

A knock-on effect of this strategy of spinning surfaces has been a fall in the averages of Indian batters against spin. Away from India, Indian batters averaged 40.7 against spinners in the 2014-2018 period, which has gone up to 45.5 after that. At home, this number has dropped from 45.6 to 39.3 between the two eras. Even so, as the overall average facing spinners in India has been 28 in the WTC era, India are faring significantly better than visiting teams at batting against spin. It reflects in their outstanding home record before the 0-3 loss to New Zealand.The Indian team has happily – and mostly successfully – sacrificed personal batting goals for better chances at winning. However, their tough home conditions have also brought losses more frequently compared to the phase from 2012 to 2020. From 2012 onwards, India outmatched their opponents on slow surfaces with consistent turn, banking on the sheer quality of their bowlers to eke out wickets in conditions that were nowhere close to extreme. Bereft of spinners of the same quality, visiting teams could not generate enough wicket-taking deliveries or even exert enough control to tie India down. After the pandemic, spin-friendly pitches have brought opposition spinners into play. Visiting sides have also come better prepared, with their bowlers better poised to exploit conditions in India.Related

Do India need to revisit their pitch strategy at home?

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Five ways India can regain Test stronghold, especially at home

'Be unorthodox, use your feet, get to the pitch of the ball' – Rohit explains how to bat on turners in India

Why rank turners actually reduce India's home advantage

The plot below shows the batting average and average turn in each Test series in India since 2016, for deliveries by spinners only, in cases where tracking data is available.After the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2017, perhaps as a reaction to the loss in Pune, India started making pitches with less turn compared to the ones they had been playing on since 2016. The overall batting averages facing spin went up in step with this drop in turn. Starting 2021, though, there is a clear trend with higher mean turn and much lower batting averages.

In all the series above, only three times has the visiting side averaged more than 0.75 times the Indian side against spin. Two of those series were against Australia. The third was the recently concluded one versus New Zealand, which was also the only instance in the last 12 years in which India averaged less versus spin than their opponents. A variety of factors have resulted in these three instances, which we will explore shortly.The threat of a delivery comes from an intricate combination of characteristics, of both bowler and pitch. The amount of turn is only one aspect of how dangerous a ball is, albeit an important one.The bar graph below shows the batting average against the degree of turn, considering all deliveries for which ball-tracking data is available in Tests in India since 2016. The existence of four regimes of turn is apparent from the data. Less than 0.5 degrees of turn is a “straight” ball with no threat; 0.5 to 2.5 degrees is the proverbial one that “doesn’t turn”, beating the batter who is playing for turn. From 2.5 to 5 degrees, the turn is “usual” – this is the average delivery a batter has been trained on and can navigate without issue. The real danger lies in balls spinning more than 5 degrees. It’s clear that deviation from “usualness”, in either direction, causes issues.

From this point on, this article will use tracking data from 2016 to 2024, a period for which we have almost complete coverage for Tests in India. As the data for the average turn above shows, 2020 was an inflection point for the general nature of pitches in India, so we can divide the period of interest into two four-year segments: 2016-2019 and 2021-2024.Results against spin depend on both speed and turn: higher turn at a higher speed is more difficult to counter. Comparing the two eras reveals that the batting averages of visiting sides in India against good-length bowling have mostly gone down in recent years – for almost all speed and turn ranges.

The pattern of dropping averages holds for Indian batters too. However, the drop for low-turn balls (that turn between 0.5 and 2.5 degrees) has been drastic, especially for the high-speed range. This makes sense in light of the more extreme turn generated on the post-pandemic Indian surfaces. The expectation of greater turn changes the batters’ internal calibration when facing spin. In such conditions, the one that does not turn becomes as dangerous as the one that does.

The data alludes to this. From 2016 to 2019, Indian batters averaged 41.2 against low-turn balls on a good length on low-turn pitches (matches that had less than 3.6 degrees of turn) and 65.0 against the same kind of delivery on high-turn pitches (those offering more than 3.6 degrees of average turn). From 2021 onwards, they average 27.4 against such balls on low-turn pitches and a measly 14.5 on high-turn surfaces. It is possible that the general expectation of high turn makes batters change their methods to counter spin, making straighter ones more dangerous on turning pitches in a high-turn era. Former India batting coach Vikram Rathour explains this: “On turning pitches, it becomes more tricky. You’re expecting it to turn every time, so you are looking to cover the turn, and that is where the straighter balls are picking up more wickets. It does become more difficult to play.”Two other noteworthy trends emerge from an analysis of the pitches in the WTC era in India. First, the average speed for spin has been increasing. This is true for both visiting spinners and the Indian pair of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. On more abrasive pitches, spinners can generate enough turn even when bowling quicker. In conjunction, “quick” turn restricts the batter’s reaction time, creating more jeopardy. Bowlers across the spectrum seem to have realised this, which has made batting all the more difficult. As the comparative plot below shows, the distribution of speeds has shifted significantly higher in the last four years compared to pre-2020.

The other factor, often hard to perceive, is the anomalous bounce on WTC-era Indian pitches. There exists a Goldilocks zone for bounce, in which it is comfortable to play, where the ball loses 30 to 50% of vertical speed when it bounces. Any balls outside this range of speed-loss bounce too high or too low, making them difficult to face. Tracking data shows us that the proportion of such anomalous-bounce deliveries is noticeably higher in the last five years in India. Coupled with the high turn after 2020, this makes facing spinners even tougher.

India have gunned for difficult pitches since the onset of the WTC, but the data is clear that such conditions reduce their relative advantage and bridge the gap between visiting and home spinners. From 2016 to 2019, visiting spinners managed to get only 7% balls to turn more than 5 degrees at speeds higher than 85kph. After 2020, that figure has gone up to 14%. For Indian spinners, the corresponding numbers are 9% and 14%. Visiting spinners now have about the same chance of bowling a highly threatening delivery as their Indian counterparts.Although it is hard to determine exactly what combination of characteristics of a delivery leads to a wicket-taking threat, good length and high turn are the best determinants of a dangerous ball. The above trends show that the new Indian pitches give opposition bowlers a better chance of higher turn, spinners are bowling faster, and there is significant anomalous bounce on offer. More turn also correlates with more loss of pace from the pitch, inducing mistimed strokes.

The table above shows some statistics for visiting spinners in India by series, shedding light on what it takes to run India close in India. The three series in which India have been challenged during their 12-year dominance at home have all seen visiting spinners average less than 30 runs per wicket. In 2017 and 2023, Australia managed the best good-length percentages on this table. In 2017, they got 24% of anomalous bounce deliveries and 39% turning more than 5 degrees. In 2023, they get 24% balls bouncing abnormally and 25% high-turning balls. In addition, they also got 64% and 58% of their spin deliveries close to the stumps, creating the perfect storm, which brought them close to beating India at home.In the Mumbai Test of 2024, India were undone by Ajaz Patel, who found the right lengths on a helpful surface. Although only 66% of his deliveries were on a good length, and he threatened the stumps only 48% of the time, he got a massive 57% balls to turn more than 5 degrees and 32% of them to bounce outside the normal range. That much uncertainty was enough to get him a match-winning performance despite not being the most accurate. In Pune, Mitchell Santner zeroed in perfectly on the speeds required to generate turn on a “slow turner”. He was consistently slower than the two Indian spinners, and 39% of his deliveries were high-turn balls. In comparison, Ashwin and Jadeja bowled just 19% and 23% of such balls, since they were bowling much faster on the whole. The Indian spinners were more accurate in both these games on aggregate, but the New Zealand spinners generated much more deviation aided by the surfaces.In both these Tests, New Zealand also got the fortune of winning the toss and the best of the bowling conditions. In Bengaluru, India got caught on a first-day pitch that was almost as bouncy as the first day of the recent Perth Test, coupled with high seam and swing and found it impossible to recover from one bad innings. There has been an understandable outcry at India being whitewashed at home, but this series loss was the culmination of bursts of amazing performances by the visitors, all coming on back-to-back devilish pitches. India’s much-vaunted spin duo was aging, and missed their lines and lengths at different points in this series. A host of extreme factors had to coincide for this loss to come by, and the resulting discourse needs to factor that in. The New Zealand bowlers put in three amazing performances on helpful wickets, using a varied set of conditions much better than their Indian counterparts, but the series loss has evoked emphatic pronouncements of the decline of this great Indian side, which might be a tad extreme given the state of the surfaces they have played on.From 2016 to 2019, India perfected a winning template at home. Their spinners were accurate enough to overcome the relatively placid, true pitches, while their batters could feast on the comparatively inaccurate spin bowled by their opponents. The recent move to produce surfaces with inconsistent bounce and more turn has made their batters unsure against the straighter ones and brought visiting spinners much closer to theirs in terms of wicket-taking threat. They reverted to easier pitches in the 2024 series against England – which had anomalous bounce but not extreme turn – and comfortably outplayed them.It is tempting to ascribe India’s fortunes to a decline in batting techniques, but India’s recent home pitches are too tough for most batters to contend with – a good-length ball at 90kph turning 5 degrees challenges the edges of human ability. The gap between the averages of the Indian and touring batters shrinks significantly as the pitches progress to generating more turn. Perhaps a return to calmer conditions will be the best for India’s quest for World Test Championship points.

Rockies Become Fastest Team to 50 Losses in MLB Season Since 1884

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

It's officially June and the Colorado Rockies are still seeking their 10th win of the 2025 MLB season.

The Rockies were swept for the 10th time this season on Sunday, this time by the New York Mets, which is tied for the most times a team has been swept through its first 20 series in league history. They're now sitting at a woeful 9-50 on the campaign, having made even more unwanted history in the process.

Colorado suffered its 50th loss of the season in its 59th game of the year. Only two teams in MLB history have reached 50 losses faster, the 1876 Cincinnati Red Stockings and the 1884 Kansas City Union, according to ESPN. It's been 141 years, almost one and a half centuries, since a team has been off to as dismal of a start as the 2025 Rockies.

The Rockies have lost eight straight games and haven't won since defeating the New York Yankees, 3–2, on May 23. The team is 1-13 in its last 14 games and haven't scored more than five runs in a game since May 17.

Colorado's next chance to reach double digits in the win column will come Monday, June 2, as they'll begin a three-game series on the road against the Miami Marlins.

Namibia stun South Africa in historic first meeting

by h79snht.top Uncategorized

Playing South Africa for the first time, and playing at the new Namibia Cricket Ground for the first time, the hosts won a last-ball thriller

Firdose Moonda11-Oct-2025

Ruben Trumpelmann took three wickets•Cricket Namibia

Namibia made history in more ways than one in the one-off T20I as they inaugurated the new Namibia Cricket ground, played their neighbours South Africa for the first time in any international format, and then beat them in a thriller for good measure.The upset came against a patchwork South Africa side, with most of the first-choice T20I players currently in Pakistan, where they will play a Test starting tomorrow. But Namibia won’t care what kind of South Africa team they earned their first win against. They celebrated in front of a 4000-capacity crowd at the NCG (you read that right), complete with a lap of honour. South Africa are the fourth Full Member to be defeated by Namibia, after Zimbabwe, Ireland and Sri Lanka.On a slow surface and sluggish outfield, batting was tricky for both sides and Namibia had South Africa in trouble at 82 for 6 in the 13th over thanks largely to good catching. South Africa left it late to string partnerships together and their most profitable stand was 37 off 35 balls for the seventh wicket between Jason Smith and Bjorn Fortuin. Smith was the highest scorer with 31.Similarly, Namibia’s innings started badly and they were 84 for 5 in the 13th over. In what was close to an exact mirroring of South Africa’s batting, their seventh-wicket pair put on 37 but off just 21 balls. Zane Green’s unbeaten 30 off 23 balls on his birthday sealed the win.De Kock’s short-lived comebackThe stage was set for one of the most highly anticipated returns in the global game when Donovan Ferreira won the toss and chose to bat with Quinton de Kock carded at No. 1. But his return was short lived. Namibia’s captain Gerhard Erasmus opened the bowling and de Kock brought out the pull first up. He got a single to midwicket, then missed one that went down leg, and then tried to smash it over square leg but miscued to Ruben Trumpelmann, who took a simple catch to end de Kock’s stay at the crease in the opening over. De Kock also returned behind the stumps and took the only chance he had, but it was off a no-ball in the first over of the Namibian chase.Jason Smith top-scored for South Africa with 31•Cricket Namibia

Namibia hold on to everything… until they don’tTrumpelmann’s catch didn’t require much more than being in the right place, but he created more difficult opportunities that his team-mates took. In his first over, Reeza Hendricks tried to hit him over deep square but Malan Kruger sprinted in from the rope to take a tumbling catch and remove Hendricks for 7. By his second over, Rubin Hermann, who looked in good touch for his 23, was rushed by extra bounce as he tried to hit Trumpelmann over deep midwicket. Ben Shikongo claimed a good low catch to give Trumpelmann a second.Debutant Max Heingo had Lhuan-dre Pretorius caught behind off the glove and Ferreira at midwicket before Shikongo was rewarded by smart bowling and smarter hands. He followed Andile Simelane as he backed away to clear mid-off and sent the ball high. Erasmus got the skates on again and took a stunning catch to his left to leave South Africa 82 for 6.Smith and Fortuin steadied things but with only one boundary in 30 balls between the 13th and 18th overs, had to try and force things. Smith tried to hit Heingo over long-on and should have been caught by Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton but he put it down. In the next over, Smith tried to clear him at long-off but again, didn’t have the distance, and JJ Smit took a simple catch.Later in the over, Fortuin offered Smit a similar chance but he shelled it. Namibia finished things off with another catch as Gerald Coetzee tried to go big but found Louren Steenkamp at deep third.Coetzee’s nightmare over ends in injuryCoetzee was brought on first change and made an early impact. He started off too straight and was flicked for four but quickly adjusted his length to Lourens Steenkamp and even surprised him with a bouncer before bowling him. Namibia were 28 for 2 after three overs.But then things started to go wrong for Coetzee. He started his second over with a wide down leg, then got hit for four by Erasmus, and then bowled three more wides. He had his hands on his hips in frustration and the next ball whizzed past Erasmus but avoided the edge.Whatever extra effort Coetzee put into that ball seemed to do some damage and he left the field with three balls remaining in the over. Ferreira completed it and in the end it cost 12 runs. A CSA update said the injury was likely of the pectoral muscle.A fitting finale Namibia stayed in the hunt with contributions from Erasmus (a run-a-ball 21) and Kruger (18 off 21 balls) but South Africa’s attack didn’t let any of them get too far away to set up the perfect finish.Namibia needed 32 runs off the last three overs with four wickets in hand. They took nine runs off the 18th over, with Trumpelmann getting four off an inside edge, and 12 runs off the 19th, as Green started with a lofted cover drive and then ran hard with three twos in the over.That left 11 to get off the final over and Simelane was tasked with defending it. His first ball was short, Green got underneath it and sent it over fine leg for six and then took a single. Trumpelmann ran hard for two and then drew scores level. Green sent the last ball – a low full toss – over midwicket for four to complete the win.

الاتحاد السكندري يهاجم حكم مباراة الجونة في بيان رسمي: ما حدث يضر بالمصداقية والعدالة

by h79snht.top Uncategorized

أصدر مجلس إدارة نادي الاتحاد السكندري برئاسة محمد أحمد سلامة، بيانًا يعبر فيه عن استيائه من أداء طاقم تحكيم مباراة الفريق أمام الجونة في الدوري الممتاز. 

وكان فريق الاتحاد السكندري قد خسر أمام الجونة بهدفين دون رد، في الجولة الـ14 من بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز. 

طالع.. فيديو | زد يتعادل مع كهرباء الإسماعيلية وبتروجيت يخطف فوزًا بثلاثية أمام حرس الحدود

وجاء بيان نادي الاتحاد السكندري على النحو التالي: 

يعرب مجلس إدارة نادي الاتحاد السكندري عن استيائه البالغ مما شهدته مباراة الفريق أمام نادي الجونة، التي أقيمت اليوم على استاد الإسكندرية تحت إدارة الحكم محمود وفا من قرارات تحكيمية مثيرة للدهشة أثرت بشكل مباشر على سير ونتيجة المباراة، ووضعت علامات استفهام عديدة حول آليات اتخاذ القرارات من جانب حكم المباراة.

على سبيل المثال لا الحصر قام مدافع الجونة باستخدام مرفقه بشكل مباشر داخل منطقة الجزاء، ما أدى إلى إصابة مهاجم الاتحاد السكندرى فادى فريد بشكل واضح في وجهه، ورغم وضوح المخالفة وشدة الالتحام قرر الحكم تجاهل الموقف وعدم احتساب ركلة جزاء لصالح الاتحاد السكندري ولم يحاول مراجع تقنية الفيديو.

عقب دقائق فقط تكرر المشهد بصورة مطابقة تقريبًا عندما تدخل لاعب الاتحاد السكندري كريم الديب، مستخدمًا مرفقه في لعبة مشابهة، ليقرر الحكم احتساب مخالفة وإشهار بطاقة صفراء ثانية وطرد اللاعب، وهو تناقض حاد لا يمكن تفسيره أو تبريره، خصوصًا أن القرارين صدرا من الحكم نفسه وفي المباراة ذاتها وفي لعبتين لا تختلفان عن بعضهما سوى في لون قميص اللاعب. 

تزداد علامات الاستفهام مع احتساب الحكم ركلة جزاء مشكوكاً في صحتها لصالح فريق الجونة في الوقت بدل الضائع من الشوط الأول، رغم أن مدافع الاتحاد السكندري محمود شبانة نجح بوضوح في لعب الكرة قبل حدوث أي احتكاك مع مهاجم الجونة، إلا أن الحكم أصر على احتساب الركلة بصورة تثير التساؤلات، وهو قرار أسهم بشكل مباشر إلى جانب الطرد، فى تغيير شكل المباراة ووضع لاعبي الاتحاد السكندري في موقف صعب وغير عادل.

ويعبر مجلس الإدارة عن دهشته الشديدة من غياب أى رد فعل من الاتحاد المصري لكرة القدم ورابطة الأندية تجاه ما تتعرض له الأندية من أخطاء تحكيمية مؤثرة ومتكررة، ورغم المناشدات المتكررة بضرورة إصلاح منظومة التحكيم، إلا أن الواقع يشير إلى استمرار نفس المشكلات دون أي تغيير، وهو ما يضر بعدالة المنافسة ويمس مصداقية المسابقة بأكملها.

ويؤكد مجلس إدارة نادي الاتحاد السكندري، أنه في حالة انعقاد دائم لدراسة كافة الإجراءات التي تضمن الحفاظ على حقوق النادي وحمايته من التأثيرات السلبية لمثل هذه الأخطاء التحكيمية التي لم تعد مقبولة بأي شكل، كذلك اتخاذه عدد من القرارات الحاسمة تهدف إلى إصلاح مسار فريق الكرة.

Not Calvert-Lewin: Leeds flop may be on borrowed time because of Harry Gray

by z3u9t.icu Uncategorized

Leeds United decided to revamp their options in the centre-forward position in the summer transfer window after they won promotion from the Championship.

The Whites swooped to sign experienced striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin on a free transfer from Everton to be Daniel Farke’s first-choice number nine for the Premier League season.

So far, though, the former England international has scored one goal and missed nine ‘big chances’ in eight appearances in all competitions, per Sofascore, for Leeds, with five ‘big chances’ missed in the top-flight.

Because of his struggles in front of goal for his new club, Calvert-Lewin may be worried and looking over his shoulder at emerging academy talent Harry Gray.

Why Harry Gray will have Leeds strikers worried

The 17-year-old centre-forward, who made his first-team debut against Stoke in the Championship last season, has been on fire for the club’s academy, and could be a future star for Farke.

Gray has scored four goals in four Premier League 2 matches for the U21s side this season, per Transfermarkt, whilst he also scored a hat-trick against Scunthorpe United in the National League Cup.

This means that the teenage forward has plundered seven goals in all competitions for the young Whites, whilst Calvert-Lewin has scored one goal for the first-team.

Gray also scored eight goals in 11 matches for the U18s before making the step up to the U21s, per Transfermarkt, which shows that he has been a regular goalscorer for several seasons.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

His impressive goalscoring form will have the current Leeds strikers worried because he appears to be on course to crash into the senior side to take one of their spots in the squad, if he can translate his academy form over to the first-team.

The Leeds striker on borrowed time because of Harry Gray

Despite his struggles in front of goal in the Premier League this season, it is not Calvert-Lewin who is on borrowed time because of Gray’s potential. It is Lukas Nmecha.

The former Germany international joined on a free transfer from Wolfsburg, as the first signing of the summer, and scored on his debut from the penalty spot against Everton.

Since that debut goal, Nmecha has rarely been seen by supporters, despite featuring in every match, as he has been used as a late substitute in almost every game.

Everton

12

Arsenal

32

Fulham

70

Newcastle United

21

Wolverhampton Wanderers

1

Bournemouth

1

Tottenham Hotspur

11

Burnley

24

West Ham United

3

No Leeds player who has featured in all eight games has played fewer minutes than Nmecha, per WhoScored, as he is the only player to have played in every match without hitting at least 242 minutes.

Calvert-Lewin, on the other hand, has started six of his seven appearances in the Premier League, playing 534 minutes in total, which suggests that his place in the squad is not under as much threat as Nmecha’s is.

Unlike the former Toffees man, Farke does not seem to trust the German centre-forward to play significant minutes in games, which does not bode well for his future at Elland Road.

Nmecha’s return of five goals in all competitions in the 2023/24 and 2024/25 campaigns combined, per Sofascore, does not suggest that he is likely to catch fire in front of goal and establish himself as a regular starter.

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Therefore, it may be the former Wolfsburg number nine who is on borrowed time because of Gray’s emergence as an incredibly exciting striker prospect at U21 level, as the 17-year-old could break through and take his place to compete with Calvert-Lewin for a starting berth in the not-too-distant future.

Ibrox chiefs now schedule talks with "relentless" Rangers manager target

by z3u9t.icu Uncategorized

Ibrox leadership figures have scheduled talks with one of their top managerial candidates to take the vacant Rangers job.

Rangers manager candidates named

A number of names have been mentioned in recent days, but the Gers are yet to make an official appointment to replace Russell Martin. The former Southampton boss endured a woeful run, winning just once in seven attempts in the Scottish Premiership, and looked destined to lose his job from the get-go.

Names mentioned for the job so far include Sean Dyche, Danny Rohl, Derek McInnes and others. Dyche represents an experienced Premier League option out of those three, but it remains to be seen whether the 49ers will want to turn towards English football again or whether Dyche will be tempted by the job.

Rohl, meanwhile, represents an exciting yet risky option. He was excellent at Sheffield Wednesday as their struggles away from the pitch threatened the quality that took place on it. Now a free agent, he could replace Martin.

That said, McInnes arguably provides the best balance out of those three names. The Hearts manager has enjoyed quite the start to the current campaign, with his side sat top and unbeaten in the Scottish Premiership.

Given Hearts’ impressive run, it should come as no surprise that the manager has made Rangers’ list. Whether he’s willing to cut his project short just five months after arriving is the big question, though.

It’s a season-defining appointment for the Gers and one that the 49ers must get right. It looks as thought the American owners are edging closer to a final decision after the latest update, too.

Rangers schedule Gerrard talks

According to Sky Sports, the 49ers have now scheduled talks with Steven Gerrard, which will take place in the next few days. The Liverpool legend recently revealed that he has “unfinished business” in management and could make a return to Ibrox with that in mind.

If the 49ers are looking for a transformation into title contenders, then hiring the last Rangers manager to lift the Scottish Premiership at Ibrox certainly wouldn’t be a bad idea.

It wasn’t so long ago that Gerrard was receiving incredibly high praise from those around Ibrox and now the new set-up could reap the rewards from his return if talks go as planned this week.

Former Rangers chairman Dave King told reporters after the 45-year-old signed a new contract in 2019: “From the moment I met Steven, I could tell that he was the right man to help us to drive this club forward on the pitch. He has an elite mentality and that is exactly what I was looking for.

“He is relentless in his desire to bring success to our club and we are delighted that he has signed this new contract, which shows his commitment to Rangers.”

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Kevin Phillips 2.0: Sunderland academy star is their best talent since Jobe

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Sunderland’s season might well have hit a bump in the road at Old Trafford on Saturday, but the Premier League newcomers won’t feel completely derailed by the 2-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United.

After all, the Black Cats are still sitting in an encouraging ninth position in the early standings, with an expectation that they can bounce back immediately from the defeat at the Theatre of Dreams when Vitor Pereira’s winless Wolverhampton Wanderers next come to Wearside.

Regis Le Bris should very much be commended for this top start to the season, as well, with the Frenchman actually up for the honour of September’s Manager of the Month accolade.

He is joined by Granit Xhaka and Robin Roefs in being recognised for their efforts over the last month with the Mackems pair up for Player of the Month.

In an alternate reality, the current make-up of the Black Cats team could look disjointed and messy after a hectic off-season that saw signings aplenty join the building, but also saw Jobe Bellingham disappointingly up and leave for the glamour of Borussia Dortmund.

Fortunately, even without him, they’ve been right as rain in 2025/26 to date.

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Amazingly, despite garnering much hype at the Stadium of Light, the ex-Sunderland boy wonder never pulled on the famous red and white stripes of the Black Cats in the Premier League.

Instead, the 20-year-old’s final chapter on Wearside fell in the Championship as Le Bris and Co. sealed promotion, with journalist Josh Bunting even hailing the England U21 international as “sensational” when strutting his stuff at the promotion chasers.

While he did begin his footballing education at Birmingham City, it’s fair to say Bellingham very much honed his craft at Sunderland, with the standout number seven managing to mature at a rapid pace, after being handed the first-team reins initially by Tony Mowbray.

A bumper tally of 11 goals and four assists from 90 Sunderland clashes would eventually alert the Bundesliga giants of Dortmund to his services, with the Black and Yellow forking out a substantial £27.8m to land the exciting midfielder.

It hasn’t all gone to plan for Bellingham on German soil so far, though, with just two Bundesliga starts coming his way this season.

In fact, his spell in Germany has been a little controversial thus far with his father, Mark, reportedly unhappy with his son’s playing time, directing anger at manager Niko Kovac.

However, it still goes without saying that the 20-year-old was a stunning success story on Sunderland’s end, with the youngster once just a wide-eyed teenager but now a Champions League figure for Kovac’s side.

So, where could the next Bellingham come from?

Sunderland's biggest talent since Bellingham

Just one glance at those who have previously donned the number ten shirt at Sunderland gives you a quick indication as to why it’s a cherished number.

Kevin Phillips wore that exact number when he bagged 30 goals for the Black Cats during one single top-flight season, while Jordan Henderson also briefly pulled it on, too, before the might of Liverpool came knocking.

While it is, of course, early days into his Sunderland development, Timur Tuterov might well be in line to also pull on that much-talked-about number very soon.

It’s a bold call, indeed, but the Ukrainian is displaying a Phillips-like potency for the U21s this season, as one of his efforts – which saw Tuterov score a fine solo effort – seeing him nominated for Sunderland’s goal of the month competition for September.

Indeed, from just four Premier League 2 contests so far this campaign, the Ukraine U21 international has managed to bag a blistering five strikes in just four games, with back-to-back braces falling into his lap against West Ham and Burnley.

It’s rather evident to see why academy manager Robin Nicholls once described him as “an exciting prospect.”

Tuterov’s numbers for Sunderland

Position

Games

Goals + Assists

LW

12

5 + 2

CF

5

1 + 1

RW

3

1 + 0

LM

2

1 + 0

AM

1

2 + 0

RM

1

0

Sourced by Transfermarkt

Should he continue scoring goals at that rate of knots, then Tuterov could also be the biggest talent Sunderland has managed to produce since turning Bellingham into a Dortmund superstar, with the 20-year-old also an adaptable presence, much like the Englishman.

With Le Bris also well-known for getting plenty out of youngsters at his disposal, with Chris Rigg turned into a first-team starter last season, it does feel as if Tuterov could be the next shouted-about name ready to leave an impression on the senior ranks.

Patience will have to be exercised here, but Sunderland’s glittering track record does seem to suggest that Tuterov could be the next gem ready to pull on the number 10 jersey, living up to Bellingham’s insane hype in the process.

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بعد إصابة كارفاخال.. معاناة جديدة لـ فالفيردي مع ريال مدريد

by h79snht.top Uncategorized

كشفت تقارير صحفية دور الأوروجواني فيديريكو فالفيردي، لاعب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي ريال مدريد الجديد بعد الإصابة التي تعرض لها داني كارفاخال.

كارفاخال كان قد شعر بوجود مشكلة في مفصله بعد الكلاسيكو، وشعر بانزعاج كبير وأبلغ أطباء النادي وبعد الفحص اتضحت طبيعة إصابته.

ولم يكشف ريال مدريد عن مدة الغياب المتوقعة لـ كارفاخال، ولكن صحيفة “آس” الإسبانية ذكرت أن الأمر قد يستغرق ما بين 6 إلى 10 أسابيع.

وفي سياق متصل، سيكون أرنولد جاهزًا لمباراة ريال مدريد وليفربول في دوري أبطال أوروبا، والمقرر خوضها على ملعب “آنفيلد” في 4 نوفمبر المقبل، وفقًا لما ذكرته صحيفة “ديلي ميل” البريطانية.

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وبحسب ما أفادت صحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو” الإسبانية فإن فالفيردي سيلعب في مركز الظهير الأيمن الفترة المقبلة على الأقل حتى يعود كارفاخال من الإصابة.

حتى مع عودة ترينت أرنولد الذي يعتبر اللاعب الأساسي في هذا المركز، فإن عملية التدوير في التشكيل وتوزيع دقائق اللعب ستكون بينه وبين فالفيردي.

وأفادت أن هناك سببًا آخر جعل ألونسو يتخذ هذا القرار وهو الاستقرار على الأسماء المناسبة في خط الوسط خاصةً بعد مباراة الكلاسيكو أمام برشلونة والأداء القوي الذي ظهر به بيلينجهام، تشواميني، كامافينجا وبيلينجهام.

بهذه الطريقة يفقد الأوروجوياني مكانه في خط الوسط، ويضطر للعب في مركز الظهير الأيمن وهو الأمر الذي سبق وأن رفضه في وقت سابق.

دفعة معنوية.. ألونسو يستعيد 4 لاعبين في كلاسيكو ريال مدريد وبرشلونة

by h79snht.top Uncategorized

تلقى تشابي ألونسو مدرب ريال مدريد دفعة معنوية قوية بعد الفوز على يوفنتوس بهدف نظيف مساء أمس في الجولة الثالثة بمرحلة الدوري لدوري أبطال أوروبا.

وبحسب صحيفة “آس” الإسبانية فإنه من المقرر أن يشارك دين هويسن في الكلاسيكو بعد استبعاده من قائمة مباراة يوفنتوس كإجراء احترازي.

وتحسنت حالة هويسن بعد الشد العضلي الذي تعرض له اللاعب خلال معسكر منتخب إسبانيا في فترة التوقف الدولي الأخيرة، وسيصبح اللاعب ضمن قائمة لقاء برشلونة على ملعب سانتياجو برنابيو يوم الأحد المقبل.

طالع | موعد الكلاسيكو اليوم بين ريال مدريد وبرشلونة في الدوري الإسباني

وعانى هويسن من إجهاد شديد في عضلة باطن القدم اليسرى مما أدى لتعرضه لتمزق طفيف، وكان من المتوقع أن يغيب لمدة تتراوح بين 12 و15 يوماً.

وأظهرت تدريبات ريال مدريد الأخيرة أن هويسن سيكون متاحاً في مباراة الكلاسيكو وسيقلل من مشاكل الفريق الدفاعية، وسيكون جزءًا مهمًا من تشكيل ألونسو.

وبدأ هويسن في جميع المباريات التسع التي كان متاحاً فيها ولعب كل دقيقة في سبع منها وقد استبدل في الدقيقة 89 في مباراة أخرى وفي مباراة أخرى طرد بعد نصف ساعة.

وسيعتمد ألونسو على راؤول أسينسيو أيضاً والذي قد غادر الملعب أمام يوفنتوس أمس بعد معاناته من آلام عضلية، لكنه لم يحتاج للخضوع للفحوصات وسيكون جاهزاً لمواجهة برشلونة بينما يعد روديجر وألابا هما الغائبان الوحيدان عن المباراة.

وسيعود أيضاً داني كارفاخال وداني سيبايوس وترينت ألكسندر أرنولد والذين سيكونان جاهزين ولائقين لمواجهة برشلونة وسيقرر ألونسو موقفهم من المشاركة.

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