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He had a career that achieved more than most and still left you wanting more, which is sometimes just fine

Vithushan Ehantharajah08-Sep-2024Loosely, Sunday’s retirement was Moeen Ali’s third in as many years. But this one, at the age of 37, a week after he, as white ball vice-captain, was left out of both ODI and T20I squads, carries a weight of finality.Test retirement at the end of the 2021 summer was seemingly on a whim before he was parachuted into the 2023 Ashes to cover for Jack Leach as the spinner, then Ollie Pope as No. 3, after which he said he was done for good. All while a staple in the limited overs set-up.It is a weight that has been lifted off the story. Because though Moeen will still be traipsing about the franchise circuit, his England career, outright, is done. Now, a decade after this whole ride began, it is time to get off and remember what was.The glorious cover drive, the pull shot, the flight, the drift, the turn. The way he made the game look effortlessly easy, which lent itself to almost widespread infuriation during the periods of underperformance. He was a role model, and not just for the British Muslim community but the wider working classes.Related

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He won the Ashes in 2015 – the last time England held the urn – and has two World Cup winners medals as a vital cog in Eoin Morgan’s machine that achieved ODI and T20 successes in 2019 and 2022, respectively. And it speaks of Moeen’s character that Sunday’s announcement came with a clear message that the time was right for the team to move on from him, not the other way around.Alastair Cook, Moeen’s captain for 37 of his 68 Tests, regards him as the most selfless player he lined up alongside. Stuart Broad, who played with Moeen for all but nine of those caps, simply referred to him as his favourite team-mate.There is another thing about Moeen that does not matter but still counts: he was cool. And not “cool because he has a great beard” or “cool because he laces inside out over point”. But cool in the way cool is meant to be. A disposition rather than an act.It is little things like somehow being a cult hero and yet adored by everyone you have ever played with, despite the fact cricket is the kind of sport where the two do not go hand in hand. Even last summer, when the England team went crazy for bucket hats, they were all in agreement that Moeen – who flipped the brim to fashion it into a trilby – wore it best. Wisely, none of them tried to copy him, appreciating the fact they simply did not have the capacity to pull off the look.Moeen was a role model, not just for the British Muslim community, but the wider working classes•Philip Brown/Getty ImagesIt’s also the big things, like dropping into an Ashes, batting No. 3, and being the primary spinner despite a slit in your finger that you fix by – checks notes – bathing it in honey. Being a soothing comfort to watch when on full flow out in the middle, or having a knack for skewering tension in a dressing room, which is no mean feat.We might as well stick with that 2023 series against Australia, because it really is the perfect microcosm of his career. Ben Stokes dropped him an SOS “Ashes?” text, and he replied initially with “LOL”, before confirming his attendance officially during a meeting with Stokes and managing director Rob Key, which he arrived at armed with a bag of Sam’s Chicken. Duty called and Moeen answered, though not before getting a chicken burger.He averaged 25.71 with the bat, 51.44 with the ball, yet had a strangely profound influence on matters. There were only nine wickets, but that included Travis Head three times, Marnus Labuschagne twice, as well as Mitchell Marsh and Steven Smith. And arguably his biggest contribution with the bat – probably pipping the 54 struck in a 121-run stand with Zak Crawley in the first innings of the fourth Test in Manchester – came while waiting for his turn to bat in the third Test at Headingley.”Harry Brook played a drive and got out for 3 batting at No. 3,” Broad recalled while speaking to Moeen on Sky Sports at lunch on day three at the Kia Oval. “I was sat next to you, and you’re a bit like ‘I’m not sure I like Brooky at three’ and you went straight to Baz [Brendon McCullum] and went, ‘Baz, let me go three – I’ll go three, get Brooky back to where he scores his runs. I don’t care if I snick off, I’ll go and try and blaze the new ball but get me up at three. Let me take the responsibility.'”Brook, who was at first drop in that innings after Pope injured his shoulder at Lord’s, went on to score 75 from No. 5 on the final day as England chased down 251 to save the series and get on the board on their way to a 2-2 series draw. “And you had such a natural selflessness to you,” mused Broad.

“The glorious cover drive, the pull shot, the flight, the drift, the turn. The way he made the game look effortlessly easy, which lent itself to almost widespread infuriation during the periods of underperformance”

Moeen almost shrugged off the thanks. “A lot of the time, whatever the team needs, I’m prepared to do that.”That brief period of Moeen in the time of Bazball carried a hint of sadness as he walked off at The Oval. You wonder how he would have fared had he played the guts of his Test career under McCullum’s stewardship.At the same time, he was very much of his era. And though this is usually the point in a tribute piece where you sneak in the flaws, Moeen’s entire career was punctuated by frustration. He certainly wasn’t clutch enough and there was no legitimate reason why he did not make more of his batting talent. That he only has five Test centuries is ludicrous and, ultimately, a blight on him rather than anyone else – as is the Test average of 28.12.Yet, his 204 wickets put him behind only Derek Underwood and Graeme Swann as England’s most productive spinner. Only 17 other players in the history of Test cricket have scored 3000 runs and taken 200 wickets. And even in an era when England’s white-ball batting stocks are through the roof, he still possesses the team’s fastest T20I half-century at 16 balls.Moeen’s was a career that achieved more than most and still left you wanting more. Sometimes, even in a sport wedded to numbers, leaving people wanting more is just fine.

Where did India go wrong in testing conditions in Adelaide? And can they completely change their approach with the same set of batters?

Sidharth Monga10-Nov-20222:52

Dravid: ‘We should have been able to get 180-185 on that wicket’

It is to be expected that there will now be plenty of ridicule around the new approach India had promised when Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid took over. Most of it will be opportunistic, though there are those who have genuinely been asking the question since the first match of this T20 World Cup. Either way, any such criticism without acknowledging the conditions this World Cup is being played in will be hollow.Let’s first of all look at how India have played this World Cup. They came to Perth early, played a warm-up match in Brisbane, saw the ball hooping around in Melbourne, and decided that these were not conditions where they needed to risk being bowled out for 120 in pursuit of 200. They chose to set a base, and then go big in the last ten overs, which has been the trend in the whole tournament.Related

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Dravid praised this approach, saying it was part of his batters’ adaptability, and trusted them to change their ways should they come across a pitch that calls for a score of 200.That brings us to the pitch in the semi-final against England. The trends in Adelaide have been clear: in day matches there this tournament, batting first has been great because the pitch keeps getting slower and slower, but in both the night matches before today, Bangladesh and Afghanistan gave India and Australia, respectively, a scare when chasing. Australia were desperate to secure a big win but Glenn Maxwell revealed their helplessness against the conditions, saying they just couldn’t force the pace when batting first but then the ball skidded on nicely when they bowled.In light of that, India’s first curious decision was to look to bat first should they win the toss; they got what they wanted, as Rohit Sharma said at the toss, though England won the right to decide and promptly put them in. This was a damp pitch with a strip of grass just outside off at one end running along the length of the pitch. That dampness was likely to dry out soon. Dravid was asked at the post-match press conference if they looked at those two night matches at the venue before deciding they would want to bat first.

“At that 15-over mark, we felt we were probably 15-20 short… In the end, it looked like we were a lot shorter than even 15-20. [But] I think we should have been able to get to 180-185 on that wicket”India head coach Rahul Dravid

“Yeah, honestly we looked at those things,” Dravid said. “Also runs on the board was something in a semi-final. We had been batting well. We were one of those teams that were, even in these conditions, scoring 180, 180-plus. I think we had done it two or three times in this tournament. So we were playing well.”However, the way India got to those scores of 180 is not sustainable. An early wicket – which of course you cannot control – followed by a slow rebuild by Virat Kohli, leaving Suryakumar Yadav to do the heavy lifting. In his defence, Kohli’s numbers at the death are great, but he risks leaving himself too much to do the way he bats.Also, those scores of 180 came against Netherlands and Zimbabwe, not quite England who – contrary to what the doomsayers feared, when looking at the used pitch put out for this game – are arguably the best at playing on a slow surface. They have a world-class legspinner in Adil Rashid, an offspinning allrounder in Moeen Ali and a legspin-offspin allrounder in Liam Livingstone. And India are among the worst when conditions are tacky because their top three can be shut out by spinners.”When the game started, the boys were saying it was a little bit tacky, it was a little bit slower,” Dravid said. “Having said that, they [England] bowled really well. I thought they were really good up-front. They hit really good lengths, didn’t really let us get away. At that 15-over mark, we felt we were probably 15-20 short, and we really had a good last five overs.In the earlier games, Suryakumar did a lot of heavy lifting. England dismissed him for 14•Getty Images”I think Hardik [Pandya] was absolutely brilliant, and that’s exactly… In the end, it looked like we were a lot shorter than even 15-20. [But] I think we should have been able to get to 180-185 on that wicket.”That adaptability Dravid spoke of throughout the tournament probably went missing a little, but it is not entirely accurate to say India didn’t have the intent. Barring Kohli, who seems to have the role of batting through the innings and looking to score playing orthodox cricket, batters did try to hit out. Rohit looked scratchy because he tried to get away when the pitch was at its most difficult. There were nine boundary attempts in his 28-ball innings, he also tried to unsettle Rashid by sweeping him, but he just couldn’t quite get the timing right on a slow surface. Hardik tried to take Rashid on as soon as he walked out, but whenever he tried to hit, he ended up edging to short third.That is not to take away from England’s bowling, though. They had the variety and quality in their bowling to make sure batters had to take risks to hit boundaries. Rashid, especially, bowled beautifully after being attacked first up. Livingstone, called upon to bowl instead of Moeen because of two right-hand batters in the middle, gave the ball rip, found turn and also bowled accurately.India probably missed a trick in not promoting left-hand batter Rishabh Pant after playing him ahead of Dinesh Karthik precisely because they didn’t want Rashid to have a big say.England wrapped up the game with four overs to spare•AFP/Getty ImagesTo say, as Rohit did at the post-match presentation, that the bowlers didn’t turn up is barking up the wrong tree. When you are defending a small total, you have to attack with your lengths, which is what the bowlers did. There was no swing on offer, and England got the opportunity to attack them, which they did with aplomb.In the end, after a whole year of working hard to change the mindset of the batters – and Rohit was at the forefront of it, taking risks while KL Rahul and Kohli took their time – the team management will be frustrated their exit came playing cricket that pundits are calling “timid”.This is a question only they can answer: in the pursuit of results – a tight win against Pakistan which was no vindication of conservative batting, a defeat against South Africa, a scare from Bangladesh, two facile wins against Netherlands and Zimbabwe – did they lose sight of the process? Did they fall back into the bad old ways where the default was to take the conservative option in thinking a score on board will bring pressure in a knockout match? Rahul didn’t once try to hit out of a lean patch. Kohli didn’t attack spin. Did they try enough to fight the conditions?The larger question perhaps is, can they completely change their approach with the same set of batters? Dravid said it was too soon and disrespectful to think of the future of some of the senior players in the immediate aftermath of this defeat, but whenever he, Rohit and selectors sit down to review this tournament, that question will stare them right in the eye.

The Bumrah-AB-Kohli Super Over, Tewatia’s feats, Pooran’s catch, and more

Mark Nicholas12-Oct-2020It came home to me in the Super Over. Not the one that resulted from the Kings XI Punjab effectively drowning themselves in a sea of misadventure against the Delhi Capitals but the one when Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers had to make eight runs for the Royal Challengers Bangalore against Jasprit Bumrah’s Mumbai Indians. Eight runs, pah!These are three exceptional cricketers; in the case of the two RCB batsmen, among the best there have been, ever. Bumrah is somewhere near the height of his powers: young and fast enough to be a genuine threat, old enough to know what to do with it. That he is unorthodox is a boon for the game that needs its many interpretations.ALSO READ: Bumrah vs de Villiers, an IPL battle for the agesBumrah slipped de Villiers two decidedly slippery bouncers in their Super Over, one that shot past his nose, and one that flew from the flailing edge of his bat to the long-leg boundary. That was four of the eight right there – lucky. Kohli pulled a ball from back of a length that would have made a hole in an advertising board but picked out the fielder at deep backward square. It was a shot that, if not exactly heard around the world, changed his IPL. Later in the over he flicked an attempted yorker off his toes and the match was done and dusted. Virat and ABD were never not going to manage eight runs, but Jasprit made them think and fight tooth and nail. This drama lasted five minutes, that’s all, but it was five minutes on another level. It came after Kieron Pollard’s onslaught – 60 from 24 balls – gave Mumbai another even-money crack at a game they had long lost. It was kind of mad but immense fun, everyone on the edge of their seats in wonderment. The five minutes of the Super Over alone crystallised what this whole thing is about.The IPL is surprising, stimulating and on speed. Most of the elite are here, and when they go at each other, they do so as if they are in the ring, trading blows in the name of franchises that have become an integral part of Indian life. Yes, their bank balances improve to often unimaginable levels but most take the vow and perform. What’s not to like?Kohli gets his groove back
Kohli said that pull shot was a relief, given he had barely located the middle of his bat since the tournament began. He had put too much pressure on himself, he added, the corollary of which was that he was tight and, in desperation, simply trying too hard to influence every moment of every match. One over, to be bowled by a serious opponent and in which he faced only three deliveries, reminded him to loosen up and watch the ball, only the ball. He hit the shot so well, it became a eureka moment. He hasn’t looked back since.ALSO READ: Virat Kohli after ending his rut: ‘I love this game and hate it too’On Saturday Kohli played one of those innings for which he is famous – the slow build and the quick strike. His way is that of the hunter and his prey knows the odds only too well. In his first 30 balls on a sluggish and two-paced pitch, he eked out 34 runs; in the next 22 he smashed 56. He never blocked and he never slogged, he just did what he does: he outplayed his opponent.Beyond the boundary: Nicholas Pooran makes an incredible save during a match against the Rajasthan Royals in Sharjah•BCCIFunny how even the greats have doubts, fears even. There is something of Novak Djokovic in Kohli: in the abhorrence at anything less than the ticking of every box. Having done so, they see themselves as pre-eminent and delight in asking their opponent what he’s got and how long for. On these pages four years ago, Ed Smith wrote a brilliant piece about the development of modern batting. It’s a must read if the link between art and science, body and mind in the act of sporting performance is to be fully appreciated. “Kohli’s investment in success is total and self-reinforcing – hard work, desire and self-belief loop back into each other,” wrote Smith. “Like Djokovic, Kohli has turned his body into an agent of that self-belief; a body dedicated to a game that is dedicated to success.” Smith might well have added “mind” to “body”. He wrote that each man “combines fierce and literal determination with hints of mysticism – if you want something enough and commit to it sufficiently, good things will happen.”Early in the tournament, it was clear that during the long days of lockdown Kohli had driven himself to excess but had forgotten how to let go of the expectation that came from it. To bat well again, he had to let go. Put another way, he had to be free. The pull stroke off Bumrah was the key to the door of freedom.Nicholas Pooran’s miracle save
It might not have been completed in the old days because the boundary was often a picket fence, an iron railing, an advertising board, or a rope with spectators sitting on the grass beyond. I watched the 1967 Gillette Cup Final at Lord’s from behind that rope and in front of the Tavern. The players of Somerset and Kent signed autographs but definitely did not go leaping into and out of the crowd to pull off the double whammy on a boundary catch. Why? Because no one had thought of it, simple. Alan Knott would surely have played the ramp and reverse had they been invented. Colin Cowdrey might not have done.Pooran’s effort was beyond brilliant. It was magical, really, causing a general dropping of the jaw and deep intakes of breath, followed by “We gotta see that again!” And again, and again. Pooran is a wonderful athlete, or contortionist should we say in this instance, and has a lovely instinct for cricket, as if the game is in his blood. Keep an eye on him with the bat by the way, there is a rare talent in this fellow.Rahul Tewatia…
…was at it once more on Sunday, and by that, I mean dragging the Rajasthan Royals’ more celebrated batsmen out of the mire. Steve Smith looks strangely rudderless at the crease, as if his strong mind needed a break and it has come in the form of carefree swings at the ball that might or might not come off. This is high-tariff cricket, not usually his thing. One imagines he will work it out soon enough and that one of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes will sprinkle some stardust over the Royals in the coming days and weeks.ALSO READ: Rahul Tewatia and the romance of the struggleMeantime, hail Tewatia, the man who surely saw the other side during the excruciating first part of his innings against the Kings XI at Sharjah. Watching, you felt the world wincing with you – indeed, someone said he should walk past a straight one and save himself the humiliation, but oh ye of little faith.The rest is history. Tewatia played the innings of his life, which probably saved him from a fate worse than death. He played another little gem on Sunday afternoon, easing the Royals over the line with his rather charming brand of off-side elegance and leg-side wipes.Tewatia is the feel-good factor of the tournament – an unlikely hero but a hero all the same. He gave us all hope that day in Sharjah, reminding cricketers the world over that the game is our gift and that to give it away is never an option.Shreyas Iyer (left) and Prithvi Shaw: two of several attractive batsmen in the IPL•BCCIOn the subject of feel-good…
Young Indian batsmen with good technique and enviable flair: Devdutt Padikkal, Mayank Agarwal, Sanju Samson, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Ishan Kishan, and Shreyas Iyer. Proper fast bowlers not afraid to let the white ball fly: Jofra Archer, Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, and of course, the boy Bumrah. Wristspinners going well on pitches that make life less easy for them than they are used to when under the pump. Oh, and David Warner and Jonny Bairstow, an Australian and an Englishman on the field together and in cahoots.The yorker, or absence of it
You’d think the coaches would work their bowlers to the blister in search of a consistent yorker when the slog is on. Perhaps it’s harder said than done in these days of invention. On Sunday Sandeep Sharma bowled a good one to Riyan Parag, who ramped/scooped it over Bairstow’s head to the boundary. I mean, please. Having said that, I’m convinced the yorker should be a default position.Even more feel-good
The Delhi Capitals chairman and co-owner surprised the team by calling an impromptu meeting saying he wanted to show them a video about the past, rather unsuccessful, week.Instead, the video was a collage of family messages to each of the players from their homes all over the world – wives, girlfriends, kids, mums, more kids, dads and dogs. Even Ricky Ponting shows emotion (insert laugh emoji). He then makes a nice speech about the sacrifices involved with three months in the IPL bubble. It confirmed the feeling I have had that the IPL is less mercenary than it appears from afar and that the players mainly buy into the “family” that has paid their asking price.

Delhi, Dubai, or any part of the world, we always aim to keep players closer to their families

Our Chairman & Co-owner, @ParthJindal11's stirring surprise made the DC stars emotional and surely brought them joy

Not just a team, a family away from home #YehHaiNayiDilli pic.twitter.com/Uz1ma9Vw9h

— Delhi Capitals (Tweeting from) (@DelhiCapitals) October 11, 2020

As if to emphasise this, yesterday there were a couple of shots on television that told the story well. With eight needed from the final over, the camera picked up Shane Warne on a balcony above the Royals dugout. The Covid mask had slipped down his face and we saw him close his eyes and mouth to himself something like “C’mon, please, this time, please.” It was a prayer of sorts. Warne is a Royals mentor, low-grade stuff after the glory days of leading the team to the title in the IPL’s first, barnstorming year.Only a couple of hours later, Harshal Patel bowled too straight at Suryakumar Yadav, who worked him off middle and leg to the square boundary. Ponting looked daggers. Harshal had missed his mark by three inches. But Ponting cares. So too Warne. And their bar is set high.Finally
Credit big time those who have dressed the grounds, curated the audio and created an atmosphere from nothing. It really does fell like the real thing, albeit in a different space.Finally, finally
The absence of spectators means that the cricket has taken centre stage. Confirming the quality of that cricket is no bad thing. Much as we love the bling, the cricket is the thing.

Liverpool are back. The latest interminable international break has wrapped up, and Arne Slot will know that his side’s form needs to change, having suffered three successive defeats before the October pause.

But the truth is, the cracks can be traced right through to the start of the campaign. There are many reasons for this, one of which is the heft of Liverpool’s summer spending.

Sure, Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz completed bumper moves to Merseyside and are indeed the most expensive players in Premier League history, but it’s understandable that Slot’s new-look side might require a bedding-in period.

But, especially in the case of Wirtz, improvements are needed.

Why the next few weeks are crucial for Wirtz

Wirtz left Bayer Leverkusen for Liverpool in July as a legend. Though he’s only 22, the German playmaker spearheaded Xabi Alonso’s invincible, multi-trophy-winning domestic season of 2023/24, and he was crowned the Bundesliga Player of the Year.

A high-profile move to the Premier League always comes with a heavy dose of anxiety, and the silky attacking midfielder has done little to prove Liverpool will receive bang for their buck so far, having failed to notch a goal involvement across eight matches after assisting Hugo Ekitike’s opener in the Community Shield.

Of course, drawing conclusions at this early stage would be reductive, and there is every confidence and expectation that Wirtz will begin firing on all cylinders soon.

But there’s no denying it’s been a slow start, and every passing game will now come weighted with unwanted extra scrutiny.

With the player having taken the no. 7 shirt from Luis Diaz this summer, Wirtz is expected to perform, but there’s already a young wide forward waiting in the wings who might be eyeing that particular shirt already.

The Liverpool talent who could take the #7 shirt

Liverpool have any number of talented young players in their grasp, but none more so than Rio Ngumoha, who has quickly become a household name on Merseyside for his match-winning goal against Newcastle United at St. James’ Park in August.

Aged 16 at the time, the electric-paced winger found space and composure in the final embers to seal all three points for the Reds during that highly-charged contest, adding a priceless moment to a career catalogue which is sure to be well-worn by the time he hangs up his boots, many years from now.

Hailed as a “phenomenal talent” by former youth coach Saul Isaksson-Hurst, the former Chelsea prospect has featured five times across all competitions so far this season and is so talented that FSG decided against signing a direct Diaz replacement this summer, instead promoting the teenager to a more prominent role.

Wirtz is only 22, but he’s struggling to adapt to the pace and intensity of the Premier League at this present moment.

Ngumoha, however, has already broken his seasonal duck, and given that Isaksson-Hurst continued to stress that he expects to see the forward on the Ballon d’Or list one day, there’s every reason for Liverpool fans to get excited.

And there’s plenty of cause for Wirtz to start looking back over his shoulder at that.

Youngest Scorers in Premier League History
#	Player	Age
1	James Vaughan	16 yrs, 8 months, 27 days
2	James Milner	16 yrs, 11 months, 22 days
3	Wayne Rooney	16 yrs, 11 months, 25 days
4	Rio Ngumoha	16 yrs, 11 months, 26 days
5	Cesc Fabregas	17 yrs, 3 months, 21 days

He’s still so young, and already playing such convincing football, the fleet-footed talent may even end up surpassing Wirtz and taking that shirt from him, should things not work out for the Germany star in the end.

FSG sold "world-class" Liverpool star, now he's outperforming Salah & Isak

Liverpool have lacked balance and fluency in the final third this season.

By
Angus Sinclair

Oct 12, 2025

Celtic’s interim head coach Martin O’Neill has confirmed that Wednesday night’s clash with Dundee at Parkhead will be his final match in the dugout for the Scottish giants.

The experienced manager stepped in after Brendan Rodgers resigned at the end of October and has won six of his seven matches in all competitions, per Transfermarkt, to date.

Columbus Crew boss Wilfried Nancy will then take over as the permanent successor to Brendan Rodgers and will face a baptism of fire at the weekend against league leaders Hearts in the Scottish Premiership.

The French boss will be watching on from afar for the clash this evening and will have one last chance to assess the players who will soon be at his disposal before being tasked with organising them in training.

O’Neill will also be keen for his last game to be a memorable one, leaving Nancy with the team in the best possible position, by claiming all three points against Dundee.

The experienced boss may look to make some changes to his starting line-up from the side that beat Hibernian 2-1 at Easter Road on Sunday in order to secure the win this evening.

The Celtic players who could be dropped against Dundee

Football FanCast have already suggested that right-sided winger Luke McCowan should be dropped from the team after he failed to impress against Hibs at the weekend, with no shots on target or ‘big chances’ created, per Sofascore.

The former Dundee man has been tasked with filling in out wide in recent games, due to the lack of natural options in that position, but he was ineffective last time out, which could provide Benjamin Nygren with a chance to play in that role.

On the other side of the pitch, Marcelo Saracchi could make way for Kieran Tierney at left-back, as the two defenders have shared the workload so far this season in the Premiership.

25/26 Premiership	Saracchi	Tierney
Appearances	7	10
Starts	6	6
Minutes	405	609
Big chances created	2	2
Assists	1	2
Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the statistics above, they have both started six league games this term, and it could be Tierney’s time to start this evening after coming off the bench against Hibs.

Another player who could be dropped from the starting line-up, alongside Saracchi and McCowan, is left-sided attacker Hyun-jun Yang, who played a part in Arne Engels’ goal with a deflected cross for the Belgian on Sunday.

Aside from that deflected cross, the South Korean forward offered little to the side in or out of possession on the left flank. Per Sofascore, he played 86 minutes without registering a key pass, a ‘big chance’ created, or a shot on target, as his part in Engels’ goal did not count as an assist.

The 23-year-old star, who scored against Feyenoord last week in the Europa League, also lost 75% (3/4) of his duels throughout the game, per Sofascore, which shows that he was not strong enough in his physical battles.

With this in mind, and the fact that they have Hearts to play on Sunday, O’Neill should ruthlessly ditch Yang from the starting line-up to provide another player with an opportunity to impress.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Dropping the South Korea international could allow the experienced boss to finally unleash rarely-seen winger Michel-Ange Balikwisha on the left flank against Dundee tonight.

Why Celtic should unleash Michel-Ange Balikwisha

The Belgian forward played 59 minutes across three substitute appearances in O’Neill’s first three games in charge, but has been an unused substitute for the last four matches in all competitions.

We are not privy to what goes on behind the scenes, in training and in tactical meetings, and the experienced boss will have his reasons for not giving Balikwisha much game time in recent weeks.

However, in a three-game week, this clash with Dundee ahead of the meeting with Hearts on Sunday provides the manager with a chance to give the summer signing from Royal Antwerp a start for the first time.

In fact, Balikwisha has not started a game for Celtic since the 2-1 win over Kilmarnock away from home in September under Rodgers, per Sofascore, which means that the winger has not had many opportunities to showcase his quality.

Balikwisha in 25/26 Premiership
Opposition	Minutes
Hibernian	0
St Mirren	0
Kilmarnock	0
Falkirk	29
Hearts	30
Dundee	26
Motherwell	12
Hibernian	16
Kilmarnock	58
Rangers	65
Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, the Celtic winger started his first two games in the Premiership against Rangers and Kilmarnock, after signing from Royal Antwerp, but has not gotten a look-in since then.

There is more to come from Balikwisha in a Celtic shirt because his form for Royal Antwerp in Belgium suggests that he does have the potential to carry a threat at the top end of the pitch.

Per Transfermarkt, the 24-year-old wing wizard scored 30 goals and provided 17 assists in 145 matches for Antwerp, yet he has only managed two assists and no goals in 12 outings in all competitions for the Hoops.

The only way he will improve and adapt to Scottish football, though, is by playing matches and getting used to the intensity and physicality of the division, which he cannot do from the bench.

That is why O’Neill should give Balikwisha a rare opportunity to start against Dundee as a parting gift to Nancy, as it would provide the winger with another opportunity to develop as a Celtic player ahead of a fresh page under the next manager.

Therefore, the interim manager should ruthlessly drop and rest Yang from the starting line-up this evening, bringing the rarely-seen Belgian in to give him a chance to stake a claim for a place in the side moving forward.

Nancy could bin Celtic star who's been the biggest winner of O'Neill's reign

Incoming Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy could drop this star who has been the biggest winner of Martin O’Neill’s reign.

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By
Dan Emery

Dec 2, 2025

The Cleveland Guardians have long been renowned for their development of pitchers—and now their staff has another ace up its sleeve.

Former pitcher Corey Kluber is joining the Guardians as a special assistant, the team announced Wednesday morning. Kluber, 39, has been out of baseball since a year with the Boston Red Sox in 2023.

The move reunites Cleveland with its best pitcher of the 2010s, whose stoic presence on the mound galvanized its success in the middle part of the decade.

Virtually out of nowhere in 2014, Kluber went 18-9 with 269 strikeouts, a 2.44 ERA, and an MLB-best 8.1 bWAR. He won the American League Cy Young award, and eventually won it again for a 100-win Cleveland team in 2017.

The franchise traded Kluber to the Texas Rangers before the 2020 season, and he bounced around four teams before calling it a career.

The Guardians are currently 25-17—second in the American League Central Divison and 2.5 games behind the first-place Detroit Tigers.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will be without star Mookie Betts during the two-game Tokyo Series vs. the Chicago Cubs, starting on Tuesday, because of an illness that he's had for the past week, manager Dave Roberts told the media.

Betts's illness, which is unknown, has caused him to lose 15 pounds. He's been trying to rehydrate and gain strength back, Roberts said. It's possible that Betts could fly back to the United States earlier than the Dodgers so he can rest before the home opener on March 27.

"He's not going to play in these two games," Roberts said, via ESPN. "When you're dehydrated, that's what opens a person up to soft tissue injuries. We're very mindful of that."

Betts participated in some of the Dodgers's workouts while in Tokyo, but he started feeling worse over the weekend, specifically on Sunday, as Dodgers insider David Vassegh reported that Betts started feeling light headed and weaker.

Roberts noted last week that Betts started feeling sick the day before the team flew to Japan. Both Roberts and Betts didn't think the illness would linger this long, which is why the eight-time All-Star made the trip in the first place.

Miguel Rojas will take Betts's place at shortstop, which he's transitioning to this season, during the Tokyo Series.

MatériaMais Notícias

O jogo desta segunda-feira (6), entre Vasco e Botafogo, pode definir o rumo dos rivais e outros clubes no Brasileirão. O Gigante da Colina terá a “torcida” de Palmeiras, RB Bragantino e Grêmio, enquanto Santos, Cruzeiro e Goiás estarão do lado do Glorioso no Clássico da Amizade. A equipe de Lúcio Flávio lidera o Campeonato Brasileiro com 59 pontos, enquanto o time de Ramón Diaz está na zona do rebaixamento, com 34 pontos.

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RIVAIS SECANDO PELO TÍTULO

O Botafogo briga pelo título brasileiro e uma vitória em São Januário deixará a equipe de Lúcio Flávio novamente com três pontos de distância para o Palmeiras, segundo colocado com 59 pontos. A equipe de Abel Ferreira conseguiu uma virada épica por 4 a 3 contra o Glorioso, vem de cinco vitórias consecutivas no Brasileirão e aumentou a pressão na equipe carioca. Vale ressaltar que o Glorioso tem uma partida por realizar, contra o Fortaleza.

O RB Bragantino também olha com bons olhos para o clássico carioca. A equipe de Bragança Paulista possui dois jogos atrasados e, caso o Botafogo não vença o duelo desta segunda-feira (6), a equipe do interior paulista depende só de si para levar o título brasileiro.

O Grêmio, 4° colocado com 56 pontos, também torce por um tropeço do Botafogo. Mesmo após a vitória do Imortal sobre o Bahia, a equipe de Renato Gaúcho possui 3,6% de chance de faturar o Brasileirão, segundo dados da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG).

BRIGA CONTRA O Z4

Se Grêmio, Palmeiras e RB Bragantino irão torcer para o Vasco no clássico, O Botafogo terá o apoio das torcidas do Santos, Cruzeiro e Goiás, que brigam contra o rebaixamento.

➡️ Veja a tabela e simule as últimas rodadas do Brasileirão 2023

O Cruz-Maltino é o segundo time no Z4 e possui dois pontos de distância para o Esmeraldino. Caso vença o clássico em São Januário, a equipe de Ramón Diaz ultrapassa o Goias e encurta para dois pontos a distância para o Cruzeiro e Santos, primeiros times fora da zona do rebaixamento.

O Santos também entra em campo nesta segunda-feira (6), em duelo contra o Cuiabá, na Vila Belmiro.

India coach Gautam Gambhir has confirmed India have a whole quota of fit fast bowlers to select from for The Oval Test, which they need to win to level the series. Equally significantly, Gambhir didn’t rule out the possibility of Jasprit Bumrah playing a fourth Test after he had said he was good to play only three in the lead-up to the series.Bumrah, whose pace was down at Old Trafford, which could also have to do with a soft outfield and loose foot holes, has had time to put his feet up since before lunch on day four of this Test. The fifth and final Test begins on Thursday.India came into the third Test crippled with injuries to Arshdeep Singh (bowling hand) and Akash Deep (groin), and general fatigue for Mohammed Siraj. They had to call in reinforcements from India in Anshul Kamboj, who played ahead of Prasidh Krishna.Related

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“All the fast bowlers are fit,” Gambhir said after India’s 143-over batting effort to secure a draw at Old Trafford and stay alive in the series. “There are no injury concerns.”That also includes Bumrah, but his case is different. He is not playing only three Tests because of any injury, but instead for workload management purposes so that he prevents further injuries after his stress reaction earlier in the year. That stress reaction had kept him out for five months. Gambhir was asked if that workload prescription was still set in stone with a series still on the line.”We haven’t had any conversation around the combination for the last Test,” Gambhir replied. “No decision has been made on whether Jasprit Bumrah will play or not. Ultimately, whoever plays, they will try and do the job for the country.”2:09

Manjrekar: ‘Warriors’ keep sprouting for India when needed

Gambhir: ‘Absolutely up’ for series finale

Gambhir said this India team was an inexperienced side and the results needed to be seen in that light. But he also said that reason doesn’t change the scoreline of the series. He also didn’t want to get carried away with the achievement of drawing at Old Trafford.”You are asking someone who only believes in results,” Gambhir said. “I’ve said that in the past as well, that I believe in results. We are still 2-1 down in the series. This is the Indian team. Yes there is inexperience but this is still the best Indian team right now. So for me, I think we are still down 2-1. And hopefully we can try and make it 2-2. That’s going to be a good achievement.”When you are put under pressure, and you end up batting five sessions, I think that’s great character. Anything that you do in these conditions, when you are put under pressure and you come out of those pressure moments, it is always a great feeling, and it just ends up giving a lot of confidence in the dressing room as well.”And I’m sure going into The Oval, we will be high on confidence, but we can’t take anything for granted. I think it’s going to be a new game, it’s going to be against a strong England side, and we absolutely will be up for it.”

Without being guilty of stating the obvious, it’s not a great time to be a West Ham United fan at the moment.

The team looked terrible under Graham Potter at the start of the season, and apart from a brief moment against Everton, they’ve not looked much better under Nuno Espírito Santo.

The Portuguese coach has a tough job on his hands to get the Hammers out of the relegation zone, and things have only just got more complicated.

It now seems that Lucas Paqueta wants to leave the club, although his departure wouldn’t be ideal, West Ham appear to have a player who could step into his shoes.

Latest on Lucas Paqueta's West Ham future

As if Nuno’s task to keep West Ham in the Premier League wasn’t already challenging enough, it now seems that the incredibly talented Paqueta wants to jump ship in the winter window.

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Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

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At least, that is according to a recent report from the Times, which claims that, despite a move to Aston Villa not materialising in the summer, the Brazilian ace is still keen to leave the East Londoners as soon as possible.

It is unclear just how much money it would take for the Irons to sell, but given his desire to leave, underwhelming performances and the fact that there are less than two years left on his £150k-per-week contract, it seems unlikely they’ll make a profit on the £51m they paid Lyon for him in 2022.

However, while losing the Paquetá-born midfielder would be far from ideal, it might not be the nail in the club’s Premier League coffin that many might spin it as.

After all, even though his talent is undeniable, has the 28-year-old star actually been as effective for the club as fans hoped he would be when he first joined?

Paqueta’s West Ham Career

Season

Games

G+As

25/26

10

3

24/25

36

5

23/24

43

15

22/23

41

12

All Stats via Transfermarkt

Well, across his 130 appearances for the Irons, the former Lyon ace has scored 21 goals and provided 14 assists, which works out to a decent but unspectacular average of a goal involvement every 3.71 games.

Moreover, last season saw him score just five goals in 35 games, of which two were penalties, meaning he averaged a non-penalty goal every 11.66 games, which isn’t good enough for someone meant to be a team’s talismanic number ten.

In short, while the best situation would be one in which Nuno could get the best back out of Paqueta, losing him in the winter might not be as bad as some would have you believe, as he’s barely contributed to the team for over a year now.

Moreover, West Ham already have a creative gem who could potentially prove to be a brilliant replacement in the long run.

West Ham's Paqueta replacement

While there are undoubtedly other ways in which Nuno and West Ham could approach a Paqueta-less side, perhaps the best would be to use Mateus Fernandes.

The former Southampton star joined the club for around £40m in the summer, and while he’s spent more time in central midfield since then, he’s no stranger to playing further up the pitch.

For example, during his time with the Saints, the “exceptional” Portuguese ace, as dubbed by analyst Mattinson, made 21 appearances in attacking midfield.

Moreover, despite playing for a team that were relegated and, for some time, looked in danger of breaking Derby County’s most unwanted record, the 21-year-old still produced six goal involvements in 36 league games.

For comparison’s sake, Paqueta scored just four goals in 34 league games.

Finally, on top of possessing the ability to play “those KDB-type passes,” as Mattinson puts it, the former Southampton ace is also happy to help out all over the pitch, as his underlying numbers show.

According to FBref, he ranked in the top 2% of attacking midfielders and wingers in the Premier League last season for percentage of aerial duels won, the top 5% for tackles and ball recoveries, the top 11% for long passes attempted and completed and the top 14% for passes into the final third, all per 90.

Fernandes’ scout report

Statistics

Per 90

Percentile

% of Aerials Won

62.5%

Top 2%

Tackles (Def 3rd)

1.39

Top 3%

Tackles

2.75

Top 5%

Ball Recoveries

5.54

Top 5%

Interceptions

0.87

Top 7%

Touches (Mid 3rd)

26.82

Top 9%

GCA (Defensive Action)

0.03

Top 10%

Passes Completed (Long)

3.40

Top 11%

Passes Attempted (Long)

6.06

Top 11%

Dribblers Tackled

1.02

Top 11%

Pass Completion % (Medium)

85.9%

Top 14%

Passes into Final Third

3.03

Top 14%

Shots Blocked

0.25

Top 14%

Total Passing Distance

569.45

Top 15%

Blocks

1.33

Top 15%

All Stats via FBref for the 24/25 PL Season

Ultimately, in an ideal world, West Ham would keep hold of Paqueta and help him get back to his best this season.

However, if he really is to leave in the winter, then fans should not worry too much, as Fernandes could step in and step up.

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Posts ByJack Salveson Holmes Oct 28, 2025