Sam Northeast top-scores for Glamorgan but visitors beaten off final ball

ECB Reporters Network27-May-2022

Ollie Pope scored 62 from 46 balls as Surrey began their Vitality Blast campaign in thrilling style by beating Glamorgan by four wickets with one ball to spare in front of a 16,000 crowd at the Kia Oval.Pope was joined by Sam Curran in a fourth-wicket stand of 62 and Surrey got home at 174 for 6 despite a late flurry of wickets as Michael Hogan almost pulled the game out of the hat for Glamorgan, who had earlier totalled 173 for 5.England Test batsman Pope paced his knock superbly and, with the win all but assured, completed his fifty with two outrageous reverse-flipped fours to fine third man off Dan Douthwaite’s fast medium, before flat-batting another four through mid-off from the next ball.Pope hit eight fours but when he and Jordan Clark, who thumped a useful 17, both skied catches in an extraordinary penultimate over from Hogan that also cost only one run it suddenly looked possible for Surrey to mess up. Hogan’s 5 for 18 was a Glamorgan T20 record against Surrey.But Jamie Overton and Chris Jordan, now captaining Surrey in T20 cricket on his return from Sussex, held their nerve. With eight required from Michael Neser’s final over, Overton pulled and drove twos from the first and fifth balls, Jordan also sprinted back for a second run in between two singles and Surrey were home.Sam Northeast’s 65 from 51 balls had anchored Glamorgan’s innings, and he hit Reece Topley for successive sixes in a 19th over costing 24 runs. Those were Northeast’s last two scoring shots, as he miscued the next ball to long-on where Jason Roy ran in and tumbled forward to take the catch.But it was Chris Cooke who provided the real impetus in his belligerent 27-ball 46 in the second half of the innings, with West Indian mystery spinner Sunil Narine the stand-out bowler with 1 for 17 from his four overs on his Surrey debut.Surrey lost openers Jason Roy, for 15, and Will Jacks, for 6, in the third over of their reply. Roy skied Hogan to cover in his first county appearance of the season and when Jacks also fell miscuing Surrey were 23 for 2. But Laurie Evans, badly dropped on four at midwicket by David Lloyd off Neser, played some powerful shots in his 23 and when he was caught off Douthwaite in the ninth over the Surrey chase had already gathered momentum.Curran hit left arm spinner Prem Sisodya for a straight six, a pulled four and then a sweetly swung six over midwicket from consecutive balls in the 13th over and when he skied Hogan to deep square leg to go for 36 it was left to Clark to help Pope steer Surrey close to the winning line.Glamorgan, put in, reached 67 for 2 at the halfway stage of their innings, with Northeast and Marnus Labuschagne doing their best to accelerate the scoring against some excellent bowling from Surrey’s strong and varied attack.Northeast took successive lofted fours off Topley’s second over with the new ball, first down the ground and then whipped towards wide long-on, but Lloyd went for 3 in the fourth over – hitting Dan Worrall’s first ball straight to deep cover on the ropes.Labuschagne’s 20 ended at the start of the seventh over when he uppercut Overton’s first ball to third man, where Topley judged the catch well. And Topley, at short fine leg, then produced a brilliant leaping effort to remove Kiran Carlson for 9 as he tried to paddle-sweep the impressive Narine in the 12th over.Northeast had earlier unveiled an extraordinary tennis-style pull-hook for four in Overton’s second over and the same bowler conceded 20 when he returned for the 14th over of the innings and Chris Cooke slashed and swung him for two big sixes.Cooke and Northeast added 63 for the fourth wicket, before Cooke top-edged a hook at Curran to long leg in the 18th over. Douthwaite pulled his first ball, from Topley, for six and both he and Joe Cooke, who slashed Jordan away through the vacant slip area for two fours in the final over, finished on 10 not out.

MatériaMais Notícias

Na manhã desta quarta-feira, cerca de oito horas antes do jogo contra o Palmeiras, no Maracanã e pela quarta rodada (antecipada) do Campeonato Brasileiro, o Flamengo divulgou a lista de relacionados para o aguardado confronto, às 19h30, cujo o estádio estará lotado e composto apenas por rubro-negros. A principal novidade fica por conta da integração de Pablo, que pode estrear pelo clube.

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Ao todo, o time de Paulo Sousa tem oito desfalques por lesão (veja todos e as suas respectivas situaçõesaqui). E uma provável escalação do Flamengo tem:Santos (Hugo); Willian Arão, David Luiz e Filipe Luís; Isla (Rodinei), João Gomes, Thiago Maia (Andreas Pereira) e Lázaro; Everton Ribeiro, Arrascaeta e Gabigol.

As presenças dos jovens do time sub-20 Daniel Cabral, volante, e Wesley, lateral-direito, também são novidades na relação e merecem destaque. A dupla ainda não atuou sob o comando do Mister.

> Veja a tabela do Brasileirão

O Flamengo soma quatro pontos em dois jogos realizados no Brasileirão.

Confira todos os relacionados do Flamengo:

Tottenham Hotspur travel to face Southampton at St Mary’s tonight looking to secure their first win in six attempts after a dismal run of form under Ange Postecoglou.

The Lilywhites have lost two and drawn three of their last five, with the last victory coming against Manchester City at the Etihad nearly a month ago.

Injuries have decimated the first-team squad, resulting in various players featuring in unnatural roles just to be able to make up the numbers, but the pressure has still been mounting on the Aussie after recent matches.

Tonight presents a great opportunity to return to winning ways against a Saints side who currently sit bottom of the Premier League, picking up just one win in their first 15 outings.

However, despite their lowly league standing, St Mary’s has been a tricky place to visit for Spurs over the last couple of years, with a surprise potentially on the cards – which would in turn pile more pressure on the 59-year-old.

Spurs’ recent record against Southampton at St Mary’s

After their relegation to the Championship in the 2022/23 season, this evening’s game will be the first clash between the two sides in 21 months, with the last meeting coming at the home of the Saints.

However, true to their recent record in the last few matches, Spurs were unable to claim all three points, drawing 3-3 in a game where former boss Antonio Conte produced an infamous rant after the final whistle.

Harry Kane, Ivan Perišić, and Pedro Porro were all on the scoresheet that day, but a catalogue of defensive errors cost them dearly – something which could be said in the present day too.

Their last win on the South Coast came way back in September 2020, claiming a convincing 5-2 win, with current captain Heung-min Son scoring four that day.

However, if Ange is to claim a similar result in the trip this evening, he must brutally drop two players who have failed to impress for the club in recent weeks.

The players Ange needs to drop ahead of Southampton clash

Timo Werner was dragged off at halftime in the recent Europa League clash against Rangers on Thursday night, rightfully so after his dismal showing during the first 45 minutes.

The German forward was blasted by the Aussie in his post-match interview, claiming he’s not at the level expected of an international-level star, undoubtedly putting his starting role at risk tonight.

However, he’s not the only player who must be dropped, with Son needing to be brutally dropped after his recent lack of impact within the final third.

The “incredible” South Korean, as dubbed by boss Postecoglou, has been a fan-favourite during his spell in North London but has struggled as of late, scoring just once in his last four matches, coming in the embarrassing defeat to London rivals Chelsea last weekend.

He also only managed one shot during the recent clash north of the border with Rangers, only completing one of his four attempted dribbles, losing possession 10 times and looking wasteful in possession.

Such a poor run of form could see him lose his starting role on the South Coast, potentially pushing Dejan Kulusevski into a more attacking role alongside Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson at the top end of the pitch.

It’s pivotal that Spurs return to winning ways tonight, ending their dismal run of form and putting their campaign back on the right track.

However, if they lose the clash, Ange’s job could be in danger, given the dreadful run of results. This is why he must brutally drop Son and potentially inject some fresh blood into the forward line to hand him the best chance of ending their current slump.

Ange has found Spurs' new Soldado in "astonishing" transfer flop

The poor signing is becoming Spurs’ new scapegoat.

1

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Dec 13, 2024

Manchester United are reportedly showing “serious interest” in a former Chelsea star they hope to bring to Old Trafford in January.

Manchester United latest news

Big things were expected from United following the appointment of Ruben Amorim as Erik ten Hag’s replacement in November. Since, however, things seem only to have gotten worse, with Amorim losing five of his first 10 games in charge, which is the worst record of any new United manager since Walter Crickmer in the 1930s.

During United’s 2-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Boxing Day, fans could be seen leaving Molineux early, while those that stayed booed their team at the final whistle.

Speaking to the press after that game, Amorim said that he knows that his job will be on the line if results do not improve in the near future.

“I know that if we don’t win, regardless if they pay the buyout or not, every manager is in danger. I like that because that is the job,” he said.

“It’s part of football to have these difficult moments. I already knew it was going to be tough. You expect to win more games, to have players with more confidence to sell the idea and to work and improve things. At this moment it’s really hard. We have to survive to have time and then to improve the team.”

INEOS line up move for Barcelona outcast

To try and solve his side’s woes in the second half of the season, Amorim will no doubt be looking to use the January transfer window to bring in some fresh legs. According to a Monday report from Spain, United have shown a “serious interest” in Barcelona’s Andreas Christensen “in the last few hours”.

The Danish defender joined Barca on a free transfer from Chelsea in 2022, and United are now keen to bring him back to the Premier League in January specifically. The Red Devils, however, will face serious competition from Juventus for the 28-year-old. The report states that the Old Lady are leading the race for the Barca star, with manager Thiago Motta in desperate need of fresh legs in defence.

How fresh Christensen’s legs are, however, is up for debate. The Denmark international has suffered a number of injury setbacks during his career, missing well over a year of action. This season, he’s played just 26 minutes of football for Barca due to an achilles tendon injury, for which he underwent surgery in Sweden. He is expected to return at the end of January.

Given United’s recent record of signing injury-prone defenders, like Leny Yoro, Raphael Varane and Luke Shaw, signing someone who not only has a poor injury record themselves, but has spent most of the last four months injured, makes little to no sense. Christensen himself has also rebuked speculation that he could be set to leave the Camp Nou.

“I can only speak about the conversations I’ve had with the club and so far they’ve only told me that I’ll recover well and that they’re looking forward to my return,” he recently told TV 2 Sport.

This season has been full of incredible highs and dismal lows for Tottenham Hotspur.

For example, despite blowing both Manchester United and Manchester City away in the Premier League, they find themselves down in 12th, yet in the League Cup, they have a 1-0 lead over Liverpool heading into the second leg of their semi-final.

So, while their league campaign might well be over, there is still plenty to play for and to ensure Ange Postecoglou continues his record of winning silverware in his second season, Daniel Levy and Co must provide him with some new talent this month.

Fortunately, recent reports have revealed that the North Londoners are closing in on a sensational attacker who could do precisely that, an attacker who has been compared to the prolific Omar Marmoush.

Tottenham Hotspur close in on sensational striker

According to a recent report from GIVEMESPORT, Tottenham are looking to wrap up the signing of Randal Kolo Muani later this week.

The report claims that the North Londoners have been in talks with Paris Saint-Germain this week and that while the Parisians would prefer an obligation to buy in the deal, Spurs are pushing for an option.

Interestingly, the report has also confirmed that Manchester United and Juventus are looking to hijack the deal, but their unwillingness to even entertain an option to buy the Frenchman has left Levy and Co in an advantageous negotiating position.

There are clearly still things that need to be worked out for this loan deal to be finalised, but as things stand, it looks like Spurs will get their man, and considering his ability and the fact he’s been compared to Marmoush, that can only be a good thing.

How Kolo Muani compares to Marmoush

Okay, so in terms of exciting, game-changing and sought-after forwards across Europe, Marmoush is undoubtedly one of the hottest prospects around, and considering he’s racked up a sensational haul of 18 goals and 12 assists in 22 games this season, it’s not hard to see why.

With that said, where do the comparisons between him and Kolo Muani come from?

As so far this season, the French international has been limited to just 453 minutes of first-team football, and while he’s racked up a reasonable haul of three goal involvements in that time, he’s still just been a rotational player in Paris.

Well, aside from their positional similarities and the fact that, before he moved to PSG, the 26-year-old was also utterly unstoppable for Eintracht Frankfurt and produced 40 goal involvements in 46 appearances, this comparison primarily stems from FBref.

It compares players in similar positions in Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one, and, in this instance, has concluded that the Egyptian is the seventh most similar forward to the Frenchman over the last 365 days.

Kolo Muani & Marmoush

Statistics per 90

Kolo Muani

Marmoush

Expected Assisted Goals

0.21

0.24

Assists

0.30

0.33

Progressive Passes

2.53

2.47

Goals per Shot

0.19

0.15

Passing Accuracy

71.9%

70.0%

Passes into the Penalty Area

0.91

0.96

Successful Take-Ons

1.97

1.96

Carries

27.9

25.7

All Stats via FBref for the 23/24-24/25 League Season

The best way to see where this comparison has come from is to look at the underlying metrics in which the pair rank closely, including, but not limited to, expected assisted goals and actual assists, goals per shot, progressive passes and passes into the penalty area, carries, successful take-ons and more, all per 90.

Finally, while the record from his time in Germany and the similarities to Marmoush should be reason enough for the North Londoners to go all out for the 26-year-old “superstar,” as dubbed by German legend Lothar Matthaus, his international experience is another big bonus to signing him.

For example, the £202k-per-week dynamo has already won 27 caps for the French national team, which, when you consider the quality of players in that squad, is seriously impressive.

Ultimately, Spurs need some attacking reinforcements this month, and while he might not be the biggest name around, Kolo Muani could be the perfect addition to Postecoglou’s squad.

Related Their own Rice: Spurs chasing "box-crashing" Bissouma upgrade in £42m star

The experienced midfielder would be an excellent addition for Spurs.

Posts 1 ByJack Salveson Holmes Jan 10, 2025

“We used to control everything from Dhaka but now are going into the divisions,” board president Hassan said

Mohammad Isam19-Jul-2022The BCB approved the much-delayed regional cricket association (RCA) scheme, aimed to decentralise the game in the country. BCB president Nazmul Hassan said that the decision was made during Tuesday’s Annual General Meeting where the board’s constitution was amended. The country’s divisional headquarters Dhaka, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Chattogram, Khulna, Rangpur, and Barisal will have RCAs while the one in Mymensingh, a newly formed division, will be run by Dhaka.Board directors from each region will be working in the respective associations. The larger divisions will have 17 members while the smaller ones will have 11 members.”We used to control everything from Dhaka but now are going into the divisions,” Hassan said. “We had even lesser control at the district level. Once the RCA starts, we will work better there. I am hopeful that we can make it operational before the next board meeting. For now, the councilors have given BCB the responsibility to run the RCA.”The BCB constitution defines regional cricket associations as bodies to run cricket in the different administrative divisions of Bangladesh. It states the BCB should ensure that cricket is run across the country through the regional and district sports associations (DSA).While the DSAs are formed and run by the government in all 64 districts of the country, the regional cricket bodies haven’t seen the light of day despite being in the works for nearly two decades and being included in the board’s constitution since 2012. Hassan had the RCA as his mandate since he first became BCB president in 2013.There was even talk of making one of the divisions, Chattogram or Sylhet, into a pilot project of the RCA in 2015, but that too never materalised.Over the last two decades, the only real connection between the BCB and the divisions and districts of the country have been either through representation of members in the form of councilors and directors, and through the age-group tournaments to find talented cricketers from across the country.The other major decision in the BCB AGM was to increase the number of councilors from the Dhaka’s clubs from 58 to 76. These councilors are among those involved in electing the 12 directors who serve on the board.According to the 2013 amendment, the top six clubs in the points table of the Dhaka Premier League would have two councilor positions, while the other six DPL clubs had one each. Now all twelve DPL clubs would have one councillorship each.In the lower leagues however, all clubs in the Dhaka First, Second and Third divisions will have one councilor each. Since 2013, only the clubs that qualified to the super league of the second and third division leagues would get councilor positions (12 in the case of second division and eight in the third division).Meanwhile, the BCB also formed two additional committees. Bangladesh Tigers, a concept of a training squad to run all year round, has a separate body now, as does the Welfare committee.

West Indies beat Bangladesh by 10 wickets in the second Test and took a one-sided series 2-0 at Daren Sammy Stadium. Both tests were won well inside four days.A wet outfield washed out the first two sessions on Monday, but when Bangladesh resumed on 132 for 6, needing 42 more runs to make West Indies bat again, play lasted less than 12 overs.Bangladesh’s second innings extended nine more overs and 54 more runs before it was all over on 186. Nurul Hasan was stranded on 60 not out from 50 balls.Related

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Needing 13 runs to win, West Indies openers John Campbell and captain Kraigg Brathwaite took 17 balls. It was Bangladesh’s 100th Test loss.When the day’s play got underway, Mehidy Hasan Miraz got off with a mark with a boundary then was out next ball trying to block an Alzarri Joseph bouncer and edging behind.Jayden Seales bagged in the one over Ebadot Hossain and Shoriful Islam for ducks. Seales, Joseph and Kemar Roach each took three wickets.Khaled Ahmed was run out for a duck from the non-striker’s end when Nurul wasn’t looking for a run.Nurul resumed from 16 overnight and blasted two sixes and five boundaries for his third test fifty – all against West Indies – and four runs short of his career best.They start three T20Is and three one-day internationals from Saturday.

Manchester United are set to sack a coaching staff member who worked under Sir Alex Ferguson for years, according to a new report.

Manchester United goalkeepers struggle for form

United are having a season to forget. After a record-breaking bad start to the season under Erik ten Hag, the Dutch coach was replaced by Ruben Amorim in November. The Red Devils paid over £9 million to release Amorim from his contract with Sporting, but rather than change United’s fortunes as expected, things have only gotten worse.

Amorim has lost six of his first 11 games in charge, which is the worst record of any new United manager since Walter Crickmer in the 1930s. During that period, Amorim’s men have also kept just one clean sheet, that being against Everton, and shipped 21 goals.

As a result of that dismal record, United’s goalkeepers Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir have come under heavy fire, especially given the fact that they’ve both made high-profile errors.

Both have conceded goals directly from corners in recent weeks, which former Premier League striker turned pundit Chris Sutton described to BBC Sport as “under-12s stuff”.

“I remember it happening when I was watching my son play when he was about 15 and he got done off a corner. I told him you would never see it happen to a professional goalkeeper, but it has happened twice in two weeks to Manchester United.You could not make it up.”

United to sack Tony Coton

As a result of their goalkeeping woes, United are now preparing to sack chief goalkeeping scout Tony Coton. According to Football Insider, Amorim has made clear to United’s hierarchy that he has not been impressed by either Onana or Bayindir since he took charge at Old Trafford.

Coton, who brought both players to the club, is now set to pay the price, with Football Insider saying he’s “next in the firing line” for new owners INEOS and Jim Ratcliffe.

The 63-year-old has longstanding association with United. He spent part of the penultimate season of his playing career at Old Trafford in 1996, before returning to serve as the goalkeeping coach from 1997 to 2007 under Sir Alex Ferguson. After a stint as a chief scout for several other teams, he returned to United in 2020 and has remained there ever since.

During his time as United’s goalkeeper coach, Coton was a fly on the wall for some of the most high-profile incidents of Fergie’s tenure as boss, including his infamous bust-ups with David Beckham and Roy Keane.

Writing for the Mail Online in 2017 about Ferguson, Coton lifted the lid on what it was like to work under the legendary Scotsman.

“Sir Alex Ferguson was a master of when to pick his fights,” he wrote. “One of his great attributes was to treat every player the same way.

“It didn’t matter if it was a first-team player on £100,000 a week or an academy kid learning the ropes, he would always deliver a punishment that fitted the crime – and no one was above the law.”

Celtic will head into 2025 at the top of the Scottish Premiership table, just as they did in 2024, after a comfortable 4-0 victory over Motherwell on Boxing Day.

The Hoops would, of course, have gone into next year at the top of the division irrespective of their result on Thursday, though, because they have built a healthy lead at the top of the division.

Brendan Rodgers’ side are a whopping 12 points clear of Rangers in second place and appear to be on course for a fourth straight title in the league.

Goals from Arne Engels, Daizen Maeda, Nicolas Kuhn, and Reo Hatate secured all three points for the Hoops at Parkhead, whilst Kasper Schmeichel did not have a single save to make between the sticks.

It was a dominant performance and a deserved victory for Celtic, who remain unbeaten in the Premiership after 17 matches, and Rodgers will surely be delighted with how his team is performing.

However, the January transfer window is around the corner and the Northern Irishman is reportedly in the market to add a left-winger to the group, which could put Maeda’s place in danger.

Daizen Maeda's performances this season

The Japan international scored his third goal of the season in the Premiership against Motherwell on Thursday, heading in from point-blank range into an empty net in the second half.

It was far from an effective performance from the winger, however, as he had missed two ‘big chances’ prior to that and lost four of his five ground duels, which shows that the forward was wasteful in front of goal and weak in battles with opposition players.

Being wasteful at the top end of the pitch has, unfortunately, become a theme for Maeda in the Premiership, as he has missed nine ‘big chances’ – scoring three times – in 14 starts in the division.

This shows that the 27-year-old attacker has let his teammates down by failing to make the most of the high-quality chances that they have created for him consistently in the top-flight.

Maeda, who has assisted three goals in his 14 league starts, also failed to provide consistent quality at the top end of the pitch in the Premiership in the 2023/24 campaign for the Scottish giants.

As you can see in the table above, the Japanese forward missed twice as many ‘big chances’ as he managed goals scored, and rarely offered much in the way of creativity, with one chance created every other game on average.

This means that Maeda has scored nine goals and missed 21 ‘big chances’ in the Premiership since the start of last season, whilst failing to create much in that time, and that is why there is the potential for the Hoops to land an upgrade in his position.

Rodgers could find that upgrade by swooping for one of the club’s reported transfer targets when the January transfer window opens for business next month.

Celtic's interest in £5m forward

Earlier this month, Norwegian sports outlet Nettavisen reported that Celtic are one of the teams interested in a swoop for Sarpsborg forward Sondre Orjasaeter.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

As mentioned earlier, Rodgers wants to bring in another left-sided attacker to come in and compete for a starting spot in the team in the second half of the campaign, to improve the depth of his options in that area of the pitch.

The Sarpsborg dynamo is a right-footed left winger, like Maeda, and would, therefore, fit the bill in terms of what the manager is looking for in the market next month.

It was not reported how much the Norwegian side would want for the 21-year-old star, though, and it remains to be seen whether or not the Hoops are prepared to make an official offer for his services.

The Norway U21 international is currently valued at £5m by Transfermarkt and that, perhaps, could provide an insight into the kind of fee that Sarpsborg would demand for his signature.

Rodgers must, however, push for the board to secure a deal to sign the exciting young talent in January, because he could come in as a big upgrade on Maeda.

Why Orjasaeter could be an upgrade on Maeda

Orjasaeter’s form in the 2024 Eliteserien season for his club suggests that the potential is there for him to come in and offer more than the current Hoops man at the top end of the pitch.

The 21-year-old gem spent the 2023 season in the second tier with Sogndal and produced six goals and four assists in 30 appearances, along with a staggering 6.4 completed dribbles per game.

That impressive form earned him a move to Sarpsborg in the January transfer window at the start of this year, and he hit the ground running in the Norwegian top-flight.

In 2024, Orjasaeter racked up five goals, five assists, and 12 ‘big chances’ created in 28 league appearances in his debut season with the club, which shows that he is a productive winger who can make the difference in the final third as both a scorer and a creator of goals.

As you can see in the table above, the Norway U21 international has the potential to offer more than Maeda as an attacking force, with more ‘big chances’ created, more assists, and a better ratio of goals to ‘big chances’ missed.

Orjasaeter, despite his inexperience, also offers plenty to the team out of possession, with 4.2 ball recoveries per game – compared to Maeda’s 2.9 per match last term and 1.9 per game this season.

This suggests that the exciting youngster puts the hard work in off the ball to help his team out defensively, which means that he could slot in perfectly on the left flank for Celtic – as he is a well-rounded attacker who provides quality on both sides of the game.

As well as Idah: Celtic flop fluffed his big chance to impress

The Celtic midfielder was given an opportunity to impress from the start.

1

By
Dan Emery

Dec 27, 2024

Therefore, Rodgers should push for the club to sign the £5m-rated star in January, who has the potential to be a big upgrade on Maeda if he can translate his performances over to Scottish football.

Rangers’ miserable away form continues.

On Thursday, the Light Blues were held to a 1-1 draw by Dundee at Dens Park, conceding inside six minutes, before Václav Černý smuggled home an equaliser on the half-hour mark but, despite having 77% possession, they could not find that all-important second, actually ending the night with a lower xG than the Dee: 1.01 to 0.73.

As a result, Philippe Clement’s team are now a humongous 15 points adrift Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic, winless in four away matches. This isn’t a new trend, considering the Gers have won just three of 11 away league games this season, scoring a miserly 13 goals in these fixtures, three of which came at Easter Road on Sunday – and they still didn’t beat Hibs in Edinburgh.

With crucial Europa League fixtures against Manchester United and Royale Union Saint-Gilloise right around the corner, supporters are calling for signings, with pressure mounting on both Clement and newly-appointed Chief executive officer Patrick Stewart.

Rangers seeking defensive reinforcements

According to a report by the Daily Record, defender Ryan Porteous – who was linked with the Gers back in 2023 – is “unhappy” at Watford, while the Hibs Observer added that Hull City are also interested in his services.

Craig Moore, who made 187 appearances for Rangers across two spells, has tipped his former club to pounce on the situation, having told the Go Radio Football Show earlier this week that Porteous “will be one of a few options I am pretty sure Rangers will be looking at”, adding he is “certainly one to consider”.

The defender joined Hibernian as a 13-year-old, making 157 appearances for the Hibees’ first team, before being sold to Watford for a reported £500,000 in January 2023.

During his time at Vicarage Road, Porteous has been lauded by manager Tom Cleverley as one of the club’s “real class leaders in the dressing room”, although he has endured a sticky time of it of late.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

Now 25 years old, he has played 80 times for the Hornets, albeit he was left on the bench for their most recent EFL Championship fixture against Sheffield United, having been hooked at half-time at Cardiff a week earlier.

Meanwhile, he’s not featured for Scotland since being sent off during the Euro 2024 opener against Germany, a match Scotland were humiliatingly hammered 5-1, so Porteous could push for a move as he seeks regular game time at club level to force his way back into Steve Clarke’s plans.

This potential move to Glasgow could be controversial, considering Porteous isn’t particularly popular with the Rangers support.

After Hibs beat the Gers 3-1 in the League Cup semi-finals at Hampden in November 2021, the defender mischievously said “do we look happy? Don’t ask silly questions then”, parodying an interview given by then Rangers boss Steven Gerrard, also to reporter Emma Dodds, a month earlier, mere days before he jumped ship for Aston Villa.

Nevertheless, this would all be water under the bridge if he arrived and helped turn Rangers’ form around.

How Ryan Porteous would improve Rangers

Right now, Rangers are faced with a defensive injury crisis.

Captain James Tavernier, Dujon Sterling, John Souttar, Leon Balogun and Neraysho Kasanwirjo all sat out the mid-week trip to Dens Park, meaning 20-year-old Clinton Nsiala was handed his senior debut, with writer Michael McEwan on Twitter, slightly tongue in cheek, comparing him to “prime Franco Baresi”.

The former AC Milan starlet was certainly solid, if not unspectacular, on his first-team bow, making six clearances and producing four blocks, with there perhaps hope that he can nail down a starting berth moving forward. That said, the Light Blues need instant solutions, not just long-term potential.

Indeed, Rangers are yet to properly replace Connor Goldson, who unceremoniously departed last summer for Aris Limassol, having made 309 appearances for the Ibrox side.

So let’s see how Porteous and Goldson compare?

Statistics

Porteous

Goldson

Appearances

80

66

Minutes

6,800

5,888

Passes attempted

2,870

529

Pass completion %

82%

82%

Tackles

101

16

% of dribblers tackled

54.9%

47.4%

Interceptions

117

45

Blocks

80

17

Clearances

185

65

% of aerial duals won

59.6%

75%

Yellow cards

27

15

As outlined in the table, Porteous is much more of an all-action defender than Goldson, whose numbers across his final two seasons at Rangers are actually not that outstanding.

On the flip side, Porteous’ statistics are impressive, meaning he looks to be just what the Gers are looking for, so, if he does become available this month, the Glasgow-based side should be all over that.

A ‘leader’ – as Cleverley hinted at – the wantaway Watford man could fill the shoes of Goldson more than adequately, should talk surrounding a move to Ibrox become more concrete.

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