Newcastle fans are hilariously mocking Steven Taylor, after reports the 32 year-old will be dumped by Peterborough United this summer.

Spirits are pretty high on Tyneside right now, so much so fans are even finding time to share jokes at the expense of their former players.

Steven Taylor made over 200 league appearances for the Magpies between 2003 and 2016, and fans are mercilessly bashing the defender for his troubles.

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Taylor joined Peterborough from Ipswich last summer, and has played 51 times in all competitions for the League One club.

51 appearances in one season will certainly be news to Newcastle fans, as the defender’s career on Tyneside was forever plagued by various long-term injuries.

Newcastle are of course in a fine state with their defensive duo at the moment, with Jamaal Lascelles and Florian Lejeune forming a dominant partnership in the heart of Rafael Benitez’s defence.

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Once upon a time Taylor had a decent partnership with fan favourite Fabricio Coloccini, but that isn’t stopping fans from mocking his impending exit from Peterborough.

Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…

According to reports in the Daily Mail, Stoke City are set for a mass exodus of their first-team squad following their relegation to the Championship, and West Ham United should make a move to sign midfield enforcer Badou Ndiaye to replace his international teammate Cheikhou Kouyate.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Potters dropped out of the Premier League following their 2-1 defeat against Crystal Palace at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday, and the Daily Mail says that a number of their stars are expected to leave this summer.

Ndiaye only joined the club from Galatasaray during the January transfer window, but he has been one of their more impressive performers in recent months, and the Daily Mail reports he is likely to attract interest from other clubs.

Meanwhile, West Ham are likely to be busy in the transfer market themselves after they preserved their top flight status by beating Leicester City 2-0 at the weekend, and one of their priorities could be to find an upgrade on Kouyate, who has endured a difficult campaign.

How has Ndiaye done with Stoke?

The strong midfielder has certainly made a positive impression.

The Senegal international has won 47 of the 69 tackles he has attempted in 12 Premier League outings, as per WhoScored.com, while he has shown his ability at bringing the ball forward by successfully completing 17 of the 21 dribbles he has attempted.

With one goal and one assist during that period, he has also shown he is able to make an impact in the final third, when required to.

Why should West Ham sign him?

While captain Mark Noble and Kouyate stepped up to the plate against a poor Leicester side on Saturday, the duo haven’t been anywhere near good enough in general this season and, arguably, both need replacing this summer if the east London outfit are to kick on.

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Ndiaye certainly has shown during his time with Stoke that he could well be an upgrade on Kouyate in the middle of the park for the Irons, and his combative style and ability on the ball should mean that he is quickly liked by the London Stadium faithful.

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As reported by The Daily Mail, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has told Rangers to back new manager Steven Gerrard in the transfer market at Ibrox this summer.

What’s the story?

The Light Blues have already been linked with a host of ambitious moves for established players, like Martin Skrtel, Lucas Leiva and Jermain Defoe, but so far have only brought players into the club already identified by Director of Football Mark Allen.

With the Skrtel move falling apart this week due to financial reasons, it’s clear it could be difficult for the club to match Gerrard’s elite transfer vision this summer.

His former teammate Jamie Carragher has pleaded this week for the club to back him to the fullest possible extent, believing his former teammate needs help to chase down Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic.

As quoted by The Daily Mail, the Sky Sports pundit said:

Brendan has done brilliant up there. It was brilliant him going there in the first place up at Celtic, but, of course, it’s always been difficult for Rangers with the financial implications.

Even Steven, no matter how good he is as a manager and we don’t know yet, will still need help financially to try and compete with Brendan and Celtic.

Steven has signed a four-year deal. Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think people are expecting Rangers to win the league next season, but certainly they need to be more competitive against Celtic.

Hopefully, from Steven’s point of view, they’ll be able to overhaul them.

Can Rangers do the business required this summer?

What do Rangers need most?

If finances for a complete squad overhaul are unavailable, the priority at Ibrox this summer undoubtedly has to be the club’s unsure and leaky defence, after a particularly dismal 2017/18 season.

No other team in the top six of the Scottish Premiership conceded more than them, ending up conceding double the amount of goals as champions Celtic.

That was particularly disappointing for supporters given they actually scored more goals than anyone in the division.

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If Gerrard can divert resources into that area of the side and sort it out, it’ll go a long, long way to making them more competitive next season.

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According to reports, West Ham may be forced to cool their interest in Jamaal Lascelles, as Newcastle have set their asking price for the defender at £30million.

What’s the story?

Last week, a report from the Mirror claimed Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles is a summer target for West Ham.

The report from the Mirror claimed Manuel Pellegrini will be handed £75m to spend this summer, and that Lascelles and Burnley’s James Tarkowski were his top targets to bolster the defence.

Now, a report from the Sun (27/05, page 65) has suggested the Hammers have gone off signing Lascelles, as they claim the Magpies’ £30m asking price will “scare” the East Londoners off.

If the Hammers’ owners are serious about giving Pellegrini the best chance to succeed though, they must back him with his top targets, and Lascelles could be worth every penny.

Is he worth it?

If the reports about Pellegrini’s £75m war chest are true, then splashing £30m on Lascelles would make a significant dent, but if the 24 year-old could form a long term partnership with Declan Rice then the Hammers should absolutely take the plunge.

Lascelles is undoubtedly a fantastic defender, but he is also a fantastic leader, something the Irons’ defence lacked under David Moyes.

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Rafael Benitez made the young defender his captain because he was the only one in the relegated Newcastle side that fought for every last second, something the fans in East London would absolutely adore.

With Jose Fonte departing to China, James Collins leaving the club this summer and Winston Reid’s future looking increasingly uncertain, a central defender is the top priority for Pellegrini this summer, so why not spend big to fix the problem?

Despite being snubbed by Gareth Southgate’s England, Lascelles has averaged an incredible seven clearances per game this season, and has put in some truly momentous performances.

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In the Magpies’ 3-0 win against Southampton in March, a “six pointer” at the time, the 24 year-old made 13 clearances, a week after showing his pace to catch Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah on a late breakaway.

Lascelles has all the components of a top defender. He’s big, strong, fast, and not afraid to spray the ball around. Most importantly though, he is courageous, he is a leader, and he is the backbone the Hammers have been missing since Winston Reid went off the boil.

So, West Ham fans, do you think Lascelles is worth £30m? Or should you look elsewhere? Let us know by voting in the poll below…

Leeds United announced earlier this week that Madger Gomes had left the club to join French Ligue 2 side FC Sochaux-Montbeliard on a permanent deal.

Gomes only joined Leeds from Liverpool last summer, but the 21-year-old struggled to force his way into the first-team picture.

Indeed, the midfielder made just two appearances for the Championship club during the 2017-18 campaign, and has now made the move to France on a permanent deal.

Gomes arrived with high hopes, but the move just did not work out for whatever reason.

And the Leeds fans have been reacting to the summer exit on social media.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”214750″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Five astonishing milestones since Leeds were in the Premier League”]

There are those supporters who feel that Gomes could have become a first-team player if given a proper chance, although some Leeds fans have admitted that they forgot he even existed.

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It is expected to be a busy summer window for Leeds, with Gomes’ exit the first of many ahead of what is shaping up to be a very interesting 2018-19 campaign.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

The core of Gareth Southgate’s England side has been well in place for a while, after he trialed the use of Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard and Raheem Sterling behind Harry Kane in an aggressive 3-1-4-2 formation.

The use of such attacking players may well be at odds with the approach of some other nations at the World Cup in Russia but it is a necessary move for England ahead of two games against deep defences in their opening two Group G matches against Tunisia and Panama.

However, a more conventional midfielder with guile may be useful to pick the lock so we put the conundrum to you whether Lingard, more of a number 10, should make way for Chelsea star Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who is more comfortable operating from deep.

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The Chelsea man performed impressively in England’s last pre-tournament friendly against Costa Rica, which has led 46 per cent of fans to call for Southgate to ditch Lingard and go with the raw Blues ace…

While Tottenham fans know they can’t take anything for granted, after three straight seasons of flirting with the idea supporters will be desperate for their club to pick up some silverware during the 2018/19 season.

And there are already signs that Spurs could jump up a level during the coming campaign; Mauricio Pochettino has committed himself to another four years and a bumper contract for Harry Kane suggests Tottenham are willing to break their rigid wage structure for the right men – meaning a few quality names could well arrive this summer.

If there’s one thing that always seems to let Tottenham down though, at least in terms of challenging for the English crown, it’s how slowly they start seasons. During the last three campaigns, Spurs have averaged just 1.75 points per match during their first 16 games – but they needed to average more than 2 over the whole of last term to claim third place.

So, the big question is whether Spurs can reverse that trend by starting the season on the front foot, and their officially confirmed opening Premier League fixtures, as detailed below, give us a key indication of how likely that is…

11th August – Newcastle (A)

18th August – Fulham (H)

25th August – Man United (A)

1st September – Watford (A)

15th September – Liverpool (H)

22nd September – Brighton (A)

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[brid autoplay=”true” video=”255896″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Tottenham’s opening fixtures for the 201819 Premier League season”]

Verdict

The fixture list has been kind for Tottenham for the first time in years, with matches against the top sides spread evenly out across the season. I have always felt that Spurs have always been handicapped with their title challenge, largely down to back to back games in key months of the campaign; however, you would like to think that Pochettino’s men have a well balanced season to contend with.

Whilst opening trips to St James’ Park and Old Trafford will by no means be easy, you would hope that if they can pick up a minimum of 4 points out of games, then the relative kind run of home fixtures should ensure that Tottenham can get out of the blocks quickly – something that they have struggled with in recent seasons meaning that they are generally on catchup from the get go. With their title rivals having relatively tough starts to their season, it is fair to say that Spurs could start the 2018/19 campaign on the front foot and exert early pressure at the top of table.

According to The Daily Mirror, Everton are interested in bringing Croatia World Cup star Ante Rebic to Goodison Park this summer. New Toffees manager Marco Silva will be seeking reinforcements in a bid to take the Merseysiders towards the top six places in the Premier League this term, and the arrival of the mightily impressive Rebic would go some way to thrusting them into European contention.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, the Toffees endured a desperately disappointing campaign last time round given the amount of money spent in the summer, with several players at Goodison Park underperforming for much of the season.

And one man in particular who received some criticism from Evertonians in the Tavern was winger Yannick Bolasie, who looked a shadow of his former self following his return from injury.

The DR Congo international spent the best part of a year out with injury prior to returning to first team action back in December, although the winger could then only muster one goal in 16 Premier League appearances between then and the end of the season.

And while his recovery from injury must be taken into account, having spent 12 months on the sidelines, Bolasie simply didn’t do enough as the season wore on to suggest that he can be the influential attacker Silva will surely need if he is to take Everton into top six contention.

Yet Croatia’s Rebic could be, what with the 24-year-old scoring nine goals and laying on three assists for Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt last season, before backing that up with a fine goal in his country’s 3-0 win over Argentina in the World Cup last weekend.

And at the relatively young age of 24, the winger is only likely to improve even further in the coming years, which can only be good news for an Everton side themselves seeking to improve ready for their new era in a new stadium in the not-too-distant future.

What do you think of the World Cup so far? Let us know

Ultimately, Bolasie has proven to be too inconsistent and simply not good enough since his return from injury at the rear end of 2017, and while Theo Walcott on the other flank hasn’t exactly pulled down any trees, he has looked more threatening than the former Crystal Palace star.

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And upgrading the 28-year-old with £9 million-rated ace Rebic (as per Transfermarkt) would without doubt be a shrewd move by Silva and the club’s hierarchy, and one that could well thrust them into top six contention this season.

Everton fans… what do you think? Let us know!

Pakistan’s captain Younis Khan says that his team were more interested in focussing on their game

Cricinfo staff02-Nov-2009Pakistan’s captain Younis Khan sought to put aside talk of revenge from their loss in the ICC Champions Trophy semi-final to New Zealand, saying his team were focussing on their game.”It’s not a revenge series but all the players have it in their minds to beat New Zealand,” he said. “In sport, there is no revenge but we will not forget that [Champions Trophy] loss. It’s not going to be easy beating New Zealand. They are a closely-knit team, they play as a unit and they did very well in the Champions Trophy.”Moreover, since it’s a neutral venue the conditions will be similar for both sides, so there will be no advantage or disadvantage for any team. It’s important we play as a team.”Younis said his team needed to sharpen their fielding, an area of play that let them down in the Champions Trophy – especially a dropped catch by Younis off Grant Elliot in the semi-final. “This is one area where we need improvement as New Zealand have a clear edge on us in this department. We suffer a lot because of fielding but the boys have shown an inclination to improve and I am sure this series will see them field well.”One of Pakistan’s most potent weapons could be Mohammad Aamer, the teenage left-arm fast bowler, around whom there has been much hype of late. Younis, though, said he was staying calm. “Sometimes if you have a young guy and he achieves everything so soon then he can get out of his focus,” he said. “But he is more focused and I think what he needs is some more muscle as he’s a thin guy and he’s working with (fitness trainer) David Dwyer to achieve that.”He spoke on Pakistan’s other young talent. “Everyone knows about Mohammad Aamer and (batsman) Umar Akmal but we have a couple of other good youngsters in our team. “In batting we have Khalid Latif who scored a double hundred and a hundred in recent matches – he’s a guy you’ll be seeing soon, and we also have Wahab Riaz, another left-arm fast bowler.”These four are our future and hopefully they’ll become regulars in our team.”It has been a whirlwind month for Younis, who resigned from the captaincy against suspicions of match-fixing raised in the aftermath of that semi-final loss to New Zealand and murmurs about factions in the team and management. He initially said he was keen to stop what, according to him, was a flawed search for answers every time the side failed to win, but subsequently he resumed the captaincy.Shahid Afridi, the vice-captain, recently quashed rumours about an ongoing rift with Younis, and the captain again found himself doing the same. “This team is not anyone’s personal property and we are all playing for one country,” Younis said. “Our aim is common, and that is to ensure victory for Pakistan.”After the limited-overs series in the UAE Pakistan move to New Zealand for three Tests, after which they head across the Tasman to Australia for three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20.

A round-up of the first day’s play from the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy Plate League 2009-10

Cricinfo staff15-Dec-2009
Scorecard
A tight spell from offspinner Arlen Konwar restricted Andhra to 212 for 9 at stumps against Assam at Guwahati. The visitors’ decision to bat first was initially vindicated by the top-order batsmen. Prasad Reddy and Avadhanam Rakesh combined forces in a second-wicket stand that yielded 72 before legspinner Sairaj Bahutule trapped Reddy in front after a stroke-filled fifty. Venugopal Rao then helped the resolute Rakesh add a further 59 after which Andhra suffered a middle-order collapse. Dhiraj Goswami’s dismissal of Rao was the cue for Konwar to take centre-stage as he nipped out three important wickets without conceding too many runs. Andhra captain Bodapati Sumanth resisted briefly before Konwar sent him back after Andhra had passed 200. Assam will look to pick the last wicket quickly and drive home the early advantage on day two. Andhra on the other hand will want to capitalize on the sharp turn on offer, that is set to gradually increase as the match progresses.
Scorecard
Honours were even at stumps on the first day between Haryana and Tripura at Rohtak. Haryana opener Nitin Saini anchored the start of the innings through steady partnerships of 32 and 57 for the first two wickets. His 59 was punctuated by six hits to the fence and one over it before he became first-change bowler Timir Chanda’s second wicket. Manav Sharma then took over the role of holding one end up with a knock of 42 that came at a languid strike-rate of 24 before Chanda dismissed him with stumps in sight. Haryana will hope that Sachin Rana and the tail can ensure that the hard work done on the first day bears fruit on the second.