MS Dhoni has been named captain of the new Pune franchise, Rising Pune Supergiants, for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League.Dhoni, who led Chennai Super Kings to two IPL titles, was named Supergiants’ captain for only one season for now. “He has always been a phenomenal leader for teams that he has represented including the Indian side,” team owner Sanjiv Goenka said at the team’s logo unveiling. “Right now the focus is only on 2016 and the team building. That’s why we named Dhoni as the captain.”His track record in both domestic and International arenas have been remarkable. I firmly believe he will lead our team extremely well on and off the field.”Having made the most successful bid for a new franchise, Dhoni was Pune’s first pick at the player draft in December. The other four players chosen were Ajinkya Rahane, R Ashwin, Steven Smith and Faf du Plessis.”Practically we hope there will be complete harmony in the team. The likes of MS, Steven Smith and Faf du Plessis are seasoned leaders. I don’t think there will be any chance of a friction in the team,” Goenka said.Rising Pune Supergiants, owned by New Rising, will have INR 27 crore to spend at the player auction on February 6 to make up the rest of the squad.
Rising Pune Supergiants – welcome to the family #VIVOIPL pic.twitter.com/tZqipos17O
ScorecardEvin Lewis cracked nine fours and one six during his 41-ball 56•WICB Media/Ashley Allen
Opener Evin Lewis struck a quick fifty as Trinidad & Tobago knocked off 107 within 14 overs to secure 18 points; their first win at home this season.Lewis was dismissed for 56 off 41 balls but Kyle Hope stayed unbeaten with Marlon Richards to seal the victory. This meant that Leeward Islands remained rooted to the bottom of the table with a solitary win in eight matches.Leeward Islands were left to play catch-up right from the first day, when they were bowled out for 225. Debutant Keacy Carty, who had steered West Indies Under-19s’ tense chase against India Under-19s in the World Cup final, was the first to go, bowled by Rayad Emrit for 5. Daron Cruickshank soon became Emrit’s second victim. Nkrumah Bonner mounted some resistance with 47 before Jahmar Hamilton and Rakheem Cornwall added 74 together, but the lower order was cleaned up by pacer Marlon Richards.Legspinning allrounder Imran Khan pitched in with two wickets. He then led T&T’s batting effort with his ninth first-class fifty, at the top of the order. Narsingh Deonarine and Steven Katwaroo also stroked fifties to give their side the advantage with a first-innings lead of 181, despite Cornwall’s five-for.Leeward Islands fared marginally better in their second dig, managing 287, but the small target was brushed off by T&T. Carty hit a fifty as did Cornwall, but Imran’s four-wicket haul rattled the middle order. His match haul of six wickets eventually put him joint second on the wickets charts, with 37 scalps. ScorecardRonsford Beaton’s five-for in the first innings followed by Leon Johnson’s 107 shaped Guyana’s six-wicket win against Windward Islands in St Lucia. Guyana picked up 18 points with the win to strengthen their position at the top of the points table.After being inserted, Devon Smith and Jelornie Robinson set Windwards up nicely with a 120-run partnership for the second wicket after Beaton had removed Tyrone Theophile early. Raymon Reifer broke the stand by removing Robinson for 57, a wicket that triggered Windwards’ middle-order collapse. A combined bowling effort from Guyana, led by Beaton, ensured that no other Windwards crossed the score of 20 as they lost nine wickets for 80 runs. Beaton cleaned up Windwards’ tail quickly as they were bowled out for 216.Guyana’s strong response was built on Johnson’s century, while Vishaul Singh and Tagenarine Chanderpaul (46) played the support roles. Johnson struck 13 fours in his 107 and also shared a 119-run fifth-wicket stand with Vishaul, who made a patient 58 – a partnership that put them in control after they were at a wobbly 100 for 4. Guyana got a late push when Johnson and Reifer combined for the seventh wicket to add 62, a stand that set them up for over 300. Mervin Matthew’s late wickets, that helped him complete career-best figures of 6 for 81, helped Windwards bowl Guyana out for 339, a 123-run lead.Windwards suffered another batting collapse in the second innings that had them lose seven wickets for 41 runs as they slumped to 131 for 9. Smith’s 51 was the only score of note before Shane Shillingford provided lower-order resistance with a quick 26 that took his side to 161 before they were bowled out. Reifer led Guyana’s bowling effort, picking up 4 for 35, while Devendra Bishoo and Beaton accounted for a total of five wickets.In their pursuit of 39, Guyana were reduced to 13 for 4 by Shillingford and Kyle Mayers. Johnson then came out full of positivity though, and smashed a quick 17 to take his side home without further damage. ScorecardJustin Greaves’ 5 for 41 and fifties from Kraigg Brathwaite and Roston Chase set up Barbados’ six-wicket win over Jamaica at Sabina Park. The result, though, had no bearing on the points table as Barbados maintained their second position, while Jamaica follow at third.Shacaya Thomas and Andre McCarthy struck fifties but Greaves’ five-for cut through Jamaica, bowling them out for 177 as only two other batsmen made double-digit scores, both without touching 20.Nikita Miller led the hosts’ bowling effort, cutting through the visitors with a haul of 8 for 67. Barbados, though, were rescued and helped to a 40-run lead by Brathwaite and Chase’s fifties. Brathwaite stroked 11 fours during his 130-ball 66, while Chase’s knock came with eight fours.Jamaica slumped to 80 for 7 in their second innings before Devon and Jason Dawes combined to add 63 for the eighth wicket. Their partnership helped the hosts set Barbados a fighting if still small target of 118. Jomel Warrican and Hayden Walsh combined to pick up 6 for 90 for Barbados, while Miguel Cummins finished with 2 for 20.Brathwaite combined with Jonathan Carter to help take Barbados to 77 for 1 in the chase, before both batsmen fell in consecutive overs. Chase then came in and smacked a brisk 35 to take them home with six wickets in hand.
Sri Lanka fast bowler Dilhara Fernando has been sent to Western Australiawhere he will spend ten days working with fast bowling expert Darrel Fosterin an attempt to ward off future injuries.Fernando, the quickest of Sri Lanka’s bowlers, suffered a stress fracture ofhis back at Sharjah last October and, though now back bowling in the nets,the team management is keen for Foster to iron out slight technical faultsin a powerful bowling action that places a severe strain on his back.When Fernando returns he will rejoin the national training squad and themanagement are hopeful that he will be in contention for the forthcomingSharjah tournament in April.
West Ham United's co-owner David Gold retains hope that his club could seal the signings of England midfielder Joe Cole and Barcelona striker Thierry Henry this summer.
Gold and fellow co-owner David Sullivan have installed Avram Grant as the new man in charge at Upton Park and are keen to show their intent in the transfer market.
"We, as much as anyone, want England to do well at the World Cup so there's absolutely no chance of us talking to Joe during the World Cup," Gold commented.
"We wouldn't do that during this very delicate period, but after that, that's a different matter. When it comes to big transfers we don't like to any stone unturned.
"The chance of getting Cole is 10-1 and therefore there is a one in ten chance of us getting him. We probably won't get him but the offer is still there.
"There is the same chance of Henry coming, but we will try. We had a chat with him for a bit, but it looks like he is going to be offered another contract.
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"The offer is still on the table for him too and it will be there for another two or three weeks.
"We have had it in the past where we have thrown the net out far and we will throw the net out again in the future."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
With the World Cup finally beginning to live up to the hype it seems football’s world governing body can pat themselves on the back for a job well done.
Not only are goals finally flying in, but with all the scaremongering about potential robbery rape and murder the fact that there have been relatively few violent incidents also means the safety aspect has been well handled.
Well while the World Cup may be a success- unless you’re English, or an Italian manager- FIFA’s handling of certain aspects has been nothing short of shocking.
There was the whole orange dress girls debacle, where FIFA inadvertently gave the chaps at Bavaria beer far more publicity than the scantily clad ladies did alone. I was at the Holland Denmark game and had my picture taken with a pair of the ladies in question and had no idea what they were meant to be advertising. It wasn’t until they were arrested and the story hit the headlines worldwide that I along with most other people realised they were part of an advertising campaign for Bavaria beer.
Not only did FIFA give the company more publicity they could ever have dreamed of, they also made themselves look harsh and foolish for over-reacting.
Then there are the FIFA fan parks which are scattered around the country. Here you can watch all the World Cup games on huge screens free of charge with entertainment in between games. Simple eh?
Well not when they’re run by FIFA. Before the World Cup thousands of South Africans applied for licences to trade at these parks. The cost wasn’t cheap – around 20,000 rand –around 2000 english pounds as a deposit plus a lot more in expenses.
FIFA promised these traders they’d be given prime locations in the parks and that entertainment would be put on near their stalls to keep punters happy.
In the fan park at Innesfree park I visited the stalls were set so far behind the screen, I almost didn’t realise they were there.
The Coca-Cola stalls as well as other sponsors MTN were in prime locations where you literally couldn’t miss them.
The place was like a ghost town and I spoke to a couple of the traders about their predicament.
Jamiliah Khan was running a food stall with her family, she was quite vocal in her anger at the situation: “My kids education fund, I’ve dug into that, it’s going to take me years to recoup my losses.
They promised that there was going to be a stunning line-up of entertainment that was going to pull crowds.
We thought it was going to be win-win situation for everybody but it’s only a win-win situation for coca-cola and FIFA the small vendors get screwed.”
Joseph Molwatnwa was another trader who was furious with FIFA’s broken promises: “It’s bad, bad, bad, horrible, they’re changing the rules every day- there’s no entertainment it’s terrible. We’ve lost a lot of money.
“The first day this was open people came because Bafana Bafana were playing, but it wasn’t arranged properly, there was only one till open.
“We’ve decided to close down and pack up, FIFA said there would be twenty thousand people a day but there’s been around only twenty people. It’s a disaster.”
While the official fan parks have been something of a total let down that’s not the only area that FIFA have behaved badly.
Recently stewards at five stadiums across the country went on strike due to a pay dispute. This meant that the South African police force has had to step in. While that may seem hardly the fault of Sepp Blatter and his mob, once you scratch beneath the surface you can see it’s again down to the misdeeds of football’s governing body.
Workers were told that they would be given 500 rand per day but then were only paid them 190 causing uproar.
FIFA awarded the security contract to Stallion Security despite several warning signs that this would lead to disaster.
The security company lost their international partner, Securitas from Sweden, earlier this year when they pulled out of the tournament, apparently following financial disputes.
The South African Police Service also had to step in to protect another FIFA tournament in June last year, after the local organising committee and Stallion fell out over money shortly before the Confederations Cup.
According to the FIFA safety guidelines, the local organising committee and FIFA itself, is responsible for safety at stadiums on the day of matches.
While everyone I’ve met here is justifiably proud to not only be hosting the World Cup but also to have done it with a warmth and friendliness I’ve not seen since my raving days ended, there are some major concerns.
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Last week thousands took to the streets of Johannesburg in protest at the amount of money the government is spending on the World Cup when so many people are living in poverty.
FIFA has made record amounts from the South African World Cup and many here, feel the South African bid committee allowed football’s governing body to make far too many stipulations just to have a successful bid.
Here the South African government could be accused of adhering to too many demands, but FIFA should be held culpable for exploiting the situation to their utmost benefit.
South Africa missed out on the World Cup in 2006 by a single vote, after Charles Dempsey- who’s almost as famous as Francois Pienaar in parts of South Africa- abstained from voting despite being told by his confederation to vote for South Africa.
Many of the stadiums here will likely be unused or even demolished after the tournament as some are in areas where there will be absolutely no need for them.
It seems in the nation’s eagerness to become the first African host of a world cup- it was announced that this tournament would be in an African country before the bids were in- the government may have given too much leeway and paid a price that people here will have to live with for many years to come.
The question is did FIFA exploit South Africa, or is this nation’s government to blame?
You may love or loathe the transfer windows but it certainly has most football supporters fixated to the rumour mills on a daily basis. I don’t know many fans that don’t go straight to the BBC’s gossip column as a first port of call every morning, before they move on to SkySports.com. Most of what is written is complete tosh; however it doesn’t stop many buying into what they have read. I guess everyone just loves a rumour, despite how outlandish they might be.
One thing that does amuse me about those who bite at the rumours is their sheer naivety and this belief that the club have a bottomless pit of money and cannot understand why player X Y and Z won’t be playing for their club next season. There is a lot to be said for a little bit of realism and general understanding of the complexity of club finances. Sometimes players have to be sacrificed in order to raise funds to strengthen elsewhere, or clubs have a restricted budget due to incompetent owners or the need to finance new stadia. Money doesn’t grow on trees and therefore clubs have to live within their means.
So what about your club this summer? No doubt you have been taken in by some of the rumours, poured cold water over some and I’m sure there is a long list of players that you will be happy to see the club cash in on during the coming weeks. The transfer window, with the exception of City, has been somewhat constipated up to this point, although I’m sure it won’t be long before the transfer storm starts to erupt.
Who would you like to see arrive at the Anfield during the next five weeks, and equally who should be issued with their P45?
Click on image to see a gallery of the BEST BABES at the World Cup this summer
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The Premier League Season is almost upon us and transfer rumours are surrounding every club including Chelsea. Carlo Ancelotti’s target for this season is bound to involve winning more silverware and the Champions League is the one trophy Chelsea have failed to grasp to date.
The majority of the transfer talk involving Chelsea has included the name Fernando Torres. He’s young, athletic and when he’s not injured he is one of the world’s best strikers. The problem comes with his price tag and the simple fact that Chelsea don’t actually need another striker. Although Didier Drogba and Nikolas Anelka may be heading towards the end of their playing career they are still world class strikers. Florent Malouda, Salomon Kalou and the young Daniel Sturridge can all be called on too if goals are required. However, if Manchester City are serious about signing Didier Drogba then the situation changes and Chelsea will need a new striker who can guarantee goals.
Instead of spending a huge amount on one player Chelsea should bolster up their midfield. With the departures of Joe Cole, Michael Ballack, and Juliano Belletti; Chelsea require at least one player with some finesse and talent. An ideal candidate would be Bayern Munich’s Bastian Schweinsteiger. He had a terrific World Cup which didn’t benefit Chelsea as his price tag as increased but he’s still a worthwhile target. In a recent survey on Goal.com 90.1% chose Schweinsteiger as the man Chelsea should try and sign.
Chelsea have already made one new signing in the form of Yossi Benayoun. The Israeli captain cost a modest £5.5million and the attacking midfielder is likely to replace Joe Cole with a role down the wing. The newspapers have been having a field day with news that Jose Mourinho is after Ashley Cole. The Chelsea left back is a skilled defender who loves to go forward and is a vital player in the Chelsea squad. Losing such a player would create a big hole in Chelsea’s side and finding a replacement could prove difficult. Things could worsen if the Spanish Newspapers are true and Ricardo Carvalho is heading back to Real Madrid to reunite with Mourinho. Another defender would need to be drafted in.
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Ancelotti should concentrate on strengthening his midfield and developing the youth team and forget about Torres. Chelsea spent big money before, remember the record breaking £30.8 million pound signing of Andriy Shevchenko back in the summer of 2006. The hype was huge at the time but his time at Chelsea was less than impressive, he scored 22 goals in 2 seasons and never secured his place in the first team line-up. Chelsea don’t want to make a huge big signing and then regret it. They need to spend where necessary and where needed and just because teams throw money at a problem doesn’t mean Chelsea should.
To say the transfer window (so far) has been uneventful is tantamount to saying the Arctic is a bit nippy, as the majority of Premier League clubs are seemingly being careful with their finances. In some cases clubs simply have to sell before they can buy, much to the frustrations, no doubt, of many managers and supporters.
The lack of spending at the top of the Premier League has surprised many, especially given the open nature of last season’s title race. You would have thought the likes of United and Chelsea would have looked at a big outlay this summer, to ensure the also-rans remain at an arm’s length in their pursuits of the title. Only City have made substantial moves this summer, although you do feel that they may well struggle to strike a balance. This means this season’s race for the title, Champions League and Europa League places are very much as they were last year, unless we witness a major change in the transfer wind in the coming fortnight.
The media is predicting that a transfer storm is set to erupt, but it begs the question as to whether West Ham really need to partake in some last minute shopping, or has the clubs five new additions ensured that the Hammers side is adequately equipped this season?
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Does Avram Grant need to bring any players in before the transfer window shuts in 16 days time and if so who would you like to see him bring in?
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has angrily hit out at suggestions that Bebe has failed to make a positive impression in his first days at Old Trafford.
Ferguson broke with tradition to sign a player without first seeing him in action when he paid £7million to land the 20-year-old striker from Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes last month.
Bebe's absence from a reserve team fixture in midweek led to reports that the youngster had disappointed the United coaching staff.
However, Ferguson has dismissed suggestions that he has made a mistake in the transfer market with a staunch defence of the player.
"Bebe is on a programme doing endurance work because his fitness levels are not near the ones we are at," said the veteran Scot.
"Other than that he has done well. I know he has had a couple of vicious attacks on him for why he wasn't playing in the reserve game but he was never going to be playing on Tuesday.
"The boy did not deserve that.
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"He is a young man trying to make his way in football. They didn't need to do that. It was a really bitter attack. Ability-wise he is excellent. He is a terrific finisher.
"We have been very impressed with that. It is just the fitness levels he needs to get to."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Thank heavens for Birmingham and Liverpool, I was beginning to question my judgement. The goalless draw at St Andrews prevented Blackpool from staying as the only team with a clean sheet for this round of Premier League fixtures. So far this season, the water-tight defences have struggled to create last year’s shut-outs.
Chelsea stand out as the only team to have really been stingy this season. They’re fixtures haven’t been the most taxing, but Scott Parker’s consolation on Saturday remains the solitary goal that they have conceded in the league this term. Manchester United have also kept clean sheets in their two home games this season, against Newcastle and West Ham. But after that, it becomes a bit of struggle to find the fully functioning defensive units.
Last season, the purchases of Richard Dunne and James Collins for Villa were a master stroke, and along with Carlos Cuellar and Stephen Warnock, formed a backline that managed 15 clean sheets over the course of the season. So far they have had two clean sheets (their two home games) but the six conceded against Newcastle was an awful defensive performance – very uncharacteristic.
Everton are another team that boast accomplished defenders, behind solid central midfielders and a reliable goalkeeper backing them up. And yet, the side has yet to record a shut-out so far this season, even against Shrewsbury at home in the Carling Cup. Admittedly, their general form has been somewhat off colour. Newcastle visit Goodison next, and this could be a chance to stop the rot, as long as they can carry the momentum from the fight back against Man Utd, and get to grips with man of the moment Andy Carroll.
Is there a more organised unit than Birmingham City, especially at St Andrews? They have also replaced one good, young, English goalkeeper, with a good, young, English goalkeeper. The game against Liverpool was finally a return to form for Roger Johnson et al. Before that game, matches against Sunderland, Blackburn and Bolton all brought breaches of the defences.
Stoke, a side with a home record that makes visits to The Brittania a very unwelcome event, managed 14 clean sheets last season. Tony Pulis’ recipe of filling his backline with centre-backs worked well for him last season, and should continue to do so. No clean sheet so far this season. Shrewsbury even came to Stoke and got a goal.
And as for Spurs? White Hart Lane only saw 12 goals scored against them last term, helping them to 13 clean sheets in total. With whatever possible combination of defenders that Spurs put together, they haven’t yet managed to create the perfect formula. Wigan came to town on the back of two humiliating defeats, and having shipped nine at Spurs the year before, I was convinced this was a banker. Wigan of course came away with three points, and Spurs only couldn’t add to the one domestic clean sheet again Man City.
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Maybe this is a good thing? We all want to see as many goals as possible, and no one wants to see repeated nil-nils. But there is a definite sense of pride in stopping teams from scoring; when it’s done well, it can still be good to watch. It might be a case of pre-season rustiness, but sides that were so mean last season really appear to be struggling to find their defensive feet again.
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