England have named a 14-man squad for the Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka during February and following their winless tour of Bangladesh there are several news faces in the party.Steven Mullaney, Mark Stoneman, and Graeme White are the fresh players in the squad, although Mullaney, a right-handed batsman from Lancashire, has previous experience with the Under-19 team after playing against Sri Lanka in 2005. Richard Jones, a pace bowler from Worcestershire, is also back in the squad having been forced home from the tour of Bangladesh with a back injury.The 16-team tournament runs starts on February 5 in Colombo and England are grouped with Zimbabwe, Ireland and Nepal for the first round of matches.England squad Moeen Ali (Warwickshire), Varun Chopra (Essex), Rory Hamilton-Brown (Surrey), Nicholas James (Warwickshire), Richard Jones (Worcestershire), Andrew Miller (Lancashire), Steven Mullaney (Lancashire), John Simpson (Lancashire), Mark Stoneman (Durham), Huw Waters (Glamorgan), Graeme White (Northamptonshire), Greg Wood (Yorkshire), Robert Woodman (Somerset), Ben Wright (Glamorgan)
Ian Billcliff, Canada’s captain, has said that John Davison’s absence would be felt during their ICC Intercontinental Cup semi-final against UAE at Sharjah, but that it would give others a chance to display their skills. He believed that the team’s sense of self was a strength, and though they had not played UAE much, they would reply on getting their basics right in order to win."John is obviously a very important player for us and has been our most successful performer in the qualifying matches so it goes without saying that he will be missed," said Billcliff. "But his absence gives some of the others a chance to shine. We’ve got some good players and I’m still confident we can do well."Billcliff said that the experience his team got in the tournament would be vital, and that facing different countries and conditions hurried their learning. "Any opportunity we have to play cricket against quality opposition is a great experience for us. Playing in different countries against varied opposition is a very steep learning curve, and what we have experienced so far is that the team that comes to terms with the conditions the quickest and executes their plans efficiently comes out on top."It [playing the three-day game] definitely has been helpful to learn to be able to build an innings and to be patient with the ball and build pressure. The experience will definitely benefit the team’s growth and I think that we have grown closer as a unit over the series of three-day games. The wearing pitch is the biggest factor. To be able to adapt one’s game as the match progresses is the key."We have had limited experience playing these teams so there will have to be a lot of input from various members of the team. There will be a fair bit of thinking on our feet but in the end it is a fairly simple game, and the team that executes the basics the best will win the tournament.
The Cidermen travel to Cardiff later today to take on Glamorgan in search of their first win in the Twenty20 Cup.Having lost their opening match in the new competition Somerset will be keen to get a favourable result tonight, and nobody more so than Steffan Jones who played at Sofia Gardens for Wales in their One Day International against England last weekend.The Welshman from Llanelli told me: "Every game my bowling is getting better, and at last it’s going right for me this season. Just when everybody else is going down with injury I’m starting to get going."He continued: "It will be a bit strange for me going back to play against the team who I played for last weekend and I expect that I’ll get a few jibes but I’m looking forward to the match this evening."Somerset coach Kevin Shine told me: "This is a competition that we think that we should do well in, and in our first game we played ourselves into a good position and then let it slip away.If we can get a grip of these situations then we can win this one tonight.With Aaron Laraman suffering from a side strain, all rounder Gareth Andrew comes into an otherwise unchanged team from the one that played on Friday evening.The full Somerset team will be – Jamie Cox, Mike Burns, Carl Gazzard, Ian Blackwell, Keith Parsons, Wes Durston, Keith Dutch, Simon Francis, Gareth Andrew, Rob Turner and Steffan Jones.
Pakistan’s defeat in the Lord’s Test was their 68th in test cricket. Out of 278 tests played to date, Pakistan have lost 18 against Australia, 16 against England, 13 against West Indies, 6 each against New Zealand and Sri Lanka, 5 against India, 3 against South Africa and 2 against Zimbabwe. 51 of these defeats have come on away grounds, against 17 at home.West Indies and Sri Lanka have most victories (4) against Pakistan on Pakistan grounds. Pakistan suffered their heaviest defeat – by an innings and 185 runs – against New Zealand at Hamilton in 2000-01. In terms of runs, Pakistan have lost two matches by a margin of over three hundred runs – against Australia (Melbourne 1976-77) and South Africa (Johannesburg 1994-95).Pakistan’s heaviest defeat at home was by an innings and 156 runs at Bagh-e-Jinnah, Lahore, against West Indies in 1958-59. Pakistan’s inaugural test against India at Delhi in 1952-53 resulted in an innings defeat. Their 10th defeat came against England at Lahore 1961-62, 25th against England at Edgbaston 1978 and 50th against Sri Lanka at Sialkot 1995.The complete break-up of Pakistan’s 68 defeats against each country in chronological order, followed by margin-wise and venue-wise defeats, is presented below:
Defeats against each opponent
India
Sr.#
Year
Venue
Margin
1.
1952-53
Delhi
Innings and 70 runs
2.
1952-53
Bombay
10 wickets
3.
1979-80
Bombay
131 runs
4.
1979-80
Madras
10 wickets
5.
1998-99
Delhi
212 runs.
England
Sr.#
Year
Venue
Margin
1.
1954
Nottingham
Innings and 129 runs
2.
1961-62
Lahore
5 wickets
3.
1962
Edgbaston
Innings and 24 runs
4.
1962
Lords
9 wickets
5.
1962
Leeds
Innings and 117 runs
6.
1962
The Oval
10 wickets
7.
1967
Nottingham
10 wickets
8.
1967
The Oval
8 wickets
9.
1971
Leeds
25 runs
10.
1978
Edgbaston
Innings and 57 runs
11.
1978
Lords
Innings and 120 runs
12.
1982
Edgbaston
113 runs
13.
1982
Leeds
3 wickets
14.
1992
Leeds
6 wickets
15.
2000-2001
Karachi
6 wickets
16.
2001
Lords
Innings and 9 runs
New Zealand
Sr.#
Year
Venue
Margin
1.
1969-70
Lahore
5 wickets
2.
1984-85
Auckland
Innings and 99 runs
3.
1984-85
Dunedin
2 wickets
4.
1993-94
Christchurch
5 wickets
5.
1996-97
Lahore
44 runs
6.
2001
Hamilton
Innings and 185 runs
Australia
Sr.#
Year
Venue
Margin
1.
1959-60
Dacca
8 wickets
2.
1959-60
Lahore
7 wickets
3.
1972-73
Adeliade
Innings and 114 runs
4.
1972-73
Melbourne
92 runs
5.
1972-73
Sydney
52 runs
6.
1976-77
Melbourne
348 runs
7.
1978-79
Perth
7 wickets
8.
1981-82
Perth
286 runs
9.
1981-82
Brisbane
10 wickets
10.
1983-84
Perth
Innings and 9 runs
11.
1983-84
Sydney
10 wickets
12.
1989-90
Melbourne
92 runs
13.
1995-96
Brisbane
Innings and 126 runs
14.
1995-96
Hobart
155 runs
15.
1998-99
Rawalpindi
Innings and 99 runs
16.
1999-2000
Brisbane
10 wickets
17.
1999-2000
Hobart
4 wickets
18.
1999-2000
Perth
Innings and 141 runs
West Indies
Sr.#
Year
Venue
Margin
1.
1957-58
Port of Spain
120 runs
2.
1957-58
Kingston
Innings and 174 runs
3.
1957-58
George Town
8 wickets
4.
1958-59
Lahore
Innings and 156 runs
5.
1976-77
Port of Spain
6 wickets
6.
1976-77
Kingston
140 runs
7.
1979-80
Faisalabad
156 runs
8.
1986-87
Lahore
Innings and 10 runs
9.
1987-88
Bridge Town
2 wickets
10.
1990
Faisalabad
7 wickets
11.
1992-93
Port of Spain
204 runs
12.
1992-93
Bridge Town
10 wickets
13.
2000
St John’s Antigua
1 wicket
Sri Lanka
Sr.#
Year
Venue
Margin
1.
1985-86
Colombo
8 wickets
2.
1995
Faisalabad
42 runs
3.
1995
Sialkot
144 runs
4.
1999-2000
Rawalpindi
2 wickets
5.
1999-2000
Peshawar
57 runs
Zimbabwe
Sr.#
Year
Venue
Margin
1.
1994-95
Harare
Innings and 64 runs
2.
1998-99
Peshawar
7 wickets
South Africa
Sr.#
Year
Venue
Margin
1.
1994-95
Johannesburg
324 runs
2.
1997-98
Faisalabad
53 runs
3.
1998-99
Port Elizabeth
259 runs
Summary of defeats against each country from 1952-53 to date
Opponent
Home grounds
Opponents’ grounds
Total
India
–
5
5
England
2
14
16
New Zealand
2
4
6
Australia
3
15
18
West Indies
4
9
13
Sri Lanka
4
1
5
Zimbabwe
1
1
2
South Africa
1
2
3
Total
17
51
58
Pakistan’s defeats – 1st, 10th, 25th & 50th
1st
1952-53
India
Delhi
Innings and 70 runs
10th
1961-62
England
Lahore
5 wickets
25th
1978
England
Edgbaston
Innings and 57 runs
50th
1995
Sri Lanka
Sialkot
144 runs
Defeats – by margin
Margin
Opponent
Ind
Eng
NZ
Aus
WI
SL
Zim
SA
All
Innings and 150 runs
0
0
1
–
2
–
–
–
3
Innings and 100-149 runs
–
3
–
3
–
–
–
–
6
Innings and 50-99 runs
1
1
1
1
–
–
1
–
5
Innings and 1-49 runs
–
2
0
1
1
–
–
–
4
10 wickets
2
2
–
3
1
–
–
–
8
9 wickets
–
1
–
–
–
–
–
–
1
8 wickets
–
1
–
1
1
1
–
–
4
7 wickets
–
–
–
2
1
–
1
–
4
6 wickets
–
2
–
–
1
–
–
–
3
5 wickets
–
1
2
–
–
–
–
–
3
4 wickets
–
–
–
1
–
–
–
–
1
3 wickets
–
1
–
–
–
–
–
–
1
2 wickets
–
–
1
–
1
1
–
–
3
1 wicket
–
–
–
1
–
–
–
–
1
300 Plus runs
–
–
–
1
–
–
–
1
2
250-299 runs
–
–
–
1
–
–
–
1
2
200-249 runs
1
–
–
–
1
–
–
–
2
150-199 runs
–
–
–
1
1
–
–
–
2
100-149 runs
1
1
–
–
2
1
–
–
5
50-99 runs
–
–
–
3
–
1
–
1
5
25-49 runs
–
1
1
–
–
1
–
–
3
1-24 runs
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Total
5
16
6
18
13
5
2
3
68
Biggest defeats
Sr.#
Year
V/S
Venue
Margin
1.
2000-2001
New Zealand
Hamilton
Innings and 185 runs
2.
1957-58
West Indies
Kingston
Innings and 174 runs
3.
1958-59
West Indies
Lahore
Innings and 156 runs
4.
1999-2000
Australia
Perth
Innings and 141 runs
5.
1954
England
Nottingham
Innings and 129 runs
6.
1995-96
Australia
Brisbane
Innings and 126 runs
7.
1978
England
Lords
Innings and 120 runs
8.
1962
England
Leeds
Innings and 117 runs
9.
1972-73
Australia
Adelaide
Innings and 114 runs
10.
1984-85
New Zealand
Auckland
Innings and 99 runs
11.
1998-99
Australia
Rawalpindi
Innings and 99 runs
12.
1952-53
India
Delhi
Innings and 70 runs
13.
1994-95
Zimbabwe
Harare
Innings and 64 runs
14.
1978
England
Edgbaston
Innings and 57 runs
15.
1962
England
Edgbaston
Innings and 24 runs
16.
1986-87
West Indies
Lahore
Innings and 10 runs
17.
1983-84
Australia
Perth
Innings and 9 runs
18.
2001
England
Lords
Innings and 9 runs
19.
1976-77
Australia
Melbourne
348 runs
20.
1994-95
South Africa
Johannesburg
329 runs
21.
1981-82
Australia
Perth
286 runs
22.
1998-99
South Africa
Port Elizabeth
259 runs
23.
1998-99
India
Delhi
212 runs
24.
1992-93
West Indies
Port of Spain
204 runs
Margin-wise defeats – highlights
19 of Pakistan’s defeats were by an innings, 28 by wickets and 21 by runs.
Three innings defeats were by an innings plus 150 or more runs (v New Zealand at Hamilton 2001, v West Indies at Kingston 1957-58 and v West Indies at Lahore 1958-59).
Six innings defeats were by an innings plus 100 to 149 runs (v Australia at Sydney 1999-2000, v England at Nottingham 1954, v Australia at Brisbane 1995-96, v England at Lord’s 1978, v England at Leeds 1962, v Australia at Adelaide 1972-73).
Two defeats by a margin of over 300 runs (v Australia by 348 runs at Melbourne 1976-77 and v South Africa by 329 runs at Johannesburg 1994-95).
Pakistan also suffered three other defeats of over 200 runs (by 286 runs v Australia at Perth 1981-82, by 212 runs v India at Delhi 1998-99 and by 204 runs v West Indies at Port of Spain 1992-93).
Pakistan’s narrowest defeat, by one wicket, was recorded at St John’s Antigua v West Indies 1999-2000.
Defeats – by venue
Home/Away
Ground
Ind
Eng
NZ
Aus
WI
SL
Zim
SA
Total
Home
Karachi
–
1
–
–
–
–
–
–
1
Lahore
–
1
2
1
2
–
–
–
6
Dacca
–
–
–
1
–
–
–
–
1
Rawalpindi
–
–
–
1
–
1
–
–
2
Faisalabad
–
–
–
–
2
1
–
1
4
Peshawar
–
–
–
–
–
1
1
–
2
Hyderabad
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Sialkot
–
–
–
–
–
1
–
–
1
Total
–
2
2
3
4
4
1
1
17
Ind
Delhi
2
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
2
Bombay
2
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
2
Chennai
1
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
1
Total
5
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
5
Eng
Nottingham
–
2
–
–
–
–
–
–
2
Lords
–
3
–
–
–
–
–
–
3
Leeds
–
4
–
–
–
–
–
–
4
The Oval
–
2
–
–
–
–
–
–
2
Edgbaston
–
3
–
–
–
–
–
–
3
Total
–
14
–
–
–
–
–
–
14
NZ
Auckland
–
–
1
–
–
–
–
–
1
Dunedin
–
–
1
–
–
–
–
–
1
Christ Church
–
1
–
–
–
–
–
1
Hamilton
–
–
1
–
–
–
–
–
1
Total
–
–
4
–
–
–
–
–
4
Aus
Adelaide
–
–
–
1
–
–
–
–
1
Melbourne
–
–
–
3
–
–
–
–
3
Sydney
–
–
–
3
–
–
–
–
3
Brisbane
–
–
–
3
–
–
–
–
3
Perth
–
–
–
3
–
–
–
–
3
Hobart
–
–
–
2
–
–
–
–
2
Total
–
–
–
15
–
–
–
–
15
WI
Port of Spain
–
–
–
–
3
–
–
–
3
Kingston
–
–
–
–
2
–
–
–
2
George Town
–
–
–
–
1
–
–
–
1
Bridge Town
–
–
–
–
2
–
–
–
2
St John’s Antigua
–
–
–
–
1
–
–
–
1
Total
–
–
–
–
9
–
–
–
9
SL
Colombo
–
–
–
–
–
1
–
–
1
Total
–
–
–
–
–
1
–
–
1
Zim
Harare
–
–
–
–
–
–
1
–
–
Total
–
–
–
–
–
–
1
–
1
SA
Johannesburg
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
1
1
Port Elizabeth
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
1
1
Total
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
2
2
Venue-wise defeats – Highlights
17 out of 68 defeats have been recorded at home grounds while the remaining 51were suffered on opponents’ grounds.
Most number of defeats (6) on one home ground have been suffered at Lahore.
Outside Pakistan, the most number of defeats (3 each) have been recorded at Lords, Edgbaston, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Port of Spain.
West Indies and Sri Lanka have defeated Pakistan on four occasions each on Pakistan grounds, Australia thrice, England and New Zealand twice and Zimbabwe and South Africa once each.
On their own grounds, Australia have beaten Pakistan in 15 tests, England 14, West Indies 9, India 5, South Africa 2 and Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe one each.
India is yet to win a test match on Pakistan soil.
Sam Johnstone, Conor Townsend and Callum Robinson all struggled in West Brom’s disappointing 2-0 defeat at home to Swansea City.
The Baggies were desperately looking for a victory at The Hawthorns on Monday night as they aimed to keep their increasingly slim Championship promotion hopes alive. Instead, Steve Bruce’s side endured yet another bad day at the office, losing 2-0 to the Swans amid much dissatisfaction from the home supporters.
According to Sofascore, three West Brom players stood out as the poorest performers on the night, among those to have played more than 45 minutes.
Sam Johnstone – 6.4
Johnstone could leave The Hawthorns for a Premier League club at the end of the season but this was not the most impressive showing from him.
The Englishman should have done better for Joel Piroe’s goal in the second half and his distribution was erratic, with nine of his long balls misplaced overall. Johnstone also only completed 72% of his passes on the night and lost the ball nine times.
Conor Townsend – 6.4
Townsend was another man who was below-par for the Baggies on a poor night for the left-back.
He lost possession 10 times and failed to make a single tackle or interception, as the Swans got the better of West Brom’s back-line. Also, both of Townsend’s attempted crosses were inaccurate, while he was beaten in three duels.
Callum Robinson – 6.4
Robinson was another underwhelming for Bruce’s side, failing to bring an attacking spark throughout the match.
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The 27-year-old didn’t manage a shot on target during the game and he also only won four out of 12 duels against the Swans. Robinson was wasteful in possession, too, losing the ball 14 times.
All in all, a difficult night for him and West Brom as a whole.
As the noisy neighbours begin to establish themselves in the blue half of Manchester, Sir Alex Ferguson will surely need to look over a number of incredibly disappointing results so far this season and re-establish his side as the dominant club in Manchester when the summer transfer window kicks in.
When Manchester City became the richest club in football, marking their intention with the signing of Robinho and then vowing to purchase every major superstar in Europe, Alex Ferguson simply seemed to dismiss them as an annoying younger brother trying to make himself heard—and rightfully so. The Manchester United boss has managed to overcome every challenge he’s had to face: from Keegan’s Newcastle, Arsenal’s Invincibles to, most recently, Abramovich’s millions, Ferguson continues to swat away those who attempt to dethrone him from the summit of the Premier League. But as the second half of the season begins to gather momentum, the reigning champions still find themselves in second place to their city rivals and off the back of a number of disappointing results over the festive period. With all the resources at Manchester City, and despite where the title ends up this season, could this summer be one of the most important during Ferguson’s time at United?
There is absolutely no reason to suggest that Manchester City will out-do United for the next five consecutive years; history dictates that there has never and might never be a situation like that where Sir Alex is involved. However, the shortcomings in this United side are plain for all to see; there could even be a suggestion that the purchases made by the club in recent transfer windows are not of the quality to combat the current threats in the league and in Europe. As Wayne Rooney has expressed in the past, he does not feel the club are showing enough ambition with the type of player they are bringing in.
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Now, far be it from me to suggest where Alex Ferguson is going wrong in his transfer policy, but there are supporters who can see that a creative outlet in the centre of the pitch is perhaps the area of the squad that needs addressing first. There is a great core of young players, especially in the possible future centre-back pairing in Chris Smalling and Phil Jones, but the squad do need taking to the next level. But if the unthinkable happens—from a United fan’s perspective at least—and City win the league title and continue to attract star players who will further their club’s reputation, should there be cause for concern for at least the short-term future of Manchester United, considering as well that Ferguson could be calling it a day within the next few years.
Surely the last thing the Manchester United manager wants to do is retire with the club as second best in the city. It would be a tremendous shame considering what he has done to overhaul Liverpool’s 18 league titles and continue to place the club in the top three or four in Europe. But much like the case at other clubs in the Premier League and around Europe, there is a necessary cause for action amongst managers who need to keep up with ever-changing landscape of football.
At the same time, I also believe Alex Ferguson has enough respect for every new challenge that comes up against the dynasty he has created. A manager who lives for the challenges that people such as Jose Mourinho present; there is very little reason to believe he won’t take action when it’s needed. But that time must come in the summer. As City look to impress the world and strike fear into the Premier League with a huge spending spree, Sir Alex needs to bite back with an equally impressive move. It allows the club to keep face in what will be another intense battle next season.
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Napoli missed a chance to move within three points of table-toppers AC Milan after they lost 2-1 at home to Udinese in the Serie A on Sunday.AC Milan now sit six points clear at the top and with just five matches remaining, look to have the title sewn up after slip-ups from their nearest title rivals, Inter and Napoli.
Udinese entered the match missing the Serie A’s top scorer, Antonio Di Natale (26 goals in 31 matches) and strike partner Alexis Sanchez (12 in 24) due to foot and thigh injuries respectively and were only given an outside chance of victory against the title-chasing hosts at the Stadio San Paolo.
But they were able to get through the opening half unscathed and stunned the home crowd when Gokhan Inler found the back of the net just 10 minutes into the second half.
Buoyed by the goal, Napoli had the momentum and grabbed another six minutes later when German Denis scored on the hour-mark and although Giuseppe Mascara scored a consolation goal in the fourth minute of injury time, Walter Mazzarri’s side slumped to their first home loss since October.
A Mauro Zarate-inspired Lazio won 4-1 at Catania, thanks to a goal and two assists from the Argentine.
Zarate had to start on the bench after turning up late to training in mid-week, but was introduced after 14 minutes as Lazio took a 40th-minute lead through Hernanes.
Catania hit back straight after the break thanks to a Ezequiel Schelotto but Zarate started to dominate, setting up firstly Stefano Mauri for his 56th minute goal before he again provided an assist, this time for Sergio Floccari with 12 minutes to play.
Zarate had time to cap off a terrific day with a goal in the 89th minute as Lazio closed with three points of third-placed Inter, who occupy one of the automatic qualification spots for the Champions League.
In other matches, goals to Fabiano and Daniele Corvia in the last five minutes secured a 3-3 draw for Lecce at home to Cagliari while Genoa also scored three, routing Brescia 3-0 thanks to second-half strikes from Rafinha, Luca Antonelli and a Gaetano Berardi own goal.
Fiorentina and Juventus played out a goalless draw in a match that promised plenty but delivered little while Chievo played the entire second half with 10 men but won 2-0 at home to Bologna thanks to goals from Kevin Constant and Michele Marcolini.
Erjon Bogdani’s 48th minute strike was enough to lift newly promoted Cesena out of the relegation zone, as they won 1-0 at home to bottom-side Bari.
Cesena have now been replaced by Sampdoria in 18th, who after losing key strikers Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini to AC Milan and Inter in January, have now just won two of their last 17 Serie A matches.
Jermaine Jenas’ career has not gone the way he would have wanted it to in the last few years. Jenas has largely become a bit part player for Tottenham Hotspur and has failed to find his way into the England set-up as a result. Jenas himself has admitted he had doubts about the future of his Spurs career this summer, and began considering a move in order to get the game time he craves, Sky Sports quote Jenas as stating,
“There has been constant rumours about me leaving but I just want to be settled and part of the Tottenham team again. At one time I felt I’d have to leave because all I wanted to do was play football and I wasn’t getting games here. But despite the offers that came in, they were not worth leaving for.”
Jermaine Jenas obviously feels he still has the quality to play regularly for Spurs, but you get the feeling that this season, or indeed merely up to this January, will be his last chance to impress at White Hart Lane.
Jenas has by no means had a bad career at Tottenham. When he first arrived at the club from Newcastle for £7 million, he instantly cemented his place in the first team. Over the next few seasons Jenas impressed for the club, he was a mainstay in midfield where his all-round capabilities made him an efficient and effective player, he also netted a decent amount of goals.
When Harry Redknapp arrived at the club in 2008 however, the new boss saw Spurs midfield as an area that needed strengthening. In his first January transfer window, Redknapp made a host of signings, including one that would directly threaten Jenas’ position in the team. Midfield powerhouse Wilson Palacios was signed from Wigan, and he went straight into the first team, and until the last few weeks, the Honduran has not looked back.
Redknapp’s preferred choice in central midfield has been Palacios and Tom Huddlestone. Palacios is a rambunctious and energetic defensive midfielder, whilst Huddlestone really seems to have matured in the last year or so and appears to be a favourite of Redknapp. The signing of midfielder Sandro also looked to have pushed Jenas down the pecking order, though as of yet we wait to see what the Brazilian can offer. When you consider that Luka Modric, Rafael Van der Vaart and Niko Kranjcar are all comfortable in central midfield, one gets a sense of the level of competition there is for starting places in the Spurs midfield.
At the start of this season though, a little window has opened up for Jenas which he may not have expected. Palacios seems to have gone compeletely off the boil for the time being and it has allowed Jenas some game time, and crucially, some starts. Jenas has looked quite good in these games, providing the well-rounded displays he is known for. If he can maintain this current form, Jenas might just be able to prolong his career at White Hart Lane.
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The problem for Jermaine Jenas is that he comes across as a jack of all trades, but a master of none. When the season gets into the nitty gritty you imagine that Redknapp will be looking for powerful performances in midfield that Jenas may struggle to provide. Despite starting the season reasonably well, I just cannot see Jenas getting regular starts this term, and a move next summer or even in January may prove to be the best thing he can do for his career.
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Wesley Sneijder has admitted that he is ‘90% certain’ that he will not leave Inter Milan for Manchester United during the January transfer window.
The Netherlands international was linked with a move to Old Trafford during the summer, but in the end the Serie A side kept hold of their star playmaker.
Sir Alex Ferguson has not replaced Paul Scholes, who retired in the summer, and is thought to covet a new attacking midfielder to give the side a creative boost.
Despite reports in the press that United have made another bid for the 27-year-old, Sneijder is not expecting to leave Claudio Ranieri’s men in the next month.
“If I must give a percentage for it, I think I am 90 per cent certain I will stay,” he told Voetbal International.
“I enjoy myself here at the moment and at this point I don’t have anything to choose from.
“I don’t say that I am 100% certain, because something unexpected can always happen,” he concluded.
By Gareth McKnight
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West Ham manager Avram Grant is gutted to have midfielder Gary O’Neil out for the rest of the season.The 27-year-old will be sorely missed for West Ham’s final five games as they battle the drop, starting with Saturday’s trip to Chelsea.
“It was a bad, bad injury. Gary was one of our best players, especially against the big teams,” Grant said
“He has experience to work hard, he knows how to pass the ball and he was good.”
“We missed him last week when it was not so easy for us to play.”
““He’s a good lad who came to a new team and has played like he’s been with us for many, many years.”
“It’s a fact that we have many, many injuries and we need to deal with them.”
“When all the squad was fit and we need to know how to take points even when players are injured. We need everybody.”
West Ham have been struggling at the wrong end of the table all season but Grant still believes they can avoid the drop and needs his players to have the same faith.
“I don’t want players who don’t believe,” Grant said.
“In football you have to have to believe because anything can happen.”
“Chelsea are a very good team but we have caused problems for Arsenal and Tottenham away and this is our target this season and we are thinking only about this.”
“I believe very much in the future of this club because there is a good future if we do the right things, but for the moment we are busy with the present.”
“These are big, big games in front of us and a big challenge and it’s not easy, but nothing in football is easy.”
“There are the words possible and impossible, but the players know that it is possible and we need to give a lot of effort.”
Scott Parker was named as the Football Writers’ Association’s 2011 Footballer of the Year on Friday but will miss this game against his former club with an Achilles’ tendon problem.
Midfielder Junior Stanislas (groin) will also be absent.
Wales midfielder Jack Collison (knee) is set to make his first start in more than a year.