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Leeds United have been fit with a £20,000 fine for failing to control their players against Chelsea, with journalist Phil Hay relaying the news.

The Lowdown: Leeds’ late heartbreak at Chelsea

The Whites suffered an agonising 3-2 defeat away to the Blues earlier this month, losing in stoppage time after a Jorginho penalty. It was a hugely spirited performance from Marcelo Bielsa’s side, but as has been the case too often this season, they came away with nothing.

Tempers flared with Leeds players after the award of the late spot-kick, with numerous individuals surrounding referee Chris Kavanagh.

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The Latest: Leeds hit with £20k fine

The behaviour of the Whites players has seen them receive a hefty five-figure punishment, with The Athletic’s Hay confirming the news on Twitter on Monday as he simply relayed: “Leeds hit with £20,000 fine.”

In the report, it is stated that the Whites have been punished for ‘failing to ensure that its players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion when they surrounded the match referee.’

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The Verdict: Another blow

Not much appears to be going right for Leeds at the moment, with Bielsa’s men sliding ominously down the Premier League table after some heavy defeats and suffering a host of injuries to key players.

This fine is a further blow for the club at a time when money is needed for signings in the January transfer window, although the amount paid shouldn’t affect their budget too much.

In truth, it was nice to see the passion shown by Leeds players on that painful afternoon at Chelsea, showing that they truly care about results and the fate of the club.

In other news, Leeds have received a potential transfer boost. Read more here.

Aston Villa shared specific ticket details ahead of their FA Cup clash with Manchester United in the New Year.

And, as to be expected, the update from Villa’s official support Twitter page had a number of fans talking.

Steven Gerrard will get his first taste as a manager at Old Trafford on Monday, January 10 after the two sides were paired together in the third round for the fifth time in the 21st century.

Home teams are supposed to offer away clubs 15% of their stadium capacity for FA Cup matches – meaning Villa could have got up to 10,000 tickets.

However, the club confirmed that the allocation would be just over 3,000, with adults tickets priced at £30. Those went on sale on Thursday evening, but plenty of supporters were quick to vent their frustration at the update.

Villa fans react

This is what these Villa fans had to say in reply to @AVFCSupport’s post, with many not happy and one labelling it as ‘embarrassing’.

Find all of their verdicts on the development down below:

“Absolute joke allocation”

Credit: @TomL7AVFC

“United being stingy with away tickets in the FA Cup like Tottenham it seems”

Credit: @GaryBolton91

“Embarrassing if it’s the clubs choice to only take 3k”

Credit: @htl_00

“Is this allocation a wind up? One of the few times a lot of people will get to watch villa at Old Trafford and you don’t take the allocation?”

Credit: @roberts_arron

“3000 tickets is pathetic”

Credit: @Anthony38696111

“3k? Are you having a laugh?”

Credit: @Finleysurrell1

In other news: ‘Incoming’, ‘What’s going on?’ – Many AVFC fans ‘love’ Gregg Evans transfer update

When West Brom secured promotion back to the Premier League in 2020, their star player wasn’t up for debate.

Brazilian playmaker Matheus Pereira was on loan from Sporting CP and took to the English game like a duck to water, chipping in with eight goals and 16 assists across the campaign.

The Baggies turned his move permanent as they moved up to the Premier League and once again he was the stand-out player in their squad, scoring 11 goals and registering six assists in England’s top flight. It wasn’t enough to keep the Midlands side in the division though and he eventually made the move to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia to continue his career away from the Hawthorns.

With West Brom back in the Championship this season, they are desperate to get back to the top flight as quickly as possible. They currently sit third in the division, six points behind Bournemouth in the automatic promotion places. Their problem this year has been relatively easy to spot; they aren’t scoring enough goals.

Valerien Ismael’s side have managed just 29 goals in 21 games so far this season, with top scorer Karlan Grant hitting nine of those. Callum Robinson has chipped in with three goals as the main striker, while he leads the assist charts for his club with six this season.

But the lack of quality in the final third is clear for all to see and it shows just how much they are missing Pereira in their side.

During his year in the Championship, Pereira averaged 2.6 shots, 2.8 key passes, 1.5 dribbles and 0.2 through balls per game.

In comparison, this season Grant has averaged 2.5 shots, 1.2 key passes, 1 dribble and zero through balls a match, while fellow attacker Matty Phillips has averaged 1.5 shots, 1 dribble and key passes an outing to go with only 0.1 through balls.

It shows the clear difference in quality and level between West Brom’s current options in the final third compared with Pereira, a player dubbed “incredible” by former coach, Nate Weiss. It makes it clear how much they miss him.

The £13.5m-rated wizard won’t be making a return to the Hawthorns any time soon, so the Baggies must find a way to replace him or regret letting him go in the first place.

AND in other news, West Brom must keep Sam Johnstone beyond January.

Flocking to Twitter, many West Ham United fans have been left ecstatic following reports of what GSB and the club are planning in January.

The upcoming mid-season transfer window could be the the club’s most crucial one in a very long time as David Moyes’ men continue to fight on all fronts.

Top of their Europa League group and third in the Premier League, West Ham are also set to play London rivals Tottenham in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.

Depending on how they fare in the cups as they also aim to qualify for next season’s Champions League, Moyes could have it all to do, with a very congested festive schedule already awaiting him.

As such, West Ham may need to sign fresh faces in January to bolster the Scotsman’s chances of success, especially considering the lack of a natural backup option to Michail Antonio and Angelo Ogbonna’s cruciate ligament injury blow.

The Evening Standard shared an update on transfers after Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky officially bought a 27% stake in the club. They claimed that, while GSB aren’t planning a winter spending spree, Moyes will be sufficiently backed to bring in a centre-back, a striker and possibly 2020/21 loan star Jesse Lingard.

Flocking to this news from a reliable source, it’s little wonder that so many West Ham fans are ecstatic, as this development could plug most of their squad’s holes. As they voiced their opinions on Twitter, many heaped praise on GSB’s “brilliant” transfer plan for Moyes.

Check out some of their best verdicts below.

West Ham fans erupt over GSB transfer plan…

“Make it happen Moyeseyyyy”

Credit: @Kayron27

“This sounds positive”

Credit: @SamanthaWalsh1

“I’d be over the moon with that”

Credit: @RobWaldon

“That will do for me”

Credit: @bartong2011

“Yes yes yes, that would do me very nicely!”

Credit: @_samhowell

“This would be brilliant”

Credit: @colbyjaytait09

“a central defender, a striker and Lingard is a spending spree to us!”

Credit: @Hammer1966

“Hlozek, Lingard and Tarkowski and we’ve basically won the quadruple”

Credit: @AndrewIron85

In other news: ‘Huge’ – Sky pundit thrilled as West Ham eye ‘massive signing’ for Moyes, find out more here.

Tamim Iqbal has termed his career-best 154 against Zimbabwe as a personal best and dedicated the innings to his father

Cricinfo staff17-Aug-2009

Tamim Iqbal has termed his career-best 154 against Zimbabwe as a personal best and dedicated the innings to his father. Tamim’s century downed a world record unbeaten 194 from Charles Coventry and took Bangladesh to their third ODI series win in a row, a feat Tamim attributed to hard work.”This again vindicates my belief in setting goals and working hard to achieve that. This was easily the best innings I have ever played and it is dedicated to my late father,” Tamim told . “I am an international cricketer today because of him.”Over the last few months I have often breezed through to 20s and 30s and then played a rash shot to get out. The difference yesterday was that I could pace my innings exactly the way I wanted and according to the need of the hour.”Tamim’s 154 was the highest individual score for Bangladesh and turned a record chase into a breezy affair. Bangladesh chased down a target of 313 with four wickets and 13 deliveries to spare and Tamim credited the coach Jamie Siddons for helping instill a calmness before Bangladesh began their innings.”When you are chasing 300 plus there is a lot of stress on the mind and the natural tendency is to go and start hitting. But he [Siddons] never put us under any pressure,” said Tamim. “We were told that we will get there easily if we play normal cricket. The coach also said that it was not a problem if we got to 50 in the first 10 overs as long as we didn’t lose too many wickets.”The dressing room was abuzz too after the Zimbabwe innings. Guys were relaxed, laughing and enjoying themselves. There was confidence oozing from everywhere and I could feel that we were going to get those runs. When the batting started we never panicked and stuck to the plan.”Tamim said the players had worked hard on their fitness and that helped him keep pace during a difficult innings – he batted for 44.3 overs – given the altitude in Zimbabwe. His century eventually grabbed the headlines because it helped Bangladesh clinch their highest chase and with it take an unassailable lead in the five-match series. Tamim said he spoke to Coventry, who was joint Man of the Match with Tamim after he equaled former Pakistan opener Saeed Anwar’s 12-year record, and hailed a “magnificent” innings.”I congratulated him and told him that he could keep the trophy. He deserved it,” said Tamim. “You don’t make world records everyday. It was a truly magnificent innings.”

Southampton fans were far from happy with Ralph Hasenhuttl’s quotes following the Saints’ exit at the hands of Chelsea in the League Cup.

The Saints travelled to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday to face the Blues in the fourth round of the League Cup. The hosts went ahead when Kai Havertz headed in, but Che Adams was able to take the game to penalties. In the end, the European champions progressed, but it was a display full of positives from the St. Mary’s Stadium outfit.

Hasenhuttl spoke to the media after the match, and was clearly happy with what his side produced against the current Premier League leaders. He claimed that his side were the “Pride of London” because of their showing – even though they were unable to progress to the next round.

The comments were shared on Twitter by @SaintsExtra, and it attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Hasenhuttl comments below

“Play the same team against Watford. I dare you”

Credit: @TheBig_Borowski

“We lost Ralph”

Credit: @Eliassfc2

“Class! We didn’t win… again.”

Credit: @OllieSoton

“Going out of the cup is amazing. Sack him immediately”

Credit: @cleetus_van

“Yeh, I’d still rather we had played crap and scabbed a 1-0 win. Really had enough of heroic failure”

Credit: @rmbyres

“Still lost though.”

Credit: @SouthernMan7

In other news, Southampton fans were far from happy with this man against Chelsea.

The world champions of the Twenty20 format made an emphatic statement against their fellow finalists from 2007, brushing aside Pakistan by nine wickets at The Oval. In an ominous sign for the competition, India were not at their strongest – Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan are still carrying shoulder injuries – yet still produced an imperious performance before a raucous south London crowd.Rohit Sharma slotted so seamlessly into the opener’s role that India might be tempted to continue with him at the top even when Sehwag returns to the side. Rohit had success opening against New Zealand as well, smacking 36 off 20 balls, and on Wednseday he managed one better, staying the distance with a match-winning 53-ball 80.Rohit has taken to the role of opener with relish, however the captain, MS Dhoni, remained non-committal as to whether he would be retained at the top of the order when Sehwag makes his return.”Frankly speaking I don’t know [whether Sehwag will bat in the middle],” Dhoni said. “I think it’s always better to have a problem of plenty than having nobody to fill in the space. It’s good to have Rohit Sharma in form. As of now I don’t know what will happen when it comes to the batting order.”Rohit was a key member in Deccan Chargers’ triumphant IPL campaign, and was one of that tournament’s most consistent performers. But unlike in England, where he is being relied upon to lead the Indian innings, Rohit earned the reputation as one of the IPL’s better finishers, coming in at No. 5 for Deccan to accelerate scoring rates and polish off a run-chases. His versatility was on show on Wednesday, displaying both poise and power as he pierced gaps in the infield while seldom risking the airborne route.”We discussed it with him [Rohit] during the practice sessions and he was quite keen,” Dhoni said of the decision to elevate Rohit in the batting order. “When you ask a guy, you always watch for his response, how quick it is and whether he has thought twice about it or not. Rohit was very keen on opening and with Viru [Sehwag] injured, he was the best option available. Rohit always has time, even when he plays quickest bowlers he has got the time and talent. Gary also played a part in the decision.”Rohit’s innings, and Gambhir’s supporting half-century, denied the match of an exciting finish that would have done justice to the feverish atmosphere at The Oval. The ICC wanted everyone to ‘Catch the Spirit’ and it was impossible not to. Celebrations were adrenalin-filled and every ball – be it dot, six or out – was cheered by an emotionally-charged full house, evenly divided in support between the teams. This was more than a warm-up game.The players felt the same way, with India shelving all thoughts of experimentation. Dhoni said the bowlers had attempted a back-of-a-length approach in the previous game but merely tried to stick to basics today. “We were not experimenting,” Dhoni said. “An India-Pakistan game, even though it’s a warm-up, is a tough game to play. We were looking to do the basics, bowl yorkers.”One bowler who wasn’t looking to bowl yorkers was Ishant Sharma, and he turned the game India’s way. Pakistan had raced to 45 after four overs when Ishant came on and completed a rare double-wicket maiden, which included a run-out, to wrestle back the momentum. Ishant bowled the fifth, 14th and 17th overs and finished with 3 for 11. Dhoni said that he was looking to use Ishant during the middle overs, when he could bowl to his strengths.”It’s about how you want to use him. More often than not he has been used with the new ball while the field restrictions are on and later on in the slog,” Dhoni said. “I feel it’s important to use him in the middle overs when batsmen are not really looking to go after the bowlers, so he doesn’t have to bowl those yorkers. He can then bowl to his strengths; he’s the kind of bowler who likes to hit the deck hard.”Twenty20 victory margins are rarely more emphatic than nine wickets and 18 balls to spare and Dhoni said that it would be “tough to replicate the performance”. Perhaps it was fitting, though, for he felt that today’s crowd at The Oval would also be the best the tournament gets.

Former Premier League striker Tony Cascarino is adamant that Donny van de Beek is not good enough for Manchester United as his Old Trafford nightmare continues.

The Lowdown: Van de Beek’s struggles

The Netherlands international moved to United last summer from Ajax after making 175 appearances for the Dutch champions.

However, he has had to mostly settle for a substitute role under Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and has only appeared once in the Premier League so far this term, with that one appearance being for a mere six minutes.

With Fred and Scott McTominay ahead of him in the midfield pecking order and minutes hard to come by, the move from his boyhood club to Old Trafford seems to have been a failure.

The Latest: Cascarino slams Van de Beek

Speaking on talkSPORT, Cascarino has slammed Van de Beek and has questioned the £40m price tag paid for his services over a year ago.

The ex-Chelsea striker said: “I was lucky enough to see him as a younger player, he’s not good enough for Manchester United.

“I actually said that when he joined. I said he’s not the level of what people expect of a £40m player. I think they wanted a very good footballing type goalscoring midfielder, he’s pleasant.”

Cascarino continued: “There have been great centre forwards like Ruud van Nistelrooy but generally midfielders you’re getting I find it hard to imagine them in the Premier League.”

The Verdict: Harsh but facts

Whilst the statement from Cascarino seems slightly harsh, opportunities for Van de Beek have been hard to come by and it does seem like Solskjaer isn’t the £100,000-per-week Dutchman’s biggest fan. However, the midfielder has seemingly failed to seize upon any rare starts he is given, being whipped off at half-time in the Champions League loss to Young Boys, for instance.

After seeing a proposed switch to Everton fall through in the summer and his minutes limited yet again this season, a move away from Old Trafford does seem the likeliest move in the career of the £27m-rated ace.

Labelled ‘perfect’ by former United midfielder Owen Hargreaves, Van de Beek’s quality shouldn’t be slept on, as he proved for Ajax, so a move to another Premier League club and a chance to prove his worth could provide a chance for him to prove Cascarino wrong.

In other news, these United fans have slammed one defender for his performance in the weekend draw with Everton. Find out more here.

Ireland’s preparations for the ICC World Cup Qualifiers continued to go off the rails as they were convincingly beaten by seven wickets by Zimbabwe A

Cricinfo staff25-Mar-2009Zimbabwe A 120 for 3 (Mabuza 46*, Zhuwawo 45) beat Ireland 118 (Wilson 56, Chisoro 3-26) by seven wicketsIreland’s preparations for the ICC World Cup Qualifiers continued to go off the rails as they were convincingly beaten by Zimbabwe A in the second of their warm up games in Benoni.In their previous match their bowlers let them down, and this time it was the batsmen who fell apart as they were bowled out for 118 in 38 overs. Had it not been for 56 off 100 balls from Gary Wilson, the innings would have been even more wretched. Tendai Chisoro (3 for 26), and Tafadzwa Kamungozi (2 for 13) tore through Ireland’s top order, reducing them at one stage to 59 for 7.Cephas Zhuwawo blasted 45 from just 33 balls to remove any slim hopes Ireland had of rescuing the situation, and Mbekezele Mabuza, with an unbeaten 46 from 65 balls, guided Zimbabwe home with seven wickets and 22 overs in hand.Such are Ireland’s concerns that they hastily arranged another game, against Afghanistan on Thursday, to try to give themselves a much-needed win before the tournament begins on April 1.

Manchester United could secure the ideal midfield partner for Paul Pogba after being linked with a move for Monaco ace Aurelien Tchouameni.

What’s the story?

The Red Devils were reportedly interested in the highly-rated 21-year-old’s services over the summer, although no formal offer was ever made for the Frenchman.

Now though, according to The Express, United are one of three European heavyweights vying for Tchouameni’s signature after a string of impressive performances.

The report also states that fellow Premier League side Chelsea and Serie A giants Juventus are keen to snap up the youngster, meaning a bidding war could be on the horizon.

Imagine him & Paul Pogba

After rising up through the ranks at boyhood club Bordeaux, Tchouameni joined Monaco in a big-money move in January 2020 and has gone from strength to strength ever since.

The youngster made 42 appearances in all competitions for Niko Kovac’s charges last season, scoring three goals and providing a further four assists for his teammates.

However, it’s his work off the ball that really catches the eye. As per WhoScored, Tchouameni averaged a whopping 3.5 tackles per league game in 2020/21, by far the highest tally amongst his teammates.

He also made 1.7 interceptions, the joint-highest total when compared to his teammates, and the £27m-rated colossus not only dominated proceedings on the ground but in the air as well, winning 67% of his aerial duels.

Tchouameni’s domineering displays have caught the eye of several impressed onlookers, including current Monaco teammate Cesc Fabregas, who praised the youngster.

“He has the potential to be a complete midfield player,” the former Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea maestro wrote on Twitter. And now his compatriot and United star Paul Pogba has lauded his talents.

“He’s not a boy; he’s a man. It’s a pleasure to play next to him; he provides a lot, plenty of energy, technical quality and extraordinary physicality. I hope to play plenty of games together and always be on his side,” the World Cup winner said.

Tchouameni got the ideal opportunity to show just how effective his partnership with Pogba could be at Old Trafford after lining up alongside him during France’s National League final victory over Spain.

The duo worked extremely effectively throughout the 90 minutes, with the United star enjoying the attacking freedom that his more disciplined colleague allowed him.

It’s a duo that has the potential to transform Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s stuttering engine room, and therefore, football director John Murtough must swoop for Tchouameni over the coming months.

And, in other news…Man Utd suffer big injury blow ahead of PL return, Ole will be absolutely gutted