Pakistan allrounder Shoaib Malik has been included as the 16th member of the Test squad for the upcoming series against England in the UAE. Malik, who last played a Test in August 2010, was picked on the request of the team management who were keen to have him in the side based on his current batting form in limited overs and as an extra bowling option.A press release from the Pakistan Cricket Board stated that team manager Intikhab Alam had made the request to chief selector Haroon Rashid, stating that he and head coach Waqar Younis were in favour of Shoaib Malik being retained “given his present form in T20Is and the ODIs”. Rashid’s recommendation was then approved by PCB chairman Shahryar Khan.Malik made a comeback to the international side in the home series against Zimbabwe in May, after a gap of two years, and struck an ODI hundred in Lahore. In 11 ODI innings this year, Malik has scored 500 runs with a century and three fifties at an average of 100, while his run tally in T20 internationals stands at 118 from six matches. Malik’s most recent fifty was an unbeaten knock of 96 in the second ODI against Zimbabwe in Harare, which ended in a five-run defeat for Pakistan due to bad light.”Following Intikhab Alam’s request, I spoke with my fellow selectors and there was unanimity over retaining Malik keeping in mind his current batting form and the off-spin bowling option that could be handy in the all-important forthcoming Test series against England,” said Haroon Rashid.The three-Test series against England kicks off with the first match in Abu Dhabi from October 13. The second and third Tests will be played in Dubai and Sharjah from October 22 and November 1, respectively.
After just two wins from 13 games and £25million worth of summer additions not making any impact on the Sunderland side, Steve Bruce was sacked by the Black Cats last week. Martin O’Neill was quickly appointed Bruce’s successor and there could be a huge change in the form at the Stadium of Light if O’Neill’s managerial history is anything to go by.
Sunderland sit just one point and one place above the relegation zone after another defeat on Sunday to relegation rivals Wolves. Bruce had failed to replace outgoing strikers Kenwyne Jones, Darren Bent and Asamoah Gyan over the past year even though 12 new faces arrived at Wearside this summer. All areas of the team were added to but that failed to make a positive reaction in camp and a new era has now begun for the underachieving Black Cats.
New signings Nicklas Bendtner, Connor Wickham and Dong-Won Ji have failed to produce goals and Blackpool’s player of the year last season David Vaughan and former Birmingham City midfielder Craig Gardner have struggled to cement a place in the side. Defensively a group of Manchester United rejects seem to make up the back four and they have struggled to show any real defensive qualities up until now.
However, in O’Neill Sunderland have a top manager with an excellent record and I can see them climbing up the league significantly from now onwards. Some kind fixtures including games against Blackburn, QPR and Wigan on the horizon, I would fully expect possible maximum points from them key games.
O’Neill’s enthusiastic approach to the game and positive tactics, with out-and-out wingers and pacey strikers a tradition in his sides, along with big, powerful defences such as the one he left behind at Aston Villa.
The Black Cats’ bitter rivals Newcastle United enjoyed a superb start to their season under Alan Pardew and sat third just two weeks ago. A few bad, tough fixtures in a row and the Magpies have slipped to sixth after their 3-0 defeat at home to Chelsea on Saturday. They have scored one goal from open play in their last three games and have conceded seven. Yes they have had some tough games but there is now more pressure on them to break their winless streak at the weekend.
Pardew has some serious injury problems with Fabio Coloccini and Steven Taylor set for spells on the sidelines and Hatem Ben Arfa and Cheick Tiote struggling to get back to full fitness. With goals perhaps drying up and defensive problems, could we see Newcastle take a tumble down the league ladder in the coming weeks.
A large, talented squad at Sunderland could start to pick up points on the road and at home with a new manager and a new mentality it seems Newcastle are unfortunate that injuries have hit at the wrong time. Sunderland’s season starts now in the eyes of O’Neill and they must begin five wins behind their rivals in the North East. Expect attendances to rise at the Stadium of Light and some positive signings in the January transfer window to affect the team immediately.
Can Sunderland catch Newcastle this season? Yes I think so, but Pardew’s team are in the driving seat. O’Neill will certainly be pushing his squad up the table but how far can they get?
[gigya_comments]
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England’s international week was reasonably satisfactory. A comfortable 2-0 win against Wales at the Millennium Stadium in qualifying for Euro 2012 was followed up by a 1-1 draw with Ghana in an exciting friendly at Wembley. England manager Fabio Capello was once again making the headlines, this time the Italian responded to criticism aimed at him for his difficulty speaking English by saying “you speak about tactics, you don’t use a lot of words. I don’t have to speak about a lot of different things. Maximum 100 words.” Here is Capello at training talking to Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere, Liverpool’s Andy Carroll, Manchester City’s Gareth Barry and Joleon Lescott, and Everton pair Phil Jagielka and Leighton Baines. None of them look particularly enthralled, Baines in particular, but which of his 100 words of English is Capello using and what are the England players thinking?
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Last week’s winner: Charlie – click here to see all entries
Aston Villa's caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald has warned Manchester City that James Milner could yet feature in his side's Europa League clash with Rapid Vienna on Thursday.
England international Milner scored in the 3-0 weekend win over West Ham and is being lined up for further Villa action, with his move to Eastlands still far from certain.
MacDonald told the Daily Mirror:"I won't be naming a Europa League squad until Tuesday or Wednesday. James is a top player and if he's available, I will consider him.
"If we were going to stop him playing then we should have stopped him playing in the Premier League.
"I think there's probably more chance of him getting an injury in a Premier League game because of the physical contact.
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"So I just think if James hasn't gone to Manchester City by the middle of the week, I'm sure he'll want to play, because he just loves playing football as you saw out there against West Ham."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp is ready to take his place on the White Hart Lane bench, and looks set to return to football in his side’s game against Aston Villa on Monday.
The ageing coach underwent surgery to unblock two coronary arteries before the international break, and has not been present at Spurs’ last games against Rubin Kazan and Fulham.
However with Redknapp feeling better, first team coach Joe Jordan has admitted that the manager may be involved against Villa.
“It will depend on his conversation with the medical people, but he’s feeling good, he’s sounding good and I would think there’s a possibility he’ll be back for the Aston Villa game. Maybe he’ll pop in during the lead-up to that game, but that will depend on medical advice,” Jordan told The Telegraph.
“In our last game against Fulham I don’t think it will have done him good sitting there watching the television for the last 20 minutes.
“This time around I think he would like to be in the position where, if he’s at the stadium he will be on the bench making decisions and being involved. Against Fulham it would have been torture watching the game and not making substitutions or decisions. He will have suffered a lot more.
“He’s been in contact with people at the club, but with respect to what’s happened, we’ve left him alone and haven’t been on to him unless it was really important. The last thing he needs is for someone to be on the phone constantly so it has not been the case,” he concluded.
Tottenham will look to make it eight wins from nine games against Alex McLeish’s men, and will be buoyed on if Redknapp does return.
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Ryan Giggs, David Beckham and Paul Scholes are just an example of some of the fantastic players who have graduated through Manchester United’s terrific academy system. I wonder how the careers of the three players mentioned above would have turned out if Sir Alex Ferguson had relinquished their services at a young age. What’s your point, I hear you cry?
Well, I can reveal rumours are circulating that current United starlet Danny Welbeck has had his future cast into doubt in some of the Sunday morning papers after being linked in a potential part exchange deal with Everton’s midfield dynamo Jack Rodwell. Welbeck, who is currently on loan at The Stadium of Light, has produced some fine form for the Wearside club this season, including a goal in the 3-0 whitewash they handed out to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Would Sir Alex be willing to part company with a product of United’s renowned youth development set up at such a tender age?
Let’s not forget Sir Alex is a managerial great, and he has not got to where he is today by dispensing of talented young players who have been nurtured in harmony with the club’s ethos. However, if he sees an opportunity to capture someone of Rodwell’s ability, whom David Moyes has previously denied Everton had any intention of selling, would Fergie be willing to sacrifice Welbeck to bring Rodwell to Old Trafford?
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In an ideal world I’m sure Manchester United would like to retain the services of Welbeck, and snare the signature of Rodwell without having to yield Welbeck as a deal clincher. Furthermore, David Moyes is blessed with a great deal of experience in the transfer market and if he wanted to deter Manchester United’s pursuit of Rodwell, throwing Welbeck’s name into the equation may do the trick!
Clearly there will be divided opinion among many United fans as to whether a deal for Rodwell at the expense of Welbeck is justified. There will be those fans who don’t think Welbeck is good enough to play in Manchester United’s attack in place of Berbatov, Rooney or Hernandez. Alternatively, some fans will see a bright future for Welbeck in the famous red shirt.
Welbeck himself may have a part to play in any potential deal – if he thinks his future is going to be restricted to substitute appearances, maybe a move to Everton could be just what he feels his career needs? The other side of the coin is would Rodwell, a boyhood Everton fan, want to leave the club he evidently holds dear to his heart? That question is one only Rodwell himself can answer, but the lure of Champions League football year after year, and the exposure it would bring would be hard to resist, as Wayne Rooney’s transfer proved.
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I personally feel it will come down, as it often does in football, to a question of money. If United are set on Rodwell as a future signing they more often than not get their man. Maybe initially Everton will resist the advances towards their player, but eventually the bids will increase and so to will the pressure on Everton to sell. In addition, if United are insistent that Welbeck will not be part of the deal I would imagine they will get their way….. after all, we are talking about a world super power within football.
Manager Roy Hodgson has revealed that Fernando Torres is yet to pledge his future to Liverpool.
The Spain striker, who has been strongly linked with a £50million move to Chelsea this summer, has held talks with club chief executive Christian Purslow following his involvement in Spain's World Cup success.
However, new Reds boss Hodgson has yet to talk to Torres and therefore cannot categorically rule out the chance of him leaving Anfield ahead of the new season.
In recent days club captain Steven Gerrard pledged his own future, while Hodgson also completed the signing of England midfielder Joe Cole.
"Christian Purslow has been talking to Fernando Torres for the last two days so there have been lots of words. But I haven't spoken to him, no," revealed Hodgson.
"I was confident Steven Gerrard would stay with Liverpool because he is the heart and soul of the club.
"It would have been a major blow to lose him. Steven Gerrard has pretty much said he's staying and that's a big boost.
"It was a major day yesterday with the signing of Joe Cole in tandem with Gerrard saying he is staying.
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"Hopefully he will soon be followed by Fernando Torres.
"On Monday most if not all of our players who were at the World Cup will return to training and we can start getting down to some serious work."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
We are all aware of Fernando Torres’ recent and rapid decline at Chelsea, but the 27 year-old still has plenty of time to prove he can reproduce the form that made him such a popular figure at Anfield and such a universally feared striker. The Spaniard isn’t the only player to have performed so impressively before trailing off towards the end of his twenties, and of course Michael Owen springs to mind.
However, what about the players who were shunned, neglected and left to queue at the job centre during their teens and early twenties, before forging outstanding careers later on? There are a number of players we admire today who were never really given an opportunity until extremely late on in to their careers, and here is a list of ten famous players who blossomed late…
If you can think of any I have missed out, please feel free to leave suggestions and comments below…
Click on Ian Wright below to see the top 10 players that took a while to blossom
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In a week where it has seemed every single match has had a controversial refereeing decision, the inevitable watchword in the press has been “cost.” How much will Martin Atkinson’s decision not to send off Chelsea’s David Luiz on Tuesday night cost Manchester United come the end of the season? Similarly, how much will Andrei Arshavin’s legitimate strike being ruled out for offside against Sunderland at the weekend cost Arsenal in terms of their pursuit of a first trophy since 2005?
Interesting questions these may be, however the sentiment behind the thought process is fatally flawed. If Manchester United fail to win the title or if Arsenal are unable to capitalise on their rival’s profligacy the refereeing decisions over the last seven days will be unable to disguise the fact that each side deserves their fate.
Arsene Wenger might have labelled himself “disgusted” with the decision-making of referee and linesmen during Saturday’s stalemate with Sunderland, but in reality he will be far more livid with his side for missing an absolute golden opportunity to establish a real foothold in the battle for Chelsea’s Premier League crown. For all the talk of potential and excitement, home draws against mid-table teams are the sorts of results that have blighted Arsenal’s past endeavours at top-flight glory, and Wenger knows it.
Similarly, Ferguson’s outspoken outburst came in the knowledge that his attacking gamble backfired. Hoping to land a decisive blow in the race for the summit, his side threw away their first half ascendancy at the Bridge on Tuesday and as a result enabled a confidence poor Chelsea back into a game they had no right to win.
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Over the course of a 38 game season, the chances of the best side not winning the league are inevitably miniscule. Keen followers of the division may argue that this has all but happened in two of the last three years – Chelsea nearly stole the title from a Manchester United side that had dominated all comers and included 42 goal Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008, and last year United nearly returned the favour by almost pipping the West London outfit to the line despite the Blues having won all six of their fixtures against the then established ‘Big Four.’
Nevertheless, despite these close run races, the best team will ultimately out. Chelsea might argue that had the referee given Wigan a penalty when Rio Ferdinand handled on the final day of the 2007-08 season or had under-pressure Atkinson not awarded the Blues a disputed free-kick during last year’s clash with Ferguson’s men that the championship trophy would have ended up in different hands.
This is not to give in to the old cliché that Steve Bruce likes to exploit when he is feeling pragmatic that; “decisions even themselves out over the course of the season” because for many sides, they don’t. However, opportunities will present themselves – if you are good enough to take them then moments of glory and success will follow.
Even in the face of the worst refereeing performances imaginable, you cannot allow any excuses over decisions to remain. Think back to Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Barcelona at Stamford Bridge in that Champions League last four tie from 2009. Whilst the five time semi-finalists rightly felt aggrieved about the quality of officialdom that night, it is often forgotten that Didier Drogba and Juliano Belletti missed golden opportunities to make sure that the perceived injustice did not count against them. As it was, Barcelona scored with their only shot on target during the whole match and went on to win Europe’s premier cup competition, landing plaudits the world over. Scarcely deserved, you might argue, but in a black and white world, Chelsea had only themselves to blame.
Ultimately, you cannot simply rely on every refereeing decision to go your way – from a manager’s point of view, put your faith in anything other than your own team’s performance and you are courting trouble.
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There were 90 minutes in which Arsenal had the chance to put Sunderland away on Saturday, but with one eye on this week’s trip to Spain, Wenger’s men hoped that should they turn up and drift a win would be easily attainable. Some sides are able to take that risk and come through matches of that sort unscathed, however in a closely packed title race the cost of that attitude can be unimaginable.
Agree? Disagree? Reckon Alan Wiley and Fergie are rubbish charades partners? Find me on Twitter and let me know.
Brazilian forward Robinho signed for Manchester City on transfer deadline day on September 1 2008 for a British record transfer fee of £32.5m. After a decent start at Eastlands relations turned a little sour and the player was loaned out to Santos last January, but what would represent the best move for the player now?
The 26-year-old’s fate would have been so much simpler but for his impressive performances in the World Cup when he showed why City decided to splash out so much money on him in the first place. Robinho played five games during Brazil’s campaign, scored two goals and was the spark in a fairly pragmatic Dunga squad.
He also had a successful return to former club Santos on-loan, which led many to believe his fate may be back in his homeland, but now there are calls for him to stay from certain players like Shay Given.
The Citizens’ goalkeeper said:
“I don’t know what his current situation is but there’s no denying he’s had a great World Cup.
“The bottom line is he remains a Manchester City player no matter what’s been written.
“I’d love to see him back at City, he’s gone out and proved a lot of people wrong in South Africa.”
(Daily Mail)
Now manager Roberto Mancini is facing something of a headache, should he convince him to stay, or would Robinho be better off elsewhere?
Many are quick to forget that Robinho’s second season for the Sky Blues was interrupted by injury, his only goal came against Scunthorpe in the FA Cup and he fell down the pecking order before Mancini arrived to ship him out to Santos.
Now that City have added the talents of stars such as David Silva and Yaya Toure to their ranks the club stand a much better chance in challenging the top sides. But it may not be enough to convince him of staying at the club, particularly when they seem willing to ship him out on a season-long loan to Valencia in an attempt to save on some of his £150k-a-week wages…if you can count the Daily Mirror a reliable source, which you can’t.
If they are going to pay such high wages for him surely it is worth taking a gamble on Robinho. It would definitely be worth a potential buyer to take a risk on him, particularly if they can sign him for less than the Manchester club originally paid for his signature.
As Chelsea seek some extra creativity amongst their ranks they may decide to renew their interest in Robinho, who wanted to go from Real Madrid to Stamford Bridge in the first place and even called his own press conference to try and force the move whilst he was still at the Bernabeu club.
However, many would have been unimpressed by what was perceived as cry-baby antics from the Brazilian forward in order to get out of Madrid. Also, he seemingly arrived in England thinking he had signed for Chelsea and it didn’t seem like he had even heard of Manchester City.
Alternatively, if City think they won’t be able to get the best out of the former Real Madrid man then maybe they should cut their losses and sell him on.
Should Robinho have another shot at City, or is it time for him to move on?
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Follow me on Twitter: ajwilliams1987
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Click on image below to see the ITALIAN babes at the World Cup