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With Patrick Bamford set to be ruled out of Leeds United’s Premier League clash against West Ham on Saturday afternoon, Marcelo Bielsa must surely turn to Rodrigo as the man to lead his line.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the game against the Hammers, the Leeds manager said: “Don’t think I’m holding back information, but my first response on Koch, Llorente and Bamford not participate.

“These three cases, apart, subject to evolution on whether that will allow them to participate. If I said they would definitely play or not, neither would be certain.”

Bamford has been a virtual ever-present for the Whites under Bielsa, and has started every game in the top-flight so far this term. That record is set to end later today, however, and while the Argentine may consider utilising Tyler Roberts in that role, he could find more joy by giving Rodrigo the chance to start up top.

Dubbed “extraordinary” by former Barcelona boss Quique Setien, Rodrigo hasn’t been able to hit the ground running at Elland Road; and while he was quick to dismiss speculation that he wanted a move back to Spain over the summer, it was still a rather disappointing debut campaign for him with the Whites.

He managed just seven goals in the Premier League all season, and that was largely down to a real hot streak of form towards the end of the campaign – his start to the new season has been less than stellar as well, failing to find the net in any of his appearances thus far.

However, the Spaniard remains someone with the speed of thought to really change a game for his side, and that’s something Bielsa will be hoping the forward can do against West Ham today.

Indeed, after an impressive performance against Arsenal earlier last season, former Leeds striker Noel Whelan explained just how important Rodrigo is to Bielsa’s side, telling Football Insider: “He’s always looking for it, he’s never ever standing still, he’s always on the move and that’s what I like about him. He can’t be marked, he’s always looking for a space – very much the next Hernandez.

“He is a player that looks like he can make things happen. He’s very intelligent, he brings other people into play and makes space for them.”

Whelan also insisted that the £100k-per-week Spaniard should be starting ahead of Roberts, saying: “If you ask 100 Leeds fans who they would prefer in that position, Rodrigo or Tyler Roberts, they would all say Rodrigo all day long.”

Giving him a new role up front in the absence of Bamford may just be the boost he needs to get firing again.

Meanwhile, Leeds are still tracking this rising star…

England have arrived back in the country after a two-day visit to Flanders in Belgium

Cricinfo staff28-Jun-2009The England cricket team have arrived back in the country after a two-day visit to Flanders Field in Belgium, as part of their preparations for the forthcoming Ashes campaign against Australia.The 16-man Ashes party and management team visited war graves, laid wreathes at the famous Menin Gate in Ypres and took part in a memorial service to commemorate those servicemen who lost their lives in World War One.The team began their visit by attending a service at the Oxford Road cemetery close to Ypres where a special tribute was paid to those England cricketers who perished in the conflict. As part of the service, Stuart Broad laid a specially made stone cricket ball at the graveside of former Kent and England left-arm spinner Colin Blythe, who took 100 wickets in 19 Tests, but died at Passchendaele in 1917.The team also visited the Tyne Cot cemetery where more than 12,000 Allied soldiers are buried and attended the daily service held at the Menin Gate where wreathes were laid by Andrew Strauss, Ravi Bopara and Alastair Cook before ‘The Last Post’ was played and singer Sean Ruane delivered a rendition of ‘Jerusalem.’ The two-day visit concluded with an opportunity for the players to see trenches preserved from the war.England’s captain, Andrew Strauss, said: “It’s important to take a step back from cricket at times and this visit was a deeply moving and humbling experience for all of the players and management. We learned a great deal about the sacrifices made by a previous generation of England cricketers and I would like to thank the people for making us so welcome.”England’s coach, Andy Flower, said: “This visit was part of ongoing efforts designed to broaden horizons and learn more about the role of leadership and team ethics. Everyone came away from the visit with a greater understanding of what it really means to stand shoulder to shoulder and fight for your country. We hope it will help strengthen our own bonds within the team as we prepare for what should be a very exciting Ashes series.”The trip followed on from similar bonding exercises undertaken by Australian squads in the run-up to previous Ashes series in England. In 2001 under Steve Waugh, the players visited Gallipoli, where thousands of Anzac soldiers lost their lives in 1915, and where a famous game of cricket was played out in the full view of Turkish troops to provide cover for a mass evacuation. Four years later in 2005, Ricky Ponting’s men visited the Somme.Richard Kellaway, Director General of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, said: “The Commission is delighted that the England cricket team has taken the time to remember the sacrifice of Colin Blythe and countless other Commonwealth sportsmen who made the ultimate sacrifice. People can learn more by visiting the Commission’s cricket exhibitions at Ieper and at the Old Library in Cardiff.”

On a rainy day on a sluggish pitch after a delayed start, Bangladesh reached a comfortable 42 for 0 before rains returned to terminate the proceedings

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera09-Jul-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
On a rainy day on a sluggish pitch after a delayed start, Bangladesh reached a comfortable 42 without loss against a second-string West Indies attack before the rain returned to end the proceedings.Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes, the left-handed openers, carefully negotiated a pretty good opening spell from Tino Best and the aggressive Kemar Roach as they eased themselves in.Tamim had a rush of blood in the first over when he slashed a full delivery over second slip but that was the only error from him as he put his head down and started to play the ball on its merit. Kayes was tested by a few bouncers from Roach and Best before he started to find his timing. He got off the mark on the 11th ball he faced before he unfurled couple of square-driven boundaries to get going. His best shot, and the shot of the morning, came against Roach when he stepped forward to square drive aerially over point.For their part, the makeshift attack began well, with Best and Roach managing to squeeze some bounce out of this slow track. The pitch didn’t offer any help to the seamers but they bent their back, hit the right areas and used the bouncers intelligently to test the batsmen.However, once they were taken off the attack – with the medium-pacers Darren Sammy and Dave Bernard in operation – started to look pedestrian. The pitch also appeared benign when rain intervened again to force an early tea.Once the game resumed Sammy started to used the moisture-laden track to seam the ball around and pose couple of uncomfortable moments to the batsmen before a torrential downpour prevented the game from continuing further on day one.

A round-up of matches on the second day of the ICL 20-20 Domestic Tournament

Cricinfo staff24-Sep-2008Chennai Superstars clinched a low-scoring thriller against Chandigarh Lions off the penultimate ball of the match in Bangalore. Chasing a target of 126, Chennai scored 129 for 5 in 19.5 overs. Their top three batsmen got starts but failed to convert them and it was left to Rajagopal Sathish, who scored an unbeaten 38 off 40 balls, to guide the team home. Sathish had also taken 2 for 21 in four overs to help restrict Chandigarh to 125. Ganapathi Vignesh was Chennai’s best bowler, taking 3 for 23, while Jamaluddin Syed Mohammad took 2 for 12. Opener Chetan Sharma top scored for Chandigarh with 38.Delhi Giants scored a last-over victory over Royal Bengal Tigers in Hyderabad. Bengal were reduced to 44 for 3 after a couple of run-outs and lost wickets to slump to 136 for 7 in 20 overs. Rajiv Kumar’s 35 was the highest score while Asif Murtaza and Abhishek Sharma took two wickets each. Delhi’s openers were not at their best, but Jai Prakash Yadav and Abbas Ali scored 38 and 27 respectively to set up the victory. Pritam Das, who took 3 for 10 in four overs, and Abu Nechim, who had 2 for 24, were the only wicket-takers for Bengal.Ahmedabad Rockets made short work of Hyderabad Heroes’s total of 124 and reached the target in the 17th over with seven wickets in hand in Hyderabad. Sumit Kalia took three wickets to reduce Hyderabad to 77 for 4 after which Rakesh Patel struck twice to restrict them to 124 for 7. Ahmedabad lost Pallav Vora in the sixth over but the other top order batsmen – Sachin Dholpure, Bhima Rao, and Sridharan Sriram – made useful contributions and ensured victory.

Tottenham Hotspur defender Davinson Sanchez has been one of Nuno Santo’s best-performing players since the start of the new Premier League season, even if he’s recently landed himself in hot water over his international duties.

However, since his arrival in August 2017 from Eredivisie giants Ajax, the 6 foot 2 colossus has seen his value decrease at a very alarming rate.

The 25-year-old was signed for a then club-record £42m and he was soon talked up by former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino, who tipped him for some very big things.

It’s fair to say that his career has not panned out that way thus far.

“I like his personality and how he is aggressive, he is fast, he will fit for us very well. Davinson is with us because a lot of clubs were interested in him but he decided to join us,” he said to Sky Sports.

“It’s a massive opportunity because we believe he will be one of the best centre-backs in the world in the future. That is why we made the effort to try to sign him.”

Sanchez is now valued at just €20m (£18m) by CIES Football Observatory, meaning in the four years he’s been at the club, his total worth has decreased a whopping 57%, which is concerning considering he is yet to hit the peak of his career, particularly as a centre-back.

It’s even more shocking when taking into account Pochettino’s glowing praise but the reality of the matter is, the Colombian international just has not been good enough since arriving in north London.

Yes, his opening three games this campaign have been majorly positive and encouraging but that’s a needle in a haystack compared to the last few seasons.

Back in April, former Republic of Ireland star Kenny Cunningham dubbed the centre-back a “real liability” to his team following Spurs’ 2-2 draw with Newcastle, a game in which they threw away three points because of his defensive frailties.

Even more recently he has been getting plenty of stick – ex-Colombia manager Jorge Luis Pinto told ESPN F90 (via Spanish outlet Marca) that the Lilywhites defender “does not have the talent.”

Perhaps a little harsh given the £75k-per-week star has been one of Spurs’ standout players so far this campaign but it does highlight his previous and long-term struggles at the club.

Overall, chairman Daniel Levy made a big mistake with this transfer, though there is still plenty of time to salvage the decision, especially as he appears to be Nuno’s first-choice defender, despite the arrival of Cristian Romero.

AND in other news, Fabrizio Romano provides exciting Spurs transfer update…

Celtic’s start to the new campaign had been a fairly successful one with positivity engulfing Parkhead, rather than the violent negativity of last term.

However, that atmosphere is in danger of being tarnished again despite the Hoops’ 3-0 win on Saturday afternoon.

What’s the word?

A surprising dose of news broke on Friday evening when it was revealed that Dominic McKay would be leaving his role as Celtic CEO.

McKay only took up the role this summer and worked closely with Ange Postecoglou in bringing in several new players over the last few months.

However, he has now stepped down due to ‘personal reasons’.

A fresh report from Stephen McGowan in the print version of The Daily Mail (via Celtic Vital), however, claims there might have been issues mounting for the departing chief executive.

He wrote: “In hindsight, Dominic McKay must wish he’d accepted that offer of help on the end of a phone.

“Peter Lawwell had a readymade crisis line on the nuts and bolts of running Celtic. And his successor chose not to call it.

“Inexperienced in the world of football transfers and rebuilding a football club, that was his first mistake. Regrettably, it wouldn’t be his last.

“Last night, the former chief operating officer of the Scottish Rugby Union paid a heavy price for his determination to go it alone when he lost the confidence of major shareholder Dermot Desmond… and jumped before he was pushed.”

McGowan added: “McKay expressed a desire to modernise and upgrade the club’s operations. He set out to be his own man. Plucked from the world of professional rugby, he knew nothing about football transfers — and he showed no inclination to accept a helping hand from those who did.”

Fans fuming?

If this really is the case then Celtic fans should be aghast with the events that have played out.

After all, McKay has done very little wrong since entering the club over the summer.

In fact, he has worked relentlessly with Postecoglou to prepare a squad that’s capable of usurping Rangers again to reclaim the Premiership title.

The early signs look good as well. Despite exiting the Champions League because of issues with transfers, the club went on to acquire 12 first team bodies, qualify for the Europa League and play some stunning football along the way.

Of course, McKay has no part in the football that’s being played but he’s certainly made Postecoglou’s life a lot easier over the last few weeks with his work behind the scenes.

What should also frustrate supporters is the fact that Dermot Desmond seemingly isn’t keen on the modernisation of the football club.

In his column, McGowan concluded: “His ideas were incompatible with the major shareholder and the board of directors. While he felt ready for Celtic, Celtic simply weren’t ready for him.”

This is a huge shame because his early work certainly seemed better than Lawwell and Nick Hammond’s.

Their work in the market last summer was disastrous with Vasilis Barkas and Albian Ajeti proving to be colossal failures despite an outlay of close to £10m.

Barkas was out of the team fairly quickly and Ajeti has netted just eight goals since signing from West Ham.

It speaks volumes that one of Postecoglou and McKay’s best signings – Kyogo Furuhashi – is already just one goal shy of that after being in Glasgow for a matter of months.

If the decision that McKay took was based on those above him in the pecking order, supporters at Paradise should be immensely disappointed.

AND in other news, Forget Ajeti: Celtic gem who took 126 touches vs Ross County was their true hero…

Journalist Luke Hatfield has told Football FanCast that Aaron Ramsey’s wages would have prevented a move to Wolves during the summer transfer window if they really did want him.

Towards the end of last month, there were some whispers coming out of Italy about the Juventus midfielder potentially joining Wolves.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, the two clubs discussed the possibility of a swap deal that would have seen Ruben Neves head the other way.

But with Ramsey on enormous wages, £400,000 a week, according to BBC Sport, Hatfield says it was a non-starter.

“He’s on big wages,” the Express & Star reporter said. “I think regardless of where he goes, he’s probably going to have to face a wage cut. But for Wolves, they probably looked at that and thought he’s a very talented player and he’d do a great job back in the Premier League, but the wages just make it a very, very hard one.”

In the end, it was not the most productive transfer window for Wolves, which may have disappointed some fans.

However, they were able to keep Adama Traore and Neves, who both looked to be heading out of the door at one stage, so it is not all doom and gloom. That could quickly change, though, if Bruno Lage’s men do not start picking up points after failing to take any from their first three Premier League fixtures.

South Australia eased to an eight-wicket win over Western Australia to move from the bottom third of the table

Cricinfo staff08-Feb-2009
Scorecard
Aaron Heal took a wicket, but his half-century was important for lifting Western Australia from their horrible start © Getty Images
South Australia eased to an eight-wicket win over Western Australia to move from the bottom third of the table after the hosts suffered a horrible collapse during the morning. The Warriors were wondering why they bothered travelling south to Bunbury – it was the state’s first game away from the WACA – as they started the match by falling to 6 for 38 in the 16th over.Mitchell Marsh, at 17 years and 111 days, became the youngest debutant in Australian domestic cricket and the No. 5 was needed in the sixth over. He was out for 10 to follow the miserable start created by the bowling of Jake Haberfield, Mark Cleary and Daniel Christian. Haberfield led the attack with 3 for 30 off ten overs while Cleary and Christian gathered two victims each.Aaron Heal’s 50, which included five fours and three sixes, was essential to inflating the total, but the Warriors were 9 for 106 when he left. However, the final pair of Brad Knowles (23) and Ben Edmondson (16 not out) extended the total to 148 after 40 overs. It was not enough and South Australia reached the target with 80 balls remaining, gaining a bonus point.The Redbacks suffered a blow when Daniel Harris was forced to retire hurt with a broken nose after being struck by Knowles. Michael Klinger slipped on 29 to Heal and Mark Cosgrove went for 41, but Cameron Borgas steered them home with 49 not out. Western Australia are last on 12 points, six behind the Redbacks, who jumped over New South Wales into fourth spot. All three sides have a game to play.

Modi said the IPL had increased its security budget ten times and would be providing centralised security unlike last season when individual franchises were responsible for security

Nagraj Gollapudi10-Mar-2009
The Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad will be one of the new venues for IPL matches © AFP
Security will be of “paramount” importance during the second season of the IPL, with a centralised security force monitoring teams, official, venues and grounds, Lalit Modi, the league’s chairman, has said. Confirming two new venues – Ahmdedabad and Vishakapatnam – Modi said the IPL was close to finalising the revised itinerary and was waiting for the final nod from the states, “90%” of whom had given their approval.Modi also announced that the DY Patil Sports Academy stadium in Mumbai, which hosted the final last year, will be the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies.After last week’s Lahore terror attack, many foreign players have voiced their concerns about playing in the IPL. Modi said he understood their fears but said they had nothing to worry as he detailed the enhanced security measures worked out by the IPL this time.Unlike last year where states and individual franchises looked after security, the IPL governing council has decided to have a central security force which would enable smooth movement of the teams, officials and the television crew across various venues. “Nicholls Steyn, the agency looking after player security last year, will now work closely with state security forces from this year,” Modi said. “The whole security will be managed centrally.”Modi said the security arrangements would be similar to those after the Mumbai terror attack last November when England returned to play a Test in Chennai. “It is a very, very elaborate template. We did the exercise after the Mumbai blasts for the Chennai Test against England last year. We had a rigorous contingency plan put in place, shared by the security forces, government and the ECB. It was implemented without any hitch. We are now taking that as a base template and apply that to every city the IPL will be hosted in.”Modi said the security budget had been hiked ten-fold because “the movement of players is constant and it is a cumbersome process and as such we require large amounts of coordination, teams and people to do that”.He said the IPL was close to finalising the new schedule but was waiting for final confirmations from some of the states. The government requested the IPL to re-work the dates since the league’s itinerary overlaps with the general elections.Modi said games would take place on all dates except May 16, the day of counting the votes. Modi also said three states so far had sent their written consent to host the IPL. “Rajasthan was the first state to agree,” Modi said, without naming the other two.Modi said the security arrangements would be similar to those after the Mumbai terror attack last November when England returned to play a Test in Chennai Denying the speculation about the venues in various sections of the media Modi confirmed Vishakapatnam and Ahmedabad will host a few games and said Dharamshala is likely too as well. “We have confirmations from Vishakapatnam, Ahmedabad and Dharamsala in terms of holding games there,” he said. “But the IPL is waiting for the last word from Dharamsala, which falls in the catchment area for Punjab.”He also did not rule out Nagpur yet. “They are still in the fray. What is happening is the schedule is being fine tuned every minute and when we move one game out of a particular city it has a big domino effect on all other games because it is not only a case of taking one game out of here and putting it up there. It is a cumbersome [process].”Modi denied reports that both Jaipur and Chennai will not be hosting any games. “Jaipur will be hosting games but the state had asked for blackout period during May so we worked out dates accordingly. Because of the blackout dates in Chennai some of the games have been moved.”

Many Newcastle United fans have been left fuming as Callum Wilson missed a superb chance to score away at Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon.

The striker was put through on goal one-on-one with the goalkeeper after a bad mistake by Tyrone Mings, but ending up shanking his shot and missed the target completely in what was a big chance to take the lead at Villa Park.

It was a chance that a player of his calibre should really be scoring, and would have given Steve Bruce’s team a welcome lead within the first five minutes of the game.

Wilson, who earns £77,000-per-week at St. James’ Park, is already off the mark for the new 2021/22 Premier League season after netting in the 4-2 home loss to West Ham United last weekend, and so should not let this miss faze him going into the second half of the match.

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Newcastle fans on Wilson miss

These Magpies supporters fumed on Twitter after Wilson missed his chance:

“Wilson has to score that. Terrible miss #nufc #AVLNEW”

Credit: @lewy7

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Wilson miss like that  That was a shocker though. Should be 1-0 up. #NUFC”

Credit: @jameskenning

“Shocking miss from Wilson. Has to score. #nufc”

Credit: @Edit_Kev

“Shocking miss that. I’d of bet my house on Wilson burying that like. #NUFC”

Credit: @ToonBarmy59

“Really bad miss by Wilson! Should be 1-0! #nufc”

Credit: @ToonArmyFlorida

“Horrible miss from Wilson. Onside too. #nufc”

Credit: @Mattys123

In other news, find out who has backed NUFC’s approach for this Premier League ace here!