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The previous summer transfer window ended up being a rather busy one for West Brom after being relegated from the Premier League last season, followed by Sam Allardyce leaving the club.

As well as securing the appointment of Valerien Ismael as their new manager, Albion also brought in a handful of new players such as Alex Mowatt, Adam Reach, Matt Clarke and Jayson Molumby among others.

Jordan Hugill was also brought in during the summer to strengthen Ismael’s squad and help them secure promotion back to the Premier League this season, but so far his signature hasn’t proved to be a particularly good piece of business from club owner Guochuan Lai.

Signed from Norwich City on a loan deal until the end of the season, the striker has only netted one goal so far during his time with the Baggies.

Having made 20 league appearances and seven starts in a West Brom shirt this season, it’s not as if the 29-year-old hasn’t had the chance to show what he can do either, proving why Kevin Phillips has said that Hugill has not “stepped up to the plate” for the club this term.

As well as his lack of assists and regular goals, his overall performances have not been good enough either, with WhoScored giving him a season rating of 6.31/10, making him the lowest-rated West Brom player to have started more than one league game in the current campaign.

Taking all this into account, it’s safe to say that Lai may have dropped a clanger by securing a move for Hugill in the summer, even though it’s just a loan deal and they don’t have to keep him on a permanent basis.

With this in mind, it seems unlikely at this moment in time that the 29-year-old will be staying at West Brom after his loan deal ends.

However, there is still enough time left in the season for Hugill to step up and push the Baggies towards promotion if he can find a consistent run of goalscoring form.

His appearance for the Baggies during the final 27 minutes of their 1-0 defeat against Derby yesterday earned him an overall match rating of 7.1/10, making him West Brom’s joint-third highest rated player on the day according to SofaScore. That illustrates that he is capable of playing well, but he just needs to find the back of the net more regularly.

In other news: Ismael should axe “dreadful” £13k-p/w “stinker” who must never play for WBA again

Tottenham Hotspur may have advanced into the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup for the second successive season but the form of Harry Kane is surely a major cause for concern.

It was another game in which the out-of-sorts England international completely misfired as his struggles continued in Spurs’ win over Premier League rivals West Ham United on Wednesday evening.

On the back of Euro 2020 heartbreak with the Three Lions and an intense transfer saga that linked him with a move to champions Manchester City, the 28-year-old has found life very tough since returning late for pre-season training.

Indeed, Kane has scored just twice from 14 appearances in the English top-flight all season. Meanwhile, six of his nine goals in all competitions have come against minnows in the Europa Conference League, which is hardly inspiring.

You could forgive manager Antonio Conte if he’s left with nightmares after yet another disappointing outing. He must find out how to get the English talisman firing on all cylinders and that’s simply yet to happen since his arrival last month.

Kane lasted the entire 90 minutes on Wednesday, where he managed only one shot on target.

His 40 touches of the ball not only saw him lose possession 13 times (once every three touches) but it was also the second-lowest of any Spurs outfield player, meaning he evidently struggled to garner much of an influence on the game.

And when he was involved, he was wasteful, as seen by him losing the ball so frequently. Furthermore, he made only 20 passes at an accuracy rate of 77%, as per SofaScore.

Elsewhere, the £108m-rated forward was weak against the Hammers’ backline, winning just 28% of his 14 duels, whilst he was dribbled past on two occasions.

Both football.london reporter Alasdair Gold and the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick were in agreement over Kane’s performance in their post-game columns.

‘Still nowhere near his best,’ wrote Gold, with Kilpatrick added: ‘Tested Alphonse Areola early on but otherwise had no chances of note as his finishing slump continued.’

It was another game without a goal and another weak and ponderous showing. Conte must be hugely worried by Kane’s disastrous form and it’s surely only a matter of time before something is done about it.

AND in other news, Spurs plan fresh transfer talks as inside source drops major January update, fans will surely love this one…

خاض لاعبو الزمالك مرانهم مساء اليوم الخميس على ملعب عبد اللطيف أبو رجيلة، استعدادًا لمواجهة إليكت سبورت التشادي في بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

وأدى لاعبو الزمالك مجموعة من التدريبات البدنية القوية، لرفع المعدل البدني، بناءً على تعليمات البرتغالي جوسفالدو فيريرا المدير الفني للفريق.

طالع أيضًا.. بالفيديو | الكشف عن قميص الزمالك البديل لموسم 2022-2023

وفي السياق ذاته واصل حسام عبد المجيد مدافع  الفريق برنامجه التأهيلي تحت إشراف الجهاز الطبي، بتأدية بعض التدريبات الفردية بالكرة وبدونها، وذلك بسبب شعوره بإجهاد عضلي عقب العودة من الكاميرون بعد خوض مباراة الذهاب أمام بطل تشاد.

وأدى اللاعبون فقرة فنية خاصة، خلال المران الجماعي، شهدت التركيز على الخروج بالكرة في وجود عملية الضغط المكثف في مساحات صغيرة، بجانب التركيز على تنفيذ بعض الجمل الفنية والتحرك بدون كرة.

وانتهى مران الزمالك بتقسيمة قوية شهدت ظهور الرباعي: حسام أشرف وسيف جعفر ومحمد حسام “بيسو” وسيد عبد الله “نيمار” بصورة جيدة.

ويستعد الزمالك لمواجهة إيليكت التشادي في إياب الدور التمهيدي لبطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا، المقررة إقامتها يوم الأحد المقبل باستاد القاهرة الدولي.

جدير بالذكر أن الزمالك فاز في لقاء الذهاب الذي أقيم في الكاميرون الأحد الماضي بهدفين دون رد، أحرزهما محمود عبد الرازق “شيكابالا” وأحمد مصطفى “زيزو”.

Leeds United are plotting to add to Marcelo Bielsa’s squad in the January transfer window, according to a report from Eurosport.

The Lowdown: Takeover news

News emerged earlier in the week that the San Francisco 49ers have an option until January 2024 to purchase the club in a deal worth more than £400m.

49ers Enterprises currently have a 44% stake at Elland Road after first investing back in 2018, with Andrea Radrizzani still holding the majority share.

Ahead of the January window and reported injury blows to Kalvin Phillips and Liam Cooper, it seems as if the NFL franchise and Radrizzani will look to make some signings in the New Year.

The Latest: Insiders claim

Eurosport shared a story on Tuesday lunchtime regarding Leeds’ January plans.

‘Insiders’ have suggested that although a January budget may not be huge, and therefore options could be limited, the club will look to invest with hopes of not being dragged into a relegation battle for the second half of the season.

The Verdict: Wise move

Bielsa likes to run with a small squad at the best of times, but Leeds’ ongoing injury woes have had an impact in Yorkshire. It seems as if Phillips and Cooper could be the latest absentees at Elland Road, so you’d like to think the club would look to bring in a central midfielder in January.

Leeds have just four out-and-out senior central midfielders on the books, with Phillips being one, so bringing in another option in that role could now be a priority.

It’s good to see that Radrizzani and the 49ers are willing to invest, though, leaving Bielsa and Victor Orta to draw up a list over the coming weeks as they look to add quality to the squad in the New Year.

In other news: Leeds receive boost in quest to sign 13-cap beast who’s been hailed as a “young star”

The batting paradise at Taunton is not immune to insanity, and more than a whiff of it seemed to affect the Somerset batsmen on the third day against Worcestershire

The Bulletin by John Ward at Taunton18-Sep-2009
ScorecardThe batting paradise at Taunton is not immune to insanity, and more than a whiff of it seemed to affect the Somerset batsmen on the third day against Worcestershire. By the close they left their visitors eagerly anticipating their first victory of an otherwise disastrous season, as their fighting spirit failed them. The most memorable moments of the day took place during Somerset’s hilarious last-wicket partnership of 23.Somerset began the day on 184 for 3, needing a total of 422 to avoid the possibility of having to follow on. The sun of the first two days had been replaced by the traditional British low cloud cover and there was some rare (at Taunton) movement in the pitch. But Somerset’s tribulations were mostly self-inflicted.With only five runs added, Zander de Bruyn was the first to go, essaying a flat-footed drive at a ball from Richard Jones and being caught at the wicket for 15. He was soon followed by James Hildreth (24), driving in some desperation at an off-side delivery from Matt Mason and edging a catch to first slip – the shot of a man out of form. Thirdly, Peter Trego slashed a ball straight to gully, and three wickets had fallen with the total on 189. The follow-on loomed.Alfie Thomas and Ben Phillips now had to try to repair the damage, and for a while they did a good job, although the latter was dropped at slip when he had 7. Thomas, after settling in, started to attack the bowling in his South African style, hitting up 38 off 53 balls with seven fours before he slashed at a ball from Gareth Andrew and was caught at the wicket. Phillips now began to open up, driving Jack Shantry for two successive powerful fours before rather senselessly holing out at mid-off for 18, all in the same over.Despite the gloomy weather, there were several hundred spectators who were now treated to a traditionally rustic last-wicket stand between Peter Stiff and Charl Willoughby. On the stroke of lunch, Stiff, then with 10, was dropped off a huge skier at mid-off, and after the interval he continued his entertaining assault, surviving a confident appeal for a catch at the wicket first ball on their return. He sliced a number of runs to third man off the edge and hit two boundaries almost one-handed, a four over mid-off and a six to midwicket, in both cases his left hand coming off the bat in mid-stroke. He had made 30 off 24 balls when a cross-batted swipe from Willoughby lobbed a catch to mid-off and the innings closed for 280. Mitchell, it will be remembered, made 298 off his own bat.Now 291 behind, Somerset were naturally required to follow on, although Worcestershire no doubt had reservations about the possibility of another five sessions in the field should their bowlers fail to do the job a second time. They received a huge bonus when Marcus Trescothick aimed a rather weak drive at the second ball of the innings, bowled by Mason, without moving his feet, and was taken at second slip without a run on the board.That, however, ended the frivolity for a while and normal service was resumed on the Taunton pitch. Justin Langer, playing his final home innings as a Somerset player, dug in with typical grit, waiting for the bad ball and punching it viciously to the boundary. The opener Arul Suppiah was more fluent, taking particular advantage of the short boundary for his cover drives, and moved smoothly to his 50 off only 65 balls. At tea they had added 113 runs together.They slowed a little in the final session, but Langer reached his gritty 50 off 101 balls. Two runs later he survived a difficult chance to the keeper, caught going the wrong way, but Ben Cox made amends a few minutes later as he dived well to his left to hold a leg glance from Suppiah, who was not happy to depart for 83. The pair had added 142.Hildreth came out as if determined to hit his way back to form. He immediately hammered fours past point and over midwicket (just), followed by a fine cover-driven boundary in the next over. This seemed to inspire Langer to play rashly, as he lashed two boundaries and then sliced a low catch to second slip, departing for 64. Somerset’s hopes of fighting for a draw slumped dramatically within ten minutes, 163 for 3 with more than a day to play and their three top batsmen gone.Hildreth’s rather frenetic approach brought him little success; in trying to hook a ball from Jones, skied a catch to the keeper for 18. Play ended seven overs early due to bad light, and Somerset face the final day with only six wickets left and still well behind. It will take a lot to prevent Worcestershire from enjoying the sweet taste of a championship victory at last.

Everton’s winless run was extended to seven matches after they fell to a disappointing 1-0 defeat at the hands of Brentford in their Premier League clash this afternoon.

The game’s crucial moment occurred in the 24th minute when Bees talisman Ivan Toney slotted home a well-taken penalty to score his first home goal of the season.

It was summer signing Andros Townsend who was guilty of committing a high tackle on the Bees’ Frank Onyeka, and referee Darren England awarded a spot kick after reviewing the challenge on the pitchside monitor.

In a match short on quality between two out-of-form teams, Salomon Rondon had Everton’s best opportunities to find the back of the net and grab an equaliser.

The Venezuela international was thwarted by Brentford goalkeeper Alvaro Fernandez in the first half before a goalbound effort was blocked after the interval.

However, unlike Rondon, Anthony Gordon was unable to impose himself upon proceedings throughout the 90 minutes and put in a rather forgettable performance in west London.

As per SofaScore, the 20-year-old was awarded a match rating of just 6.2 out of 10, the lowest received by any of his teammates to feature this afternoon.

When looking at his underlying numbers, it’s easy to understand why that was the case. Gordon lost possession a whopping 18 times against the Bees, lost eight of his 14 duels and was unable to pick out a teammate with any of his five crosses, letting Rafael Benitez down in the process.

On an afternoon to forget, the academy graduate was also disappointing in the eyes of 90min reporter Sean Walsh, who awarded the youngster a four out of 10 rating and wrote: “Some decent dribbles but nothing to worry Brentford”.

With a tricky run of fixtures coming up against the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea, Benitez will be hoping that Gordon can return to form as soon as possible after a difficult afternoon against the Bees.

In other news… Everton could secure Benitez’s next Hamsik in 18y/o prodigy with “exciting potential”

West Indies Cricket Board president Julian Hunte’s remarks that most recommendations of the PJ Patterson report had been acted on have been dismissed by former WICB president Ken Gordon

Cricinfo staff13-Aug-2009West Indies Cricket Board president Julian Hunte’s remarks that most recommendations of the PJ Patterson report had been acted on have been dismissed by former WICB president Ken Gordon.The Patterson report is a comprehensive document submitted in 2007 that looked into the restructuring of the body governing cricket in the Caribbean, and was commissioned by Gordon when he was president of the WICB. Hunte had said at the WICB’s annual general meeting on Sunday that the board had embraced 47 of the 65 recommendations in the report.Gordon was scathing of the WICB’s treatment of the Patterson report, which recommended the formation of a reconstituted body called West Indies Cricket to oversee cricket in the Caribbean. “The lack of treatment with the Patterson report is a major flaw in West Indies cricket,” he told the . “Everyone knows that the structure of the WICB is a major problem and they are not dealing with this.”The current crisis in West Indies cricket should be used in a positive way. Instead of looking to solve the problems with plasters, the board should look at identifying the problems and get the solutions. At this time they should look to restructure the board and then attack the problems.”One of the main grievances of the Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board, which skipped the annual general meeting of the WICB, was the lack of action on the Patterson report.

Now that Arsenal FC  has been on a bender of losing streaks, the uk football world is dwelling on when Mikel Arteta’s last day as a Gunner manager could be. Rumour has it that the ex football player turned manager has the upcoming 5 football matches to come up with a plan to save Arsenal’s Premier League performance.

Kicking off the season with a low blow defeat of 2-0 against newly promoted Brentford, has had a massive impact on the dressing room morale. UK online bookmakers have speculated that the manager and coach has lost the dressing room, and potentially his job is on the line.  Following more defeats against Tottenham and Chelsea seems to have sealed the deal for the doomed football manager.

We could all argue that Arteta should be given more time to place his reign and mark on Arenal, yet do we really have time in football? Not really, as time and lack of action could mean a Champions League spot and also relegation in football. Many times established teams have sacked and replaced managers and coaches mid season, and with good reason.  When Jose Mourinho was sacked from his top dog job at Manchester United, ex player and interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was appointed, and the team went on to secure winning streaks, comparing the newbie coach to his mentor Sir Alex Ferguson. It was evident that Jose aka The Chosen One, had lost the dressing room and Manchester United needed to act fast not to lose the legacy, the league and their reputation in the process.  Will the Jose saga be repeated again at Emirates Stadium?  And will Arteta suffer the same fate as his peers at the Red Devils?

English newspapers have already started speculating about Mikel Arteta being given until November to turn around Arsenal’s performance. True or not, the UK’s best bookmakers are taking note. Keeping in mind that the Gunner football manager has spent 100 Million in players for the season, a return is expected from the club, and this translates into the next 5 upcoming games.

The upcoming matches will decide Arteta’s fate at Arsenal, and next in line to take the job is of course Antonio Conte, the notorious yet respected ex football manager of Inter Milan. And for those of you questioning Conte’s capability, just know that Conte managed to get the team the top spot in the Italian league, and only walked away from the club because of financial debt and uncertainty that Inter Milan faced. Conte was never sacked from his role, and would be an ideal candidate to turn Arsenal’s performance from rags to riches.

Unfortunately for Arsenal and for Arteta himself, the team has some tough games coming up.  Starting off with facing league winners Manchester City, followed by games against Norwich, Burnley, Tottenham and Brighton. Odds are that Manchester City will secure a win over Arsenal, hence Arteta would need to win the next 4 games following that, to at least be considered as keeping his job at the Emirates.

In the meantime, the Gunner bosses would need to see a significant change and turnaround from Arteta in leading his team to stardom. Sports commentators have also chimed into the Arteta sacking ordeal, and have deplored Arteta’s ameature skills against an out for blood Chelsea. Arteta’s plan just failed to materialise, and everyone in the sports and football worlds took notice. Arteta was not criticized for not having a plan of attack, a strategy if you will. The football world knows Arteta has a plan, yet the plan did not pan it. The question is: Does Arteta have any more tricks in the bag or is this all that he’s got to offer? This is the harsh decision that the Gunner bosses would need to take into consideration.

You can have a million star players on the football pitch, but if the manager’s plan is not a solid one, you have nothing. Plus, the game against Chelseas is a living proof of that statement. You can have a million Lukaku’s and a thousand Chaka or Mari’s, if the plan and strategy is not there, you have nothing.

One failed strategy after another as Arsenal sinks into misery

Of course sports commentators fault the manager when a team fails to perform well in a league. This is the norm, as in when all goes wrong, sack the team leader first and strive to get a new strategy going. Unfortunately the formation that Arsenal have adopted when facing their opponents in recent games, has failed to materialise in wins, and this only means one thing: the strategy is upright failing.

Arteta was blamed for not adopting the 3 at the back game formation, and of course this has resulted in losses rolling in one after another. The notion is simple, if you have a fortified back of the pitch, you will have a better defense. Arteta seems to go all in when it comes with attack and fails to acknowledge the back weaker side of Arsenal.

Head over to British bookies and place your bets on if Mikel Arteta turns the tables around at Arsenal. The future does look quite grim for the football coach, but with some fate and some new strategies every sport can be enhanced. Let us just hope that the ex football player has what it takes to make it in the coaching world.

Sunderland fell to a 5-1 defeat to Rotherham United on Saturday afternoon, and a number of Black Cats supporters hit out at captain Aidan McGeady, who was shown a red card at the New York Stadium.

Lee Johnson made two changes from the previous league match against Charlton Atheltic, with Elliot  Embleton and Leon Dajaku coming in for Alex Pritchard and Aiden O’Brien. That meant McGeady kept his place on the wing for his 12th League One appearance of the campaign, but it was one to forget for the Irish veteran.

The 35-year-old received two yellow cards shortly after the interval to leave his team with a mountain to climb, with the hosts 3-1 up at the time.

McGeady was Sunderland’s worst-outfield starter, as per SofaScore, with a match rating of 5.5/10. He failed to have a shot on goal, complete a dribble or make a key pass during his time on the pitch. He also lost possession on six occasions and was beaten in six of his eight duels (75%).

Sunderland fans react

Here is what these Sunderland fans had to say about the Irishman on Twitter, with one labelling him as ‘appalling’ yesterday.

“What an absolute horror show this is, absolutely lost our heads. What is McGeady thinking?! Shocking”

Credit: @xhannahanderson

“McGeady just needs to retire. Been awful this season.”

Credit: @OfficialDPope

“Appalling from McGeady. As an experienced player on a yellow card it is unprofessional and negligent to be flying into challenges like that. Game over now.”

Credit: @StuzMate

“Disgrace from McGeady! Think he wanted sent off there.”

Credit: @mksavage73

“That was brainless from McGeady. He’s a senior pro. He should know better. He’s becoming a bigger issue every week. His role in the team HAS to be refined now.”

Credit: @Philip_RJ89

“McGeady & O’Nien please never play for us again thank you”

Credit: @mattsmith2707

“McGeady…. Finished in my opinion”

Credit: @wdt0_0

In other news: ‘Made my day’ – Lots of Sunderland fans go wild as ‘excellent news’ is confirmed. 

Southampton have not exactly been an attacking force to be reckoned with in the Premier League in recent years with the Saints only managing to score more than 50 league goals in one season on one occasion since the 2016/17 campaign.

This season seems to be going in a similar direction so far this season as well with Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side having managed to find the back of the net just five times in seven matches.

However, the Saints could be on the right track to potentially fix their attacking issues…

What’s the latest?

It has recently been reported that Southampton will have to pay a fee of £12m to Championship club Hull City if they want to sign winger Keane Lewis-Potter in the upcoming January transfer window, who they have been linked with in recent weeks.

Lewis-Potter, who is a product of Hull’s youth academy, made his senior debut for the club back in January 2019 in an FA Cup defeat against Millwall.

Since then, the 20-year-old winger, who is currently valued at £540k according to Transfermarkt, has made a total of 86 appearances for the Tigers in which he has managed to score 20 goals and provide 10 assists along the way.

So far this season, Lewis-Potter, who has been labelled as a “special talent” by Grant McCann has played 90 minutes in all of Hull’s Championship games, scoring two goals and providing two assists in the process, which just goes to show how important he is to the club.

Attacking reinforcement

Taking into account Southampton’s uninspiring number of goals in the Premier League so far this season and the age of some of their current wingers such as Theo Walcott (32), Nathan Redmond (27) and Mohamed Elyounoussi (27),  a January move for Lewis-Potter could help freshen up Southampton’s attack this season but also provide the club with a useful long-term figure in the squad because of his young age.

However, given how important Lewis-Potter has proven himself to be for Hull this season, Southampton could find it difficult to take him away from his boyhood club, even if they have put a £12m price tag on him that they would reportedly be willing to accept for him.

If they were able to sign him in January though, and Lewis-Potter was able to score some goals and get some assists staright away, we feel the Southampton fans would be delighted with this potential bit of business from the club.

In other news: Ralph could unearth a new JWP at Southampton in 16 y/o sensation, he’s a future star – opinion