Graham Thorpe is at the centre of a police investigation after a row with his ex-wife Nicola and her new partner, at a house in Epsom, Surrey. Thorpe, who returned from England’s winter tour of Sri Lanka on Tuesday morning, was involved in a high-profile separation from his wife last year, and has only recently returned to international cricket.”Surrey Police were called to a domestic dispute at a house in Epsom at about lunchtime on December 26,” said a police spokeswoman. They added that nobody had been arrested, but an allegation of common assault was made and was being investigated.In 2002, the couple issued a joint statement appealing for privacy, following weeks of media speculation, asking that they should be allowed to “move on” with their lives. Thorpe, who was visibly affected by his off-field problems, pulled out of England’s tour of Australia, claiming he was finding it “difficult to consistently concentrate on cricket”.
The England coach, Duncan Fletcher, was quick to defend captain Nasser Hussain after he was criticised by Australia’s Justin Langer for standing his ground after Jason Gillespie had apparently caught him at mid-on off Stuart MacGill.As at Adelaide, when Langer himself believed he had caught Michael Vaughan during his innings of 177, the matter was referred to the third umpire. Hussain was ruled in when television replays did not show whether Gillespie had controlled the ball before it hit the turf.”It was within the rules, but in an ideal world I would like to see if a player says he’s out, he’s out,” Langer said. “It’s something we have got to look at. As it is now it takes a bit of the integrity out of the game. Jason was sure he caught him and I guess it’s disappointing the decision didn’t go his way.”But Fletcher insisted that Hussain was perfectly within his rights to stand, given the availability of television to prompt a firm ruling.”It’s very, very difficult,” Fletcher told Sky Sports. “With those decisions you don’t really know if you have caught it or not. It’s very difficult to see if the ball has touched the ground.”I think it should just be left to the third umpire. The technology is there so why not use it? It has proved he did the right thing by standing his ground.””I think there was a lot of intensity at the back end of today’s play,” Fletcher added. “The batsmen were put under a lot of pressure from some quality bowling.”Hopefully we can go into tomorrow and withstand some more. It’s going to be a huge battle and hopefully we can get that 350. The first morning session is going to be important.”It’s a difficult job – there are some really good bowlers there. They don’t seem to have any weakness – they have a good batting line-up and a good bowling line-up.”Langer scored a career-best 250 as Australia declared on 551 for six before taking three key England wickets before the close.We are in a great position,” said the Australian opener. “It looks like the pitch in going to spin a bit. England are in for a tough game from here on in. Hopefully we can put enough pressure on England and win the game.”Of his own innings, Langer said: “It was probably not the best I have ever hit them. I am thrilled. It was nice to capitalise and get the opportunity to get a really big score. I really wanted to take the opportunity to nail a big one.”It gets easier because the ball gets older and it loses a bit of extra bounce and pace but you are still facing world-class bowling. You can never afford to think it’s getting easier, otherwise you end up back in the changing rooms.Langer was also thrilled by Martin Love’s 62 on Test debut, adding: “He’s a very classy player. I haven’t seen him bat much before. He’s certainly in the mould of Mark Waugh in the way he bats and I’m sure he will be delighted with the way he played.”Love, 28, has already scored two double centuries against the England touring team. He said he would like to play against England every week.”It would be nice. I guess I’m seeing the ball pretty well against England at the moment. I’ve spent a fair bit of time facing their bowlers. I’ve certainly had a good run against them so far this year. Unfortunately you can’t keep following England around all the time.”Langer was also outspoken in his criticism of England’s Barmy Army, who picked up on suggestions about the legality of Brett Lee’s action, which was cleared by the International Cricket Council two years ago, to shout “No Ball” every time he ran into bowl.”I thought they were a disgrace – there’s no better sight on a cricket fieldthan Brett Lee or any fast bowler running in like that, it’s a magnificent sightand if it did help fire Brett up then all the better for us,” claimed Langer.”These people stand behind a fence drinking beer with most of them 50 kilos overweight making ridiculous comments. It’s easy for someone to say that frombehind a fence, they’re within their rights because they’ve paid their money,but there’s still some integrity in life, I think.”Barmy Army spokesman Paul Burnham said the chants were meant as a joke.”Watching the guys’ faces while they were no-balling Lee, you could tell they were smiling,” he said.”From what I saw it was in very good humour and if they can’t take a joke then shouldn’t be dishing it out so readily – we’ve taken abuse from the moment we arrived in the country about the performances and injuries England have suffered.”
The main reason for not recommending the renewal of Aravinda De Silva’s contract was the comparatively small number of Test Matches involving Sri Lankathis season, one of the members of the selection committee has revealed.Sri Lanka’s contracted players’ names were published recently but SriLanka’s 1996 World Cup hero’s name was not among them.Sri Lanka will play only six Tests in the next six months and onlythe series against England has been confirmed until May next year but in that time there are many One-Day Internationals. Aravinda, the highestrun-getter for Sri Lanka in both forms of the game, has not been a regularmember of Sri Lanka’s one-day squad since Sri Lanka’s dismal performance inthe 1999 World Cup in England.Though he has not been contracted, Aravinda is among the pool ofplayers training for the Indian tour. That means if he plays in any of thegames, a payment will be made to him according to the number of his appearances.It is believed that Aravinda’s attitude has also counted against him. Last year when Aravinda was called to join the tour party in South Africa in place of the injured Upul Chandana halfway through the tour, he said he was not prepared to go due to lack of match practice. However, later he agreed to go and played in the last two ODIs and the the last Test in South Africa.This season he has played in just four Premier League games for his club NCC, scoring 197 runs at an aveage of 39.40.
Rangers’ title hopes suffered a hammer blow on Sunday as they lost 2-1 to their Glasgow arch-rivals at Ibrox.
Aaron Ramsey put Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side in front after just three minutes, but Tom Rogic quickly pegged the hosts back before Cameron Carter-Vickers scored what proved to be the winner shortly before half-time.
The defeat leaves Rangers six points adrift of the league-leading Hoops with just six games left to play.
Here at The Transfer Tavern, we delve into the three worst-rated starting outfielders for the Gers as per statistical specialists SofaScore, with players required to feature for at least 45 minutes for ranking. This trio were dribbled past six times and collectively lost possession 60 times on an afternoon to forget.
Leon Balogun – 6.4/10
Balogun made just his second league start in the Gers’ last seven matches, but the figures suggest that he failed to deliver on the big occasion.
He lost half of his ground duels (two out of four) and half of his aerial battles (four out of eight), with Celtic players able to dribble past him on two occasions. He also gave away possession 12 times and misplaced 10 of the 52 passes that he attempted (nearly 20%).
John Lundstram – 6.6/10
Unlike Balogun, Lundstram has been very much in favour recently, with this his sixth start in seven league matches. Perhaps his place in the team won’t be as secure after this showing, though.
The headline for the midfielder was that he made the error leading to Carter-Vickers’ goal. The former Sheffield United man was unable to clear, and Rangers were duly punished.
Beyond that, he was dribbled past once, lost three ground duels (42.8%) and turned the ball over 10 times.
James Tavernier 6.7/10
Gers captain Tavernier is generally one of the first names on the teamsheet but he didn’t quite make the impact that he would have desired on Sunday.
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The right-back gave the ball away a whopping 38 times, at least 15 more than anybody else on the pitch, while only two of the 17 crosses he attempted during the game were accurate.
Unfortunately, he also led the way in the undesirable ‘dribbled past’ stakes (on three) and lost eight of his 15 duels overall (53%).
In other news, Rangers have also been dealt an off-field blow.
With the departure of Robin Van Persie to Manchester United, it looks like Arsenal are on the verge of losing another key man as Barcelona line-up a move for midfielder Alex Song.
According to the Evening Standard, Barcelona’s vice president Josep Maria Bartomeu was in London for the last few days to hold formal talks over a potential deal to bring Song to the Camp Nou. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has publicly stated he will not allow a sale to happen – but it is rumoured that, although happy at the Emirates, Song will not sign an extension to his current contract, which expires in three years.
Worried over a repeat of the Samir Nasri situation, where Arsenal’s negotiating position was severely weakened by the Frenchman having only 12 months left on his contract, the club may consider cashing in on 24-year old Song now.
The Gunners are keen to hold out for their £18m valuation of the Cameroon international, a price-tag that Barcelona are yet to match. The lure of joining the Catalans is tangible, and their interest in Song is thought to be because of his versatility – as he is comfortable playing as a holding midfielder or as a centre-back.
Barcelona begin their La Liga campaign with a match at the Camp Nou against Real Sociedad on Sunday evening.
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Referee Phil Dowd was the pantomime villain in Saturday’s Midlands Derby after he controversially Aston Villa’s sent Chris Herd off as West Brom snatched their first league victory at Villa Park in 32 years.
Goals from Jonas Olsson and Paul Scharner gave Roy Hodgson’s side a well deserved 2-1 win after Darren Bent had given the home side the lead from the penalty spot. However Herd’s red card 10 minutes before half time was the main talking point with many feeling his altercation with Olsson in the penalty area wasn’t worthy of such punishment. It proved to be the difference as Albion claimed their second consecutive win and made it four game unbeaten. 10-man Villa, on the other hand, have lost their last two and will feel they deserved more after sacrificing the lead Bent had given them from the penalty spot. They started the game strongly and should have opened the scoring only for Bent to fire his shot over from eight yards after collecting Barry Bannan’s mis-hit shot. The diminutive Scotland midfielder was next to try is luck flashing a volley just wide of Ben Fosters goal as Villa pushed for the opener. They should have been down to 10-men on the quarter hour mark after Alan Hutton’s two footed lunge on Shane Long saw referee Dowd produce only a yellow with the Irish striker leaving the field on a stretcher. It got worse for the Baggies moments later after Steven Reid’s hesitation saw him bring Gabriel Agbonlahor down in the area allowing Bent to convert from 12-yards.
The goal woke West Brom up as they finally started to play some football before they were handed a spot kick of their own in controversial circumstances. Olsson and Herd tangled off the ball as they waited for a free kick to be taken with the Swede going to ground prompting Dowd to send the Villa man off much to their supporters bewilderment. Captain Chris Brunt stepped up but embarrassingly sliced his penalty wide of the goal as the hosts breathed a huge sigh of relief. They couldn’t hold on though and were pegged back just before the half time whistle when Olsson towered above the Villa defence to head home Brunts corner to the derision of the home fans.
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Their man advantage started to pay dividends and Scharner lashed home what ultimately turned out to be the winner acrobatically lashing home a corner from the left. Despite their efforts Villa struggled to rescue the game and tired quickly leaving them open to attacks on the break. They almost conceded a third when Peter Odemwingie was played in but the Nigerian mis-kicked in front of goal as the visitors held on to claim a memorable win over their Midlands rivals.
The Champions League returns this week and will see the Premier League’s four clubs in the competition: Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur all attempt to progress to the quarter finals. In the coming days there are two mouth-watering clashes involving English clubs, as Tottenham take on AC Milan at the San Siro and Arsenal host Barcelona at The Emirates Stadium, before Manchester United and Chelsea take on Marseille and FC Copenhagen respectively next week. The question is, how many Premier League clubs will emerge victorious from the last 16?
bet365 fancy TWO English teams to make it through – what about you? bet365 are betting on how many English sides make it through to the quarter final stage of the Champions League and the firm are 11/10 about two. bet365 spokesman Steve Freeth “injuries mean we’ve recently eased our price on Spurs progressing and it’s no secret that Arsenal have it all to do against Barcelona.” Also Barcelona are the firm’s 3/1 favourites to be the top scoring Champions League side this week.
I am slightly more optimistic about the English clubs’ chances in the Champions League in the coming weeks. Although neither of their opponents should be underestimated, you would expect both Man United and Chelsea to make it through without too much trouble. Then there’s Arsenal and Tottenham and while the Gunners face an uphill task, I think that if Spurs can snatch an away goal in Milan and be no worse than 3-1 down, they can make it yet another magical European night at White Hart Lane in the return leg. So I’m going for THREE English clubs to make it through – sorry Arsenal fans!
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Jermaine Beckford is confident of scoring goals in the Premier League after signing a four-year contract with Everton.
The 26-year-old striker was prolific with former club Leeds United after scoring 85 goals in 150 appearances during his time at Elland Road.
The unsettled striker was released by the promoted League One club at the weekend after signalling his intention not to sign a new contract ahead of the end of his existing deal this summer.
The former non-league striker had been heavily linked with a move to the Toffees and Beckford does not believe the step up to the top-flight will be too much to overcome.
"I've been fortunate enough to score goals at the clubs that I've been at and hopefully I will be able to do that here as well," he declared.
"I am excited by it. It's going to be a test, I know that, but I am looking forward to it.
"I want to test myself at the highest level and luckily for me, (manager) David Moyes showed an interest in me, showed some faith in me and hopefully I can repay that.
"I've been impressed a lot by him. He seems like the type of guy who will sit down and tell you where you're going wrong, what you're doing right and what you might need to work on.
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"It is a club I can learn from and it can help me develop into a better player.
"Fingers crossed, I can be really involved in taking this club where it wants to be."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Fulham midfielder Moussa Dembele has confirmed that Real Madrid have made an enquiry about him.
The Spanish champions are in the market for a creative midfielder this summer, with Tottenham playmaker Luka Modric the number one choice.
However, with the north London club standing firm on their valuation of the Croatia international, negotiations have been ongoing but a deal is yet to be agreed.
As such Jose Mourinho is thought to be weighing up other options, with rumours that Dembele could well be an alternative.
The Belgium international has blossomed at Craven Cottage and is being monitored by a number of leading Premier League clubs, but Dembele has revealed that Los Blancos have been in touch.
“I do not know if I will leave,” he told the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, translated to English by The Guardian.
“Actually I can say nothing about it.
“There was contact between Real and my agent. They wanted information, but that was it. Everything is still.”
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Liverpool have been granted an extension in deciding whether or not to build a new stadium at Stanley Park by the local City Council.
The Reds have already been given planning permission for a new home, but are yet to fully commit to the venture, as the proposed costs are higher than first expected.
The Fenway Sports Group, who own the club, are still tossing up whether or not to move their side to a new ground, or stay at Anfield and look to increase capacity.
The deadline for the decision was initially the end of September, but The Daily Mail reports that Liverpool City Council have granted them more time to make their mind up, as negotiations continue.
Due to the sky high cost of building a new arena, an investment partner is needed to harbour some of the costs of building the stadium, with the naming rights granted in exchange.
Kenny Dalglish’s team would have to sign a 999-year lease on the proposed site in Stanley Park, but have stated that they will not rush the important decision.
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