All posts by h716a5.icu

Asoka de Silva, whose decision-making has come in for intense criticism during the World Cup, will not officiate in a couple of key games that he was originally scheduled to stand in

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Mar-2011Asoka de Silva, whose decision-making has come in for intense criticism during the World Cup, will not officiate in a couple of key group games that he was originally marked for. de Silva is the only umpire among the 18 deployed whose success percentage in reviewed decisions is less than 50%.He was supposed to have been one of the on-field umpires for Thursday’s crucial match between England and West Indies, and he was also the third umpire for the India-West Indies game. Instead, according to ICC’s revised schedule, he will be the fourth umpire in the Ireland-Netherlands match on Friday, and will be an on-field umpire in the Zimbabwe-Kenya game on Sunday. Both those games are inconsequential, with all four teams already out of the World Cup.The ICC has said the move was necessitated by the fact that they did not want their best umpires, like Taufel, standing in matches of lesser importance. “It was part of the re-organising for the last part of the group stage, to ensure the in-form umpires are on the field and in the third umpire’s room for these crucial matches,” Dave Richardson, the ICC general manager said.de Silva’s place in Thursday’s match between England and West Indies will be taken by Bruce Oxenford – originally listed as the fourth umpire in that game – while Simon Taufel will be the third umpire. For the India-West Indies match, Taufel and Steve Davies will be the on-field umpires, with Oxenford the third umpire.de Silva has had a poor World Cup so far, with several of his decisions being overturned by the Decision Review System: of the seven times his decisions have been challenged, only three times has his original call stood. One of those three instances was the lbw decision against Ireland’s Gary Wilson in the match against West Indies. Wilson challenged the call, and replays clearly showed the ball had struck his pad outside the line of off when he was attempting a shot, but de Silva refused to change his decision, a move that was strongly criticised by Ireland captain William Porterfield. Had that decision been changed, as it should have been, de Silva’s score in reviewed decisions would have been two correct calls out of seven.The changes in the umpiring scheduleEngland v West Indies
Originally – Asoka de Silva and Steve Davis, Shahvir Tarapore (third), Bruce Oxenford (fourth)
Revised – Bruce Oxenford and Steve Davis, Simon Taufel (third), Shahvir Tarapore (fourth)Ireland v Netherlands
Originally – Simon Taufel and Ian Gould, Kumar Dharmasena (third), Billy Doctrove (fourth)
Revised – Billy Doctrove and Ian Gould, Kumar Dharmasena (third), Asoka de Silva (fourth)Zimbabwe v Kenya
Originally – Billy Doctrove and Kumar Dharmasena, Ian Gould (third), Simon Taufel (fourth)
Revised – Asoka de Silva and Kumar Dharmasena, Ian Gould (third), Billy Doctrove (fourth)India v West Indies
Originally – Steve Davis and Bruce Oxenford, Asoka de Silva (third), Shahvir Tarapore (fourth)
Revised – Steve Davis and Simon Taufel, Bruce Oxenford (third), Shahvir Tarapore (fourth)

Lokomotiv Moscow winger Gyrano Kerk has claimed that he could have potentially joined Leeds United back in 2020, but a move failed to materialise.

The Lowdown: Kerk settling in at Lokomotiv

The 26-year-old joined his current club from Utrecht last year but he is still taking a little time to settle into his new surroundings.

Kerk has chipped in with two goals and two assists in his first 15 appearances for Lokomotiv, not an earth-shattering return but an indication that he can chip in occasionally.

Alas, he has revealed that, had things taken a different course, the speedy winger could now be a Leeds player.

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The Latest: Kerk makes Leeds transfer claim

Speaking to FC UtrechtFans [via Sport Witness], Kerk claimed that the Whites wanted to sign him a couple of years ago, only for the potential move to fall through.

He revealed: “There were possibilities to take a step higher in the Eredivisie, but that interest did not materialise.

“After that canceled KNVB Cup final [in 2020 due to the pandemic], Utrecht also wanted to keep me in order to start the fiftieth anniversary year as strong as possible. There was interest from Leeds United at the time, but in the end that did not go through.”

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The Verdict: One that got away

Kerk is someone who could have provided Marcelo Bielsa with an additional wide option at Leeds, bringing much-needed attacking depth to his squad in the process.

While not necessarily an elite player, the Dutchman still enjoyed 85 goal involvements in 175 appearances for Utrecht, highlighting his quality in the final third.

Also, at 26 Kerk is still in and around the peak years of his career, so going back in for him this summer could be worth considering for Leeds, especially if Raphinha moves on amid ongoing speculation over his future at Elland Road.

In other news, a journalist has made a key claim regarding Bielsa’s Leeds future. Read more here.

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has said his team must perform better to build on their win in the first ODI against New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Oct-2010Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has said his team must perform better to build on their win in the first ODI against New Zealand. Bangladesh won by nine runs using the Duckworth/Lewis method, but Mortaza mentioned a number of areas in which the team needed to improve.”Our fielding was not up to the mark and the middle-order batting was also a concern for us,” Mortaza said. “Most of the top-order batsmen got starts but could not carry it on.”Mortaza turned his ankle in his second over and was forced to watch the match from the sidelines. While he wished he could have contributed to the victory, he said the win was the important thing and made him forget all about the pain. “All credit must go to the boys who played brilliantly as a unit to win the game, especially Shakib [Al Hasan] who was great. One bowler was short but it was made up brilliantly.”Bangladesh’s total of 228 was 15 to 20 runs short of their target, according to Mortaza, but the team was confident it could defend the score. “New Zealand got off to a good start but we bounced back brilliantly. We knew that it would not be easy for New Zealand to chase down the total if we took two or three early wickets. Riyad [Mahmudullah] and Naeem [Islam] both gave good support.”This is a nice birthday gift for me,” said Mortaza, who turned 27 yesterday.New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori was disappointed with his side’s failure to chase down a target he thought was gettable. Their revised target was 210, but they had only 37 overs to chase it in. “Any loss is disappointing but we should have chased the score, but we lost wickets at regular intervals and at crucial times,” he said.Vettori was full of praise for Shakib, who made a brisk half-century to take Bangladesh past 200, and then took four wickets, including a double-strike in the 15th over to remove the rampant Brendon McCullum and Grant Elliott. “His batting late in the innings gave them the impetus,” Vettori said, “and his bowling posed a danger.”

Injury expert and Sky Sports contributor Ben Dinnery has relayed a big injury update out of Wolverhampton Wanderers before their clash with Burnley this afternoon.

The Lowdown: Wolves host Clarets

Bruno Lage’s side are back in Premier League action today, making the trip to Turf Moor as they take on a relegation-threatened Clarets side.

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It is a huge game for Burnley, as they tussle with Everton to remain in the division, but it is also an important match for Wolves, following a positive season at Molineux.

As kick-off approaches, a key Wanderers injury update has emerged in recent days.

The Latest: Key trio ruled out

Taking to Twitter, Dinnery relays that Neves, Podence and Kilman are all out injured for the weekend action:

“Ruben Neves, Daniel Podence and Max Kilman are all out of the trip to Turf Moor. Raul Jimenez returns after completing a two-match ban.”

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The Verdict: Europe still possible

Victory on Sunday could bring Wolves level on points with seventh-place West Ham, depending on how the Hammers fair against Chelsea this afternoon.

Their goal difference is currently inferior by four as David Moyes’ side currently lie in the UEFA Conference League-qualifying spot.

It highlights the importance of Wolves’ showdown at Molineux this afternoon with there being no threat of Lage’s men putting their feet up with nothing to play for in the remaining weeks of the season. Qualifying for Europe would be a wonderful achievement.

Having to make do without Neves, Podence and Kilman is an undoubted blow, however, with the trio all influential in their own right. The former has averaged 2.3 tackles per game in the league this season, while the latter has won 2.2 aerial duels per match.

In other news, Wolves are eyeing up an exciting move for an international player. Read more here.

It’s never good to dwell too much on the past, but for those of an Aston Villa persuasion it may still wrangle that they almost snapped up one of Europe’s premier playmakers in Miralem Pjanic, yet twice failed to get the deal

The Bosnian midfielder had caught the attention of clubs across Europe following a fine debut campaign at senior level with Metz during the 2007/08 season, with the then-teenager netting five goals in 38 appearances for the club.

After just one season with the French side, however, he was plucked by fellow Ligue 1 outfit Lyon, albeit while revealing that he had spurned the advances of others in order to continue plying his trade in France.

Speaking at the time, the youngster revealed that Villa – then managed by Martin O’ Neill – had been one of the clubs he had opted to shun in order to make the switch: “I had requests from abroad, including Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Aston Villa and Fiorentina, but I wanted to stay in France.”

Having missed out then, the Midlands outfit again turned their attentions towards the free-kick “specialist” – as he has been dubbed by Juninho Pernambucano – three years later, with Alex McLeish keen on adding the player to his ranks following the sale of Stewart Downing to Liverpool.

Again, however, those at Villa Park were to be disappointed as he instead opted to head to Italy, joining Serie A giants Roma in a deal worth just €11m (£9.2m), with McLeish and co eventually signing Charles N’Zogbia that same summer in a £9.5m deal.

Since then, the 32-year-old has gone on to feature for more of Europe’s elite clubs, eventually joining Juventus in a £25.4m deal in 2016 where he would win four successive league titles, before he was moved on to Barcelona in the summer of 2020 as part of a deal that saw Arthur Melo head in the other direction.

While it failed to work out at the Nou Camp in his debut campaign, the 103-cap international has impressed out on loan at Turkish side Besiktas this season, registering two key passes and 1.5 dribbles per game in the league, as well as 1.1 tackles and 1.4 interceptions per 90.

A midfielder of all-around quality, he has earned comparisons to Italian icon Andrea Pirlo, with the passing maestro having been one of the silkiest and most technically gifted players in his position in Europe over the last decade or so.

Having been so close to capturing that talent will no doubt be a real punch in the gut for those at Villa, with the club having had to watch on as he adorned the jerseys of some of the continent’s finest clubs.

In other news, Huge blow: Aston Villa now receive big injury setback that will leave Gerrard raging…

A number of IPL franchises have questioned whether the BCCI respects the rights of all the league’s stakeholders after the board ejected Punjab and Rajasthan from the IPL

Tariq Engineer10-Oct-2010A number of IPL franchises have questioned whether the BCCI respects the rights of all the league’s stakeholders, with Vijay Mallya asking if the teams are merely slaves, following the board’s decision to suddenly terminate two of the teams – Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab – on Sunday.”I wonder if the franchisees are serious stakeholders whose investments and participation are respected, or are they slaves who only come and play.” Mallya, who owns the Royals Challengers Bangalore, asked on Twitter.Raj Kundra, part-owner of Rajasthan Royals, questioned whether there the IPL will even be played next year if the board continues to treat the teams so callously. “I am still not sure why our contract has been terminated,” he told news channel . “I am mulling legal options but I am not sure whether we can have IPL 4 if teams are treated like this.”If a case is filed, it could force the league to postpone the player auction, currently scheduled to be held in November, something that worries a number of the remaining teams. “This will affect all the franchises,” another team official told ESPNcricinfo. “It adds to the uncertainty, which is bad for business.”An official with the Punjab franchise, however, said they were not considering legal options at the moment and expressed hope of resolving the situation with the BCCI. “We are in shock. It came out of the blue, it was absolutely unexpected.”Sidhartha Mallya endorsed his father’s comments, saying that the teams are the main shareholders in the league. He said that just like the UB group, India’s largest alcoholic beverages company which is owned by his family, has obligations to its shareholders, the league has certain obligations to the franchises that have been ‘terminated.’ Sidhartha Mallya said Sunday’s decision had led him to “question whether we are being looked after at the level we should be.”Shane Warne, who led Rajasthan to victory in the augural IPL, called the decision a big shock on Twitter, and hoped that the BCCI would come to its senses. Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi, who is fighting his own battle with the board, said that the teams are what makes the league and what has happened “is something that will only harm the image of the IPL and BCCI.”Abhijit Sarkar, spokesperson for the Sahara Warriors, one of the two new teams in the league along with Kochi, said that the franchise had no comment to make on the legal issues. Sarkar said, “We are newcomers in IPL and have been busy with getting our team ready. Our primary concerns are the player auction and the player retention.”Franchises are now anxious about the legal ramifications of scrapping two out of the IPL’s eight original franchises. An IPL team official said, “The legal domain is a very tricky one. What happens if the auction is stayed by the court? This could jeopardise the IPL itself.” The BCCI’s statement about the termination said the decision had been arrived it based on “legal opinions obtained” about Rajasthan and Punjab. The ‘legal opinion’, IPL frachise believed was not necessarily a switft conclusion to the controversy. He said, “Legal opinion also advised the BCCI to file charges against Jagmohan Dalmiya and how did that go?”The IPL governing council ejected Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab from the league on charges of transgression of shareholding and ownership norms at its emergency meeting earlier today.

Anthony McGrath may have played his last game for Yorkshire but if he does leave the club, he can do so in the knowledge that he has played a big hand in Yorkshire’s promotion

George Dobell at Chelmsford 13-Sep-2012
ScorecardAzeen Rafiq made his second half-century of the match•Getty ImagesIf this game does mark the end of Anthony McGrath’s distinguished career at Yorkshire, he can depart in the knowledge that he played a full part in restoring a great club to a place in the top division of the County Championship. McGrath, who will be 37 and out of contract in a month, began his first-class career in 1995 and is one of just two men in this team who played in the Championship-winning side of 2001.There have been a fair few downs to accompany the ups since then – McGrath has twice experienced relegation as well as those four Test and 14 ODI caps for England – but, if he has played his final first-class innings for the club he has served so well, he leaves with his head held high and knowing that he has helped Yorkshire return, in the words of their captain, “back where we belong”.When McGrath and Azeem Rafiq came to the wicket in the second innings, Yorkshire were in danger of allowing Essex back into this game. At 111 for 6, Yorkshire’s lead was 246 and there was little batting left to come. Adam Lyth, who but for an awful 2011 would surely be streets ahead of Joe Root in the race for an England cap, was unfortunate to have been caught off the full face of the bat at short leg, while Gary Ballance had been brilliantly caught at point attempting to cut the impressively tight off-spin of Tom Westley.But, instead of stumbling with the end in sight, the Yorkshire pair added 110 runs in 41.4 overs to take this game beyond Essex. Negating the increasingly sharp turn of Tom Craddock, who produced some diamonds amid the rust, the pace of Tymal Mills and the perseverance of Graham Napier, who strived in vain for a maiden 10-wicket haul, McGrath and Rafiq demonstrated composure, character and resilience to keep their side’s hopes of winning the Division Two title alive.We should not be surprised. McGrath also played a key role in the victory over Leicestershire – he scored 90 in Yorkshire’s first innings and then took 4 for 21 in Leicestershire’s first innings – and a key role in the victory over Gloucestershire – he finished unbeaten on 76 as Yorkshire chased 314 to win by two wickets. He still pulls with as much assurance as anyone in the county game and, when defending, there are still times when his bat looks as broad as a barn door. If he is not offered a new contract at Yorkshire, there will surely be a few other clubs interested.Rafiq, meanwhile, seems to grow in stature by the day. Having underlined the impression he gave in the first innings – that he has a decent defensive technique and temperament – he also showed a welcome ability to change gear as Yorkshire accelerated towards promotion. He struck four of his last 11 deliveries to the boundary and finished unbeaten on 75. It is perhaps premature talk but he might just be Graeme Swann’s spin-bowling successor in the England team.The Yorkshire declaration left Essex needing 388 to win in a minimum of 107 overs. To put that in perspective, Essex have only scored that many runs in the fourth innings of a first-class game three times in their history and never at home. Bearing in mind the turning pitch and the somewhat uneven bounce, they are most unlikely to change that record on the final day. They lost Tom Westley, caught behind prodding at a good one that left him, and Jaik Mickleburgh, top-edging an ill-advised sweep to Rafiq’s fourth delivery, before stumps.Yorkshire are not guaranteed to top the division even if they win. If Derbyshire defeat Hampshire, the two top sides will be equal on points, but Derbyshire will prevail as they have won more games. The same logic would see Derbyshire prevail in the unlikely event that both sides draw.In truth, Yorkshire would have secured promotion even without McGrath and Rafiq in this game. Kent’s loss to Glamorgan allowed Derbyshire, the surprise package of 2012, and Yorkshire to go into the final day of their games knowing that promotion was secure. For a team that was third and trailing Derbyshire by 30 points with three games to go, it is a fine achievement.Their captain, Andrew Gale, was understandably delighted. But, while saying his team can already compete with anyone, admitted they were in the market for a couple of new players before the start of next season. The fact that they will be playing Division One cricket will do no harm in convincing the likes of James Harris and Jack Brooks to come to Leeds.”It feels like we’re back where we belong,” Gale said. “Last year hurt a lot. Yorkshire are a first division side and a massive club so we didn’t want to play in Division Two. We knew we had the talent and the ability to get straight back up. We want to be competing with the best sides in the country and we’ve given ourselves the chance to do that. Given good weather we would have been up three weeks ago but those are the cards we’ve been dealt and now we’re over the line.”We had everything against us going into the last three games. We’ve won two out of three and we’re in a great position in this one, obviously we want to go up as champions. We have a squad that can go far and compete seriously in Division One. We’re one or two players light at the moment, but I hope we can fix that over the winter.”

Giorgos Giakoumakis is expected to miss Celtic’s Scottish Cup semi-final clash with Rangers through injury, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The Lowdown: Celtic face huge game

The Hoops take on their biggest rivals at lunchtime, with the pair meeting at Hampden Park for a place in next month’s Scottish Cup final.

Ange Postecoglou’s side earned the bragging rights in a Scottish Premiership clash recently, winning 2-1 at Ibrox to move six points clear at the top of the table.

Victory today would keep Celtic’s treble chances alive, but Postecoglou will be well aware that Rangers will be eyeing up revenge.

The Latest: Giakoumakis to miss out

Speaking to GiveMeSport, O’Rourke claimed that Giakoumakis would miss out with a hamstring injury, having picked it up in the 7-0 win at home to St Johnstone last weekend:

“Giakoumakis came off injured against St Johnstone at the weekend with a hamstring injury, which looks like it’s going to rule him out of the Scottish Cup semi-final with Rangers, which is a big blow for Celtic because he’s been in good form.”

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The Verdict: Undoubted blow for Hoops

This is a clear blow for Celtic ahead of one of their biggest games of the season, with Giakoumakis a key figure for the Hoops throughout the campaign.

He played the whole 90 minutes in the aforementioned win at Ibrox and has scored nine goals in just 10 league starts in 2021/22, not to mention four in two Scottish Cup outings.

It means the likes of Jota and Liel Abada will be tasked with providing the firepower in Giakoumakis’s absence, as Celtic look to get one over Rangers once again.

In other news, a key on-air Celtic claim has emerged. Read more here.

These two have binged on each other since July 2008, but what promises to be the one for the road went Sri Lanka’s way, ending a run of losses in big home matches for Sri Lanka

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga28-Aug-2010
Scorecard
How they were outSri Lanka never let the intensity dip after piling on a daunting 299•Associated PressThese two have binged on each other since July 2008, but what promises to be the one for the road went Sri Lanka’s way, ending their run of losses in big home matches. On the tournament’s best batting track, though not quite a flat belter, Tillakaratne Dilshan’s risk-free yet urgent century and Kumar Sangakkara’s delightful half-century set a target never reached under Dambulla lights. When Virender Sehwag left his team-mates – who’d scored 288 runs between them before the start of the final – with 262 to get, it was all but over. The flame flickered for longer than expected, but not nearly long enough.Umpiring decisions and manic appealing dominated the chase but couldn’t alter the expected result. Dinesh Karthik was given out caught off the thigh pad. Virender Sehwag’s plumb lbw was not given, but he ran himself out off the same ball. Yuvraj Singh got away with a caught-behind before opening his account but was given out, 26 runs later, off one he didn’t seem to have edged. MS Dhoni survived a close lbw call when on 12 but ran out of partners as the asking rate mounted.The start of the match was much more serene. In fact, off the fourth ball of the game, Praveen Kumar hardly appealed when he had Mahela Jayawardene caught right in front. Jayawardene, promoted because of his technical prowess, put together the best opening stand of the tournament – 121, an association that also set up the highest team total. The way Dilshan and Jayawardene batted, without taking any undue risks, it was easy to see why the previous best of 79 too belonged to them. The ball may not have swung wildly, but the batsmen were tested by the early movement that Praveen and Munaf Patel extracted.Neither batsman tried expansive shots. In his first three overs, Praveen went too far down the leg side, looking for that magic outswinger, and went for fours through midwicket and fine leg. It wasn’t as easy to hit Munaf off his shortish length, around off and with slight seam movement either side. They didn’t try to do that; instead they played out Munaf’s first four overs for 13, yet the score at the end of those overs read 47 for 0.Dilshan targeted Ashish Nehra and Ishant Sharma. Nehra’s second ball and Ishant’s first were punched away for fours. Both the shots were hit along the ground, and involved more enterprise than risk. By the time Ishant’s second over yielded six, four and four, Dilshan had moved to 43 off 30, and Sri Lanka to 74 after 12 overs.Dilshan had assumed total control by then. The punch shot through the off side, with his front foot out of the way, caused the main damage. One of those, off Nehra, brought up his fifty in the 16th over. Nehra’s figures then read 4-0-31-0.Forget the fifth bowler, Dhoni must have started worrying about how to finish the quotas of specialist bowlers, all quicks. Dilshan’s pace didn’t make the task any easier. Barring one spell near his century, when he spent 38 balls between his 12th and 13th boundaries, the longest Dilshan went without a four was 16 balls.During that quiet period Sri Lanka lost Jayawardene and Upul Tharanga against the run of play, but Kumar Sangakkara made sure the team didn’t fall behind. In the time that Dilshan went from 92 to 100 and Sangakkara hared from 11 to 32, taking Sri Lanka to 194 in the 37th over. Dilshan then threatened more punishment on India, but holed out to long leg.Sangakkara made up for it and, even with wickets falling at the other end, drive followed elegant drive. The superb acceleration – from 19 off 29 to 70 off 59 – was interrupted by a slower ball from Munaf in the 45th over, but Sri Lanka had reached 261 for 6. Munaf’s last three overs went for 14 runs and two wickets, but a target of 300 meant India would need more than just Sehwag.Sehwag hit six scorching boundaries in the first six overs. Off the last ball of the sixth over, Nuwan Kulasekara had him plumb in front, but umpire Asoka de Silva seemed the only one to disagree. Sehwag got greedy and sought a leg-bye that didn’t exist. Chamara Kapugedera was not only alert, he also hit direct.Thisara Perera, now Sri Lanka’s India specialist, and Suraj Randiv, who got nice drift and dip, kept the wicket flow going in the middle.Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Dhoni tried to buck the trend of India’s hopes disappearing with Sehwag, but Sri Lanka were at them all the time. Kohli’s uncharacteristic hoick showed the pressure the required rate exerted, Raina’s cameo involved too many risks and ended prematurely from India’s point of view, and Dhoni’s 67 were too late and too few.

Everton have sacked their manager, Rafa Benitez, and a number of names have been linked to being the sixth boss in as many years, and now there has been another potential candidate put into contention for the position at Goodison Park.

What’s the word?

Transfer insider, Dean Jones, has put a further name that could become a potential option for the highly anticipated Everton job, and it isn’t one that has been consistently reported by the media so far.

Jones revealed to GIVEMESPORT:

“I think if you want a left-field option then Rudi Garcia is one that could come onto the radar if the obvious paths are blocked. It’s interesting that he got down to the late stages in negotiations with Man United when they were looking to appoint a manager and Rangnick got the job.”

Roberto Martinez has reportedly already been approached by the owners of the club, however, he currently manages Belgium and is speculated to be unlikely to leave before the World Cup.

Forget Martinez

The former Wigan manager is a highly unpopular choice for the club, with fans holding protests during his third season in charge prior to his sacking in 2016, and supporters have already made it clear that they would not be happy to see his return.

Moshiri already has a fractured relationship with the Goodison faithful but could repair that by turning the season around by hiring the right manager, with Garcia potentially a perfect replacement for his fellow Spaniard, Benitez.

Garcia has been hailed “exceptional” in the past by Olympique Lyonnais president Jean-Michel Aulas, who spoke highly of the manager after he lead Lyon to Champions League qualification for the round of 16 in 2020, in a win over RB Leipzig;

“I don’t know if the half-time team talk given by Rudi was behind the players’ reaction but it was exceptional. I like working with Rudi Garcia and I have confidence in him. Today I’m saying he’s doing good work.”

That shows not only can he command the respect of a dressing room, but that he’s a strong motivator, something that would undeniably help to rescue Everton from the situation they currently find themselves in.

The 57-year-old manager has an impressive 50.84% win rate across his career, and would surely be welcomed by fans to Goodison who are desperate for a fresh start, compared to Martinez who already has a fragile history with the club.

Moshiri must make his decision as soon as he possibly can for the Toffees, as the side are set to take on Aston Villa in the early kick off this Saturday, with an FA Cup clash with Brentford following that, which will be an important game for Everton’s chance to salvage the potential of a trophy this season.

In other news: Myers names Christophe Galtier as his first choice manager