Category Uncategorized

ردود أفعال جماهير ليفربول على جلوس محمد صلاح بديلاً أمام سندرلاند: سلوت "المجنون" لا يدرك ما يفعله

by h79snht.top Uncategorized

تفاعلت جماهير فريق ليفربول الإنجليزي، مع قرار المدرب آرني سلوت، بإبقاء محمد صلاح على مقاعد البدلاء مرة أخرى للمباراة الثانية على التوالي.

وأعلن ليفربول تشكيل الفريق لمباراته أمام سندرلاند، بالدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، المقرر خوضها مساء اليوم الأربعاء.

ويتواجد محمد صلاح بديلاً للمرة الثانية على التوالي، بعدما جلس على مقاعد البدلاء في مباراة ليفربول ووست هام بالجولة الماضية بالبريميرليج.

عدد من الجماهير انتقد قرار سلوت بشدة ووصفه بـ”المجنون”، وعدد آخر يرى أن قرار المدرب صائب، خاصة مع استعداد محمد صلاح للتواجد مع منتخب مصر خلال كأس الأمم الإفريقية.

اقرأ أيضًا | ألارديس ينتقد كاراجر بسبب محمد صلاح: مثير للشفقة.. ويريد البقاء في دائرة الضوء وجاءت تعليقات جماهير ليفربول على النحو التالي: 

“هذه فرصة مثالية لرؤية كيف سيتعامل الفريق مع غياب صلاح”.

“قرار كبير بإبقاء صلاح على مقاعد البدلاء مرة أخرى، لكن في الحقيقة، لقد تقاعس لفترة طويلة في الجانب الدفاعي دون تقديم مساهمة هجومية كافية، هذا هو القرار الصائب، خاصة إذا لعب سندرلاند بكثافة كبيرة”.

“صلاح على مقاعد البدلاء مرة أخرى ما هذا؟”.

“يبدو الأمر كما لو كان ترينت على مقاعد البدلاء في نهاية الموسم الماضي لصالح برادلي حتى يتمكن من اختبار ما إذا كنا سنكون قادرين على التأقلم بدونه قبل انتقاله (أو في حالة صلاح، قبل ذهابه إلى كأس الأمم الإفريقية)”.

“صلاح أسطورة، ولا زلنا مدينين له بالامتنان، لكن هذا الموسم يبدو أنه ركز على نفسه أكثر من الفريق، أليس كذلك؟، الشيء الوحيد الذي يثير التساؤل في تشكيلة اليوم هو ذلك اللاعب الأناني الذي يظل يلعب بسبب الضرائب الهولندية”.

“في هذه المرحلة، ما الفائدة من إبقاء صلاح على الدكة بينما كودي جاكبو يلعب 90 دقيقة ويقطع للداخل ويفوت المرمى… لماذا لا يستطيع سلوت أن يجلس كودي جاكبو أيضًا؟؟”.

“نحن نواجه صعوبة كبيرة، لذلك تم تغيير تشكيلة الفريق الأسبوع الماضي وقد نجح الأمر، لا جدوى من تغييره مرة أخرى، وأي شخص لديه عقل سليم سيدرك أنه سيلعب كامل الـ90 دقيقة هذه المباراة”.

“صلاح على مقاعد البدلاء مرة أخرى، أتمنى أن يُشعل ذلك حماسه”.

“قرار آخر كبير من آرني سلوت بترك محمد صلاح على مقاعد البدلاء للمباراة الثانية على التوالي في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز”.

“هل أبقى صلاح على مقاعد البدلاء مرة أخرى؟ سلوت، أنت لا تدرك ما فعلته”.

“قوموا بإقالته”.

“هل سلوت مجنون؟، صلاح على مقاعد البدلاء مرتين متتاليتين؟”.

“هل صلاح الغاضب يسجل هاتريك وهو على مقاعد البدلاء؟”.

“نحن نستعد للحياة بدون صلاح، لا أعتقد أنني سأكون مستعدًا عندما يرحل”.

“صلاح بديلاً مرة أخرى؟ أعتقد أنه القرار الصحيح للأسف”.

“أفهم سبب تواجد صلاح على مقاعد البدلاء، إذا لعب وقدم أداءً غير مُقنع، فسيغيب لستة أسابيع تقريبًا، عليهم بناء الفريق واكتساب الثقة اللازمة للعب بدونه، بدلًا من الاعتماد عليه”.

“إبقاء صلاح على مقاعد البدلاء أمام فرق قاع الجدول (فرانكفورت ووست هام) لا يثبت شيئًا؛ هذا غير مستدام… لن أسمح بأن يصبح صلاح هو الشرير في هذه القصة… على سلوت أن يتوقف عن تغيير النظام ليناسب اللاعبين، وأن يدمج اللاعبين في النظام نفسه”.

“سعيدٌ بجلوس صلاح على دكة البدلاء، هذا ليس تقليلًا من شأن الأسطورة، ولكنه يُتيح للاعبين فرصةً لإيجاد طرق هجومية أخرى وتحقيق النتيجة المرجوة، صلاح ليس لديه ما يُثبته، لقد فعل كل شيء وفاز بكل شيء”.

West Indies 'hedging our bets' as fear over two-tier WTC grows

by csb10.top Uncategorized

If the ICC does decide that a two-tier system is best for the World Test Championship (WTC), West Indies could well be one of the teams outside the top tier – they were eighth out of nine teams in each of the three editions so far and have lost each of their three Tests in the ongoing cycle, to Australia. It’s a possibility the stakeholders in West Indies cricket are wary of – Clive Lloyd is worried about “being in that group for a hundred years” – and they are hoping to have a say in it, as Cricket West Indies (CWI) chief executive Chris Dehring put it.”All of that we have a role to play [in], we have a seat at the table at the ICC,” Dehring said at a press conference after the CWI’s emergency meeting in Trinidad on Sunday and Monday, organised in the aftermath of their 27 all out at Sabina Park against Australia. “We have to just stay abreast as close as possible to all the changes that could happen, position ourselves, hedging our bets so to speak, to make sure we are in there as West Indies cricket no matter which way the wind blows and try to take advantage of it.”The ICC last month formed a working group, led by former New Zealand batter Roger Twose, to look into, among other things, improving the WTC ahead of the 2025-2027 cycle. A two-tier system was among the most significant topics discussed at the ICC annual conference in July. Twose, New Zealand Cricket’s (NZC) representative on the ICC Board, is expected to make recommendations to the board.Related

  • Williamson wants 'additional resources to support the growth' of Test cricket globally

  • CWI works on roadmap with 'about a hundred things to improve'

  • West Indies come face to face with deepening Test crisis

A two-tier WTC has been debated for more than 15 years, with the ICC showing its willingness to consider the idea as far back as 2009, though Full Members have been split on the issue for various reasons.Lloyd, one of the former cricketers – along with Brian Lara, Viv Richards and others – who were invited to be part of the meeting, pointed his finger at the share of the ICC pie that the member boards are given, saying that West Indies, as the top team in the 1970s and 1980s, and a force even in the 1990s, deserved consideration despite their falling standards.”We have to look at what’s happening at the ICC with the shareout of the money. India, Australia and England get 180 million and West Indies will get 80 million like Bangladesh and Afghanistan, and we are just two years out of being in that group for 100 years,” Lloyd said. “To me, it’s not right. We have to stand up. We have to go to the ICC and ask for special dispensation. Because when we were in the ascendancy, and we were playing so well, everyone wanted to play with us.”We were playing Australia very often, with England very often, and when we went to Pakistan or India, getting millions of people [to the grounds]. We need to get a better share of the pie, because we were the cash cows for a long time. And we need to get some of that. I am hoping the board follows up on that recommendation where we can be adequately given the money that is needed.”Daren Sammy’s stint as West Indies’ Test coach began with a crushing 3-0 defeat•Getty Images

Is Daren Sammy’s honeymoon period over?

Daren Sammy, the former allrounder and captain of the West Indies teams that won the World Cup in 2012 and 2016, took over as the all-format West Indies coach in April this year. All three of their Tests since then have been lost. Australia were the opponents, in the Caribbean, and were favourites, but 3-0 was a bit too one-sided, and the 27 all out in the last innings of the series was humiliating.Was it the wrong call to increase Sammy’s responsibilities?Miles Bascombe, the CWI director of cricket, pointed to the handicaps Sammy had been working with, but didn’t confirm or deny anything about the future.”We still need additional support for him. We still have to have camps. Many times, he would not be available himself, because he would be on tour. We still need to bring in other support staff, which would come at a cost. There was no financial consideration in terms of merging the roles,” Bascombe said. “The underlying reason [for choosing Sammy] was that we felt Daren had been able to articulate a clear plan, and we saw him do that in the white-ball formats, both T20 and ODI. And we pretty much wanted the same sort of approach. We saw some success once we had gotten that done. And we wanted to see that approach in Test cricket.”He is still only one series into his tenure as all-format coach, and while the 27 might be the highlight, or lowlight, of that series, we have to admit that we saw substantial improvement in terms of our bowling unit. We saw even Brandon King, who is one of those players who some persons might have pigeonholed as a white-ball player, was able to show that he was up for the challenge for Test cricket. Some light there.”As Daren goes on, and as we start to put some of the strategic initiatives in place, we expect that performances will be better.”

Chelsea’s only piece of “good news” from Leeds will transform their season

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

This has not been a good week for Chelsea Football Club.

Down to ten men against league leaders Arsenal, they did at least salvage some pride from that game. To hold one of the best sides in Europe, if not the best side in Europe this season to a 1-1 draw with fewer players is certainly reason to celebrate.

However, a week on from defeating Barcelona in the Champions League, this midweek was a great deal more frustrating for Enzo Maresca and Co.

A game against Leeds United should have been easy, right? Think again. The Blues lost 3-1 and slipped further behind the Gunners in the race for the title. That dream looks over for another year, but according to Maresca, there is one big reason to remain positive.

Maresca shares good news for Chelsea

Maresca has admitted that Cole Palmer’s return to action at Elland Road was the only positive.

The attacking midfielder has been absent for a large portion of the season but has been back among the matchday squad across the last two games.

Palmer came off the bench in the 61st minute for his first outing since late September after toes and groin problems and understandably, that was the only consolation Chelsea’s Italian gaffer could extract from such a horror night on the road.

Maresca said: “Probably it’s the only good news of the night. I’m happy for him, he’s back, now he needs to build a little bit the physical condition and he will be important for us, for sure.

“He’s getting better, but he needs to play minutes. He had more-or-less half-an-hour, hopefully we can give him more in the next game.”

Palmer has been a breathtaking signing at Stamford Bridge, notably bagging 18 goals and registering 14 assists in all competitions for his club last season.

Well, Maresca will certainly need his talisman to rediscover that form after dropping points in consecutive fixtures.

Speaking about the result, the former Leicester City manager stated: “When you play the last two games against Barcelona and Arsenal, you expect a better performance, no doubt.

“But, for many reasons, it’s not going to be possible for every game again, because we change players, because we have players that we said many times it’s not possible to play every two, three days. When you change players, also the level drops, that is the reality, because they are important players for us. Moises, Reece (James), with these kind of players, we cannot use them every game. It’s impossible, because otherwise they can get injury again and be out for months.”

Chelsea are now fourth in the table after Aston Villa defeated Brighton in midweek. While the Blues looked in something of a title race last week, they are now nine points off top spot.

For the World Champions, you would expect that their hopes now rest on the cup competitions for the rest of the ongoing season.

As bad as Tosin: Maresca's 4/10 flop must never start for Chelsea again

Chelsea’s title hopes seemingly went up in smoke away at Leeds United.

By
Robbie Walls

Dec 4, 2025

Why Pirates’ Bubba Chandler’s 100 MPH Arm Is Different From the Rest

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Another week, and there are another three initiates of the 100-mph club. Zach “Big Sugar” Maxwell, 24, of the Reds, made his debut at 275 pounds and with an average fastball velocity of 100.7 mph. Joel Peguero, 28, averaged 101.1 mph for the Giants, and Bubba Chandler, 22, twice hit 100 mph in his debut for the Pirates.

You might think such big-arm pitchers were can’t-miss amateurs. But the universe of 100-mph throwers has expanded so far that Maxwell was a sixth-round pick, Peguero is pitching for his fifth organization in 10 years after signing his first pro contract and Chandler was a third-round pick.

With 20% of the season left to play, already we’ve seen more pitchers hit 100 mph (76) than in any complete season in baseball history (the record was 64 in 2022 and ’23).

This is the first generation of pitchers who have grown up under Velocity Inc., a catchall to describe the growth business of leveraging technology to teach velocity throughout the amateur market (colleges, private coaches, throwing labs, etc).

Compared to the same date of previous seasons, the number of pitchers who have hit 100 mph in the major leagues is up 38% from last year and from 2019, the last full season before the velocity revolution began on the other side of the COVID-19-impacted campaign.

From 2008 to ’19, the 100-mph club held relatively steady, with gradual increases. But you can see the classic “hockey stick” growth pattern since ’21, including the huge spike this year:

courtesy of Tom Verducci

With so many high-octane throwers, it might be easy to dismiss Chandler as just another player who pitches at 100 mph. Didn’t we just see Chase Burns light up the radar gun for the Reds? He also posted a 5.24 ERA before landing on the IL with a flexor tendon strain. (Burns is set to resume throwing this week.)

Chandler is different. He has the best starting-pitcher arm to come along since his Pittsburgh teammate Paul Skenes, who made his debut last season. Chandler made his entry out of the bullpen, but make no mistake, he’s a true starter. Pirates GM Ben Cherington said Chandler “could earn” starts in “September or whenever.” He should be in the rotation now. Keep him on his routine (83 of his 89 games in the minors were as a starter) and let him learn the major league prep work when you know you’re facing a lineup in five or six days.

What makes Chandler special is that you don’t see starting pitchers with a fastball like his. It is elite in terms of velocity and induced vertical break, a fancy way of measuring how well a fastball fights gravity with its spin. A high IVB, or vert, means the baseball doesn’t drop as much as the hitter expects.

Chandler is one of only nine pitchers with a four-seam fastball that averages 98-plus mph with 17-plus inches of vert. Burns is the only other starting pitcher in that group.

What makes Chandler even more frightening for hitters is that he has the second-lowest release point of those elite-velocity, elite-vert pitchers. Chandler is 6' 3" but uses his legs so well and has such a low arm slot that his vert is even more troublesome for hitters. His Vertical Attack Angle is nasty—low release to a high point in the zone with elite carry. Burns, who is also 6' 3", throws from a high, over-the-top slot that is 7 1/3 inches higher than Chandler’s slot, which can create more stress on the shoulder. 

Here are the most elite fastballs in MLB as measured by velocity and vert. I added the vertical release point so you can see how Chandler comes at it from a different angle.

Four-Seam fastballs 98-plus MPH with 17-plus inch induced vertical break

V.Rel.

mph

IVB

1. Jeremiah Estrada, Padres

5.94

98.0

19.8

2. Trevor Megill, Brewers

6.52

99.0

19.0

3. Aroldis Chapman, Red Sox

6.19

98.5

18.6

4. Mason Montgomery, Rays

5.84

98.7

18.5

5. Ryne Stanek, Mets

6.55

98.5

18.4

6. Robert Suárez, Padres

6.24

98.5

18.3

7. Chase Burns, Reds*

6.50

98.4

18.1

8. Ryan Helsley, Mets

6.16

99.4

17.6

9. Bubba Chandler, Pirates*

5.89

98.4

17.1

MLB Average

5.82

94.5

15.8

*Starting pitchers

Like Skenes and Jacob deGrom, one of his pitching models, Chandler was a two-way player and terrific athlete (he switch-hits and is ambidextrous enough to have played first base and pitched one inning in high school left-handed) who only recently took to pitching full-time. He threw 92 mph as a high school junior, after which he chased velocity by packing on pounds as a senior. It paid off. He sat at 95 mph and touched 98 mph.

Chandler lasted until the third round in 2021 because he appeared headed to Clemson to play quarterback. The Pirates gave him $3 million to sign, a massive sum for a third-rounder, in part because they saved slot money on No. 1 pick, catcher Henry Davis. Chandler hit .186 in his first two pro seasons before giving up the idea of being the next Shohei Ohtani.

A generation ago, coaches harangued young pitchers to. With his athleticism, elite velocity and low arm slot, Chandler is a proxy for state of the art pitching—though he didn’t get there by being a pitcher-only since 10 years old, a mistake made by many in the velocity generation.

Pitchers are throwing harder and from a lower release point. As we saw with 100-mph throwers, the numbers below held relatively steady until 2021, when the effects of Velocity Inc. really kicked in:

MLB four-seam fastballs

Year

V.Rel.

mph

2016

6.08

93.2

2017

5.96

93.2

2018

5.90

93.1

2019

5.94

93.4

2020

5.89

93.4

2021

5.92

93.7

2022

5.87

93.9

2023

5.83

94.2

2024

5.82

94.3

2025

5.82

94.5

Pitching evolves. It always has and always will. Some pitchers accelerate the evolution because they do something so well and so unique that others want to copy them. In the wild-card era, five pitchers stand out as the biggest influencers. In order of how they changed the game:

Pitcher

Innovation

Greg Maddux

Comeback two-seamer; stretching strike zone horizontally.

Pedro Martínez

Three put-away pitches (fastball, curve, change).

Roy Halladay

Carving an X with movement on both sides of the plate (cutter/sinker combo).

Jacob deGrom

93-mph sliders and 99-mph fastballs.

Paul Skenes

Seven pitches between 83-98 mph that cut, run, sink and ride.

Skenes is the primo influencer now because, layered atop velocity and a low arm slot, he shapes a menu of pitches to exploit hitters’ weaknesses, whether they are right-handed or left-handed. In his most recent start, for example, Skenes threw seven pitches (two fastballs, two off-speed, three breaking) at 15 different mph increments from 80 to 100 mph. He has Martínez’s multi-pitch intellect, Halladay’s command and deGrom’s velocity and arm slot.

It’s too much to ask Chandler to be the next great pitching influencer. But in one, narrow way, he and Burns are signaling what’s next: athletic starting pitchers with high-velocity, high-spin fastballs that once belonged almost exclusively to closers. More will follow.

Inside the Numbers of the Guardians' Remarkable AL Central Comeback

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

The Guardians did it. Somehow, they actually did it.

With a 5–2 win over the Tigers on Tuesday night, Cleveland completed an improbable comeback and tied Detroit atop the American League Central. A team that was eight games under .500 and 15.5 games out of the division race in early July now has a 56.3% chance of winning it.

Conversely, the Tigers, who held baseball's best record on July 8, have fumbled it. An epic collapse has seen them fall into a deep slump that’s snowballed into a complete September collapse.

How did this happen? Let's go inside the numbers to get a better look.

40 — Wins for Cleveland on July 6, 88 games into the season. They fell eight games below .500 on that date after being swept at home by the Tigers.

45 — Wins for Cleveland since July 7, a 45–24 record (.652), second best in baseball behind the Milwaukee Brewers.

15.5 — Games the Guardians trailed the Tigers by on July 8.

10.5 — Games the Guardians trailed the Tigers by on Sept. 1.

9.5 — Games behind the Tigers on Sept. 10.

3.96 — Team ERA for the Guardians on July 6, 18th in baseball.

3.30 — Team ERA for the Guardians since July 6, best in baseball.

2.9 — fWAR for Jose Ramirez since July 6, tied with Cal Raleigh for fifth in the American League. Ramirez is slashing .264/.358/.528 over that span with 16 home runs, 43 RBIs, 57 runs scored and 18 stolen bases, with a wRC+ of 136.

1.3 — fWAR for rookie starting pitcher Parker Messick since his debut on Aug. 20. That ranks fifth in baseball during that time. He's 3–0 with a 2.08 ERA and 31 strikeouts against five walks in 34 2/3 innings.

2.39 — ERA for starter Gavin Williams since July 6. He's 7–1 since then.

1.25 — ERA for starter Tanner Bibee in three September starts. He's 2–0, with a 0.65 WHIP and 21 strikeouts against three walks in 21 2/3 innings. That includes a complete game shutout two-hitter against the White Sox on Sept. 12.

Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee has been instrumental in the team’s second-half turnaround. / Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

59 — Tigers wins on July 8, most in MLB. They were 59–34, good for the best record in baseball and a 14-game lead over the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals in the AL Central. The Guardians were 15.5 games back.

26 — Tigers wins since July 8. They're 26–38 (.406) in that time, the sixth-worst record in baseball.

5 — Tigers wins in September. They are 5–14, the second-worst record in baseball behind only the 4–16 Colorado Rockies.

3.46 — Tigers team ERA on July 8, third-best in baseball.

4.80 — Tigers team ERA since July 8, sixth-worst in baseball.

106 — Detroit's team wRC+ on July 8, seventh in baseball.

95 — Detroit's wRC+ since July 8, 20th in baseball.

Carrington's "wing wizard" is another Mbeumo in the making at Man Utd

by z3u9t.icu Uncategorized

Manchester United have now gone four games undefeated in the Premier League, which is perhaps a sign of things changing for Ruben Amorim’s side. His first year in charge at the club has been underwhelming to say the least, and it has taken time to adapt to his infamous 3-4-2-1 system.

Well, one of the most important positions in Amorim’s system are the two number 10s. It took him some time to find the right solution in those roles. Bruno Fernandes has been operating in the pivot, with Matheus Cunha and Mason Mount two key options.

Bryan Mbeumo has also made a fast start to life at United.

Mbeumo’s exceptional October

October felt like the month where Mbeumo truly arrived at United. He had played well in the weeks before that, scoring against Grimsby in the Carabao Cup and Burnley in the Premier League, but it was last month that he began to shine truly.

Mbeumo played three games in October for United, chipping in with at least one goal or assist in each of them. In total, he contributed four goal involvements in three games last month for the Red Devils.

It is perhaps easy for United fans to pinpoint which was the most important. Mbeumo’s strike at Anfield against Liverpool just seconds into the match summed him up.

Their number 19 managed to run in behind the Reds’ defence and fire home first time on his weaker right foot.

After grabbing an assist for Mount against Sunderland at the start of the month and scoring twice against Brighton and Hove Albion, Mbeumo was nominated for Premier League player of the month.

Club legend Wayne Rooney said the Cameroonian star is “by far United’s best player of the season.”

It is certainly exciting that United are brewing the new version of Mbeumo in the academy.

United’s homegrown Mbeumo

For decades, United have produced some exceptional players in their academy. In the current crop of youngsters, there are some exciting talents. JJ Gabriel is a player who has a lot of hype surrounding him.

Another young talent United fans can get excited about is 18-year-old Shea Lacey. After overcoming injury issues in recent seasons, the Liverpool-born attacker has shown exactly how good he is this season.

In nine games across all competitions, Lacey has found the back of the net on three occasions and assisted two other goals for teammates.

They have come in just 507 minutes, leaving him with an average of a goal involvement every 101 minutes.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

One of the best examples of Lacey’s talent came in the under-21s’ recent 2-0 EFL Trophy victory away to Notts County. Operating on the right-hand side, the 18-year-old scored one and created one chance.

The “wing wizard” – as hailed by the Daily Mail’s Chris Wheeler – was a handful for defenders all night, completing three from five dribbles and winning two fouls

Touches

72

Pass accuracy

80%

Passes completed in opposition half

24/32

Ground duels won

8/14

Ball recoveries

7

Dribbles completed

3/5

Chances created

1

Goals

1

One of the striking things about Lacey is his technical ability. He thieves in tight spaces in the right half-space, which could certainly make him suitable for Amorim’s system, playing in the right 10 role just like Mbeumo does now.

The England under-20 star was described as a “creative talisman” by Academy Scoop on X, a page dedicated to the Red Devils academy sides. That is easy to understand, with the 18-year-old having passes like this in his locker.

It is certainly easy to see how Lacey can be United’s own Mbeumo. The talented youngster is comfortable on the right wing or as a number 10, just like the Red Devils’ number 19.

Both are left-footed attackers, too.

It remains to be seen when Lacey will get his first-team debut at United, but it is bound to happen sooner or later. He is a superb talent who has even trained with England’s first team this season. United have another gem on their hands.

Man Utd have a "deadly" academy star who's another Fernandes in the making

Man Utd might not have to look far to replace Bruno

ByJoe Nuttall Nov 6, 2025

Game
Register
Service
Bonus