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In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Rob Lee, who made 343 appearances for Newcastle United, has claimed that Jonjo Shelvey is in the team to do things other than run about the pitch.

During an episode of Zoom Army, a series on Newcastle’s YouTube channel, Shelvey was asked by a fan why he was so lazy which saw the stand-in captain claim his running stats said otherwise.

The £70,000-per-week midfielder is more known for his passing ability, something that often left Rafa Benitez awestruck during his time at the club.

Speaking on how Shelvey is not in the team to run about the pitch and what he really brings to the team, Lee exclusively told FFC:

“I think he probably runs but doesn’t sprint, but he probably covers a lot of ground. I’m not a believer in stats because Jonjo Shelvey is not in the team to run around and close people down.

“Jonjo Shelvey has great passing ability and on his day his passing is as good as anybody so I’d say he is probably one of the best passers in the league.”

Shelvey signed in January 2016, which was to be only months before Newcastle were relegated to the Championship. However, the former Liverpool midfielder stuck with the club and helped get them promoted at the first time of asking.

The England international has been handed the captain’s armband while Jamaal Lascelles is recovering from an injury that could keep him out for several weeks.

Following a wash out at Oxford, Hampshire begin their Norwich Union Division II League away to Lancashire on Sunday

Vic Isaacs27-Apr-2001Following a wash out at Oxford, Hampshire begin their Norwich Union Division II League away to Lancashire on Sunday.13 players have been chosen to travel, and the final eleven will be selected on arrival, depending on the conditions and weather.The squad: Giles White, Derek Kenway, Will Kendall, Robin Smith (captain), Neil Johnson, John Stephenson, Jason Laney, Adrian Aymes (w/k), Dimitri Mascarenhas, Shaun Udal, Alex Morris, Zac Morris, Alan Mullally.

Bashley (Rydal) v B.A.T.Sports Gosport Borough v Purbrook Hungerford v Old Basing Rowledge v Cove Sparsholt v Flamingos Trojans v New Milton United Services v Portsmouth Winchester K.S

SEPL24-May-2001First Round part one – Tuesday May 22Alton v Liphook and Ripsley
Andover v Hook and Newnham Basics
Burridge v Hambledon
Havant v Waterlooville
Lymington v Old Tauntonians and Romsey
Paultons v Calmore Sports
South Wilts v Leckford
St.Cross Symondians v Easton and Martyr Worthy
First Round part two – Thursday May 24Bashley (Rydal) v B.A.T.Sports
Gosport Borough v Purbrook
Hungerford v Old Basing
Rowledge v Cove
Sparsholt v Flamingos
Trojans v New Milton
United Services v Portsmouth
Winchester K.S. v Hursley Park

St Johnstone’s Craig Bryson admits that he expects ‘a lot of interest’ in team-mate Ali McCann, who’s been watched by Celtic.

The lowdown

The Sunday Post’s print edition (via Glasgow Live) reported that Celtic would send scouts to run the rule over 21-year-old McCann as St Johnstone faced St Mirren in the semifinals of the Scottish Cup on Sunday.

It was the Northern Irishman’s 42nd appearance of the season for The Saints.

McCann has averaged 2.7 tackles per 90 in the Scottish Premiership this season, the joint-most in the division alongside Kilmarnock’s Gary Dicker and Hamilton’s Scott Martin.

Add to that 1.5 interceptions and 1.7 successful aerial duels per game (via WhoScored). He’s also contributed in an attacking sense with four direct goal contributions (two goals, two assists).

Earlier this month, Glasgow Times journalist Aidan Smith wrote that McCann was ‘widely tipped to be in the running for the young player of the year award’, while former St Johnstone midfielder Jason Holt labelled him ‘undroppable’.

The latest

34-year-old veteran midfielder Bryson was effusive in his praise of McCann. He recognises the likelihood that he moves onto ‘bigger and better things’, but hopes that comes at the right time for St Johnstone.

“I’ve seen the high standards he sets in training every day,” he told the Glasgow Times.

“You know what you’re going to get every game.

“He understands his role in the team.

“The gaffer sometimes gets annoyed because he’s got too much energy and wants to run about too much.

“He’s got a massive future ahead of him.

“Hopefully he’ll move onto bigger and better things when the time is right for him at St Johnstone.

“You know the gaffer and the team are doing something right when players are getting linked with other clubs.

“I hope they stay, but I can see there being a lot of interest in Ali.”

The verdict

Could Celtic’s rebuild their team around the best young talents in the country?

David Turnbull, a Scottish Football Writers’ Young Player of the Year nominee, has been a shining light at Parkhead this season.

And they’ve also been linked with the winner of that award, Josh Doig – now they have eyes on the hugely impressive McCann.

Crucially, both players could be relatively inexpensive. Doig is valued at just £450,000 by Transfermarkt, with McCann rated at £700,000.

An agreement has already been reached with 20-year-old Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Liam Shaw, so perhaps we are already seeing the start of a long-term rebuild at Celtic Park.

In other news, read a Scottish football legend’s verdict on Turnbull.

Some of England’s old habits returned to haunt them at Old Trafford that would have had any watching Australian chortling with glee

Dave Edmundson02-Jun-2001Some of England’s old habits returned to haunt them at Old Trafford that would have had any watching Australian chortling with glee. A spectacular collapse, which saw England lose their last eight wickets for just 75 runs, handed back an initiative to Pakistan that they could scarcely have expected.It had all been so simple and straightforward in the morning session as Graham Thorpe and Michael Vaughan cruised along like a galleon in full sail. Thorpe hammered Waqar Younis off the back foot to bring up his ninth Test century and his second against Pakistan. Just as Vaughan was exuding his first signs of anxiety as he moved into the nineties, he was bizarrely gifted a maiden Test century thanks to Wasim Akram. Poor fielding allowed Vaughan to turn for a second run and then a wild throw sped past Rashid Latif to the boundary and Vaughan was catapulted to the magical three figures.Then England literally ran themselves into trouble. Thorpe and Vaughan had run superbly, stealing singles hither and thither with the Pakistanis caught on their heels time and time again. Next, though, Thorpe attempted another one to go one past his career best of 138. Akram rolled back the years with a panther-like reaction, a quick turn and throw, the stumps shattered and Thorpe didn’t bother to wait for the third umpire’s verdict.A partnership of 267 was over and, as often happens, Vaughan departed six balls later, touching a quick lifter from Waqar to Latif. England’s lunch was now less palatable at 298 for four.The all Surrey duo of Ward and Stewart resumed in the afternoon. This time it was Ward who took on Azhar’s throw and again was woefully short. Stewart then had to stand and watch bemused as Saqlain Mushtaq and Abdur Razzaq folded England up neatly for 357, conceding a lead of 46. The stand-in captain remained alone on the burning deck with 39 not out.There had been cause for umpire Shepherd to intervene in a sledging incident involving Caddick during his innings. This seemed to affect the Somerset seamer who was slammed for 19 runs in his first two overs, as Pakistan again set about the England attack.Gough, although expensive, had been unlucky. He caused Saeed Anwar real alarm, an inside edge and a fend both going to the boundary but another short one was steered to Thorpe in the gully. Razzaq was firing on all cylinders but he attempted one shot to many and mis-hooked Hoggard to Cork at mid off. Caddick returned, bowled much better and was rewarded with the wicket of Faisal Iqbal. Things finally slowed down, England defended, Pakistan were calmer and bad light robbed a good crowd of eight overs with Pakistan holding a lead of 133.

After dismantling Burnley last time out in the Premier League, Leeds United will be hoping to continue their good form when they travel to face Southampton on Tuesday evening.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side ran out 4-0 winners at the weekend against the Clarets, and with nothing left to play for, they turned on the style to produce one of their biggest victories of the season.

The Whites were boosted by the returns of both Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha to the starting line-up, and with the Premier League campaign nearing its end, it will be interesting to see whether Bielsa hands out first team opportunities to any fringe players or young talents.

With that in mind, below is a look at how Leeds might line up when they make the trip to St Mary’s tonight to face Southampton.

In goal, Illan Meslier will be hoping to add to the 11th clean sheet he picked up this season in the win over Burnley, with one more taking him joint-fourth in the division with Spurs’ Hugo Lloris.

The back four should also remain unchanged, with Bielsa confirming in his pre-match press conference that Robin Koch has been ruled out for the remainder of the campaign in order to protect him for Germany and the upcoming European Championship.

In midfield, Phillips should keep his place after making the starting line-up against Burnley, with Stuart Dallas and Tyler Roberts joining him. Bielsa has confirmed that, similar to Koch, Mateusz Klich will be given the rest of the season off ahead of Euro 2020.

One exciting change Bielsa could make is handing Crysencio Summerville his debut for the club, with the 19-year-old starring for the club’s under-23s this season.

Up front, Patrick Bamford was once again hooked before the hour mark against Burnley – the second time that’s happened in three Premier League games – and Bielsa may take the opportunity to give Rodrigo a well-deserved start after he scored twice upon coming on as a substitute against the Clarets.

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Predicted XI: Meslier; Ayling, Llorente, Struijk, Alioski; Phillips, Raphinha, Dallas, Klich, Summerville; Rodrigo.

Meanwhile, Bielsa must drop this Leeds star tonight…

Manchester City are arguably heading towards a big mistake with Jack Harrison this summer, with recent reports suggesting that he will be sold to Leeds United for just £15m.

The winger has spent each of the last three seasons on loan at Elland Road and was expected to join Marcelo Bielsa’s side permanently last summer following their promotion to the top-flight.

However, the deal was renegotiated, perhaps due to the financial impact of the pandemic and he would instead join on loan with an option to buy.

The 24-year-old has been one of the standout performers for the Yorkshire side in an impressive first season back in the top-flight, with Bielsa’s side finishing 9th in the Premier League table after a superb end to the season.

According to the Daily Star, Leeds have now opened talks with Manchester City over making his deal permanent, with the “really impressive” winger expected to cost the Whites just £15m.

Considering Harrison contributed eight goals and eight assists in 36 appearances for Leeds this season, averaging a very solid 6.96 rating from WhoScored, you could definitely argue that they are getting a bargain if they sign him for £15m.

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Transfermarkt currently values the former New York City FC man at £13.5m, whilst his contract at City is set to expire in 2022, which could easily be extended if he was actually given an opportunity to impress in Pep Guardiola’s side.

Since joining from City’s MLS sister side in January 2018, he hasn’t made a single senior appearance for the club but has 128 appearances for Leeds, in which he has contributed 18 goals and 20 assists.

Considering his role in the Yorkshire side’s success under Bielsa, a man who Guardiola holds in extremely high regard, it seems strange that he has never been given an opportunity to impress under the Spanish manager.

[freshpress-quiz id=“577936″]

However, it now seems extremely likely that he will join Leeds United on a permanent deal this summer and if he continues to impress at Elland Road, then the decision to sell him for just £15m may well go down as something of a disaster by City’s sporting director Txiki Begiristain in the future.

And, in other news… “Magnificent” Man City beast who played 4 key passes nailed down a CL starting spot with superb display vs Everton

Australia put last week’s wobble at Kingsmead quickly behind them with a 19-run victory over South Africa in the opening Standard Bank One-Day International at the Wanderers on Friday

Peter Robinson22-Mar-2002Australia put last week’s wobble at Kingsmead quickly behind them with a 19-run victory over South Africa in the opening Standard Bank One-Day International at the Wanderers on Friday. For just a while, though, Lance Klusener threatened to wrest the game away from them.The Australians had to live through 109 minutes of Klusener as the left-hander hammered 83 off 77 balls to endanger Ricky Ponting’s first victory as one-day captain. But the failure of the earlier South African batting had left Klusener too much to do on his own and Klusener was eventually last man out, caught at deep midwicket in a death or glory bid for victory.”It got a bit more exciting than I would have liked,” said Ponting. “But right the way through I still thought we were going to win.”The win demonstrated that for all the fuss generated by the axing of Steve Waugh, the current World Cup champions will still be one of the teams to beat back here in South Africa next year.Australia’s 223 for eight on a pitch that played inconsistently looked to be something short of a winning score, but Jason Gillespie lopped the top off the South African batting with the wickets of Herschelle Gibbs, Gary Kirsten and Jacques Kallis in his opening spell. At 23 for three South Africa had veered off course and at took some time to get the ship pointing back in the right direction.Boeta Dippenaar, dropped from the Test team after the crushing defeat in the first Test, put together a stylish 51 to initiate something of a recovery. He was missed at slip on 15 by Damien Martyn, fielding there in the absence of Mark Waugh and Shane Warne, but looked in particularly good form until he became Nathan Hauritz’s first international wicket.A little earlier Ian Harvey had winkled out Mark Boucher and Shaun Pollock in the space of three balls and at 93 for seven, South Ad to do was frica looked completely out of.But Klusener found a parner in Nicky Boje as the eighth wicket added 71 before Boje was run out by substitute fielder Brett Lee’s wonderful throw from the deep. Roger Telemachus went quickly and at 166 for nine, all Australia had to do, it seemed, was get Makhaya Ntini on strike and bowl straight.Klusener farmed the bowling, though, hitting with a power reminiscent of his amazing 1999 World Cup run, but it couldn’t last and it didn’t.The Australian innings, after Ponting had won the toss and chosen to bat, fell away somewhat after Adam Gilchrist had given it an explosive start. Gilchrist thrashed Roger Telemachus out of the attack, 26 coming off the medium pacer’s first three overs and it needed the introduction of Makhaya Ntini to bring some order to the South African bowling.Ntini started with two maidens and then bagged Gilchrist, caught at midwicket for 37. It proved to be the joint highest score of the innings as one Australian batsman after another got himself in only to get himself out.Matthew Hayden made 27, Ponting 14, Martyn 24, Darren Lehmann 37, Michael Bevan 18 and Harvey 19 as the South Africans managed to nip almost every partnership in the bud.Ntini was instrumental in containing Australia, taking two for 14 in his first seven over spell and finishing with three for 24 off his 10 and it remains a mystery as to why he was not given the new ball in the first place.In the field, too, South Africa looked sharper than at any stage during the Test series with Jonty Rhodes making his presence felt when he took a stunning right-handed catch at point to get rid of Hayden and then later with a direct hit on the stumps at the bowler’s end to run out Bevan.

As quoted by French newspaper L’Equipe (via Sport Witness), a source has explained that Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy is ‘ready’ to do one thing as he pursues Paris-Saint Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino.

The Lowdown: Return of Poch?

Just over a year and a half after leaving Tottenham, the 49-year-old could now make a sensational return to north London as reports emerge of his interest in coming back to the club.

Indeed, Pochettino could swap the French capital for an N17 return after The Athletic broke news of Tottenham’s contact with their former manager.

He reportedly fancies the idea of becoming Tottenham’s head coach once again, but one huge obstacle appears to be PSG, with the Argentine’s current club not keen on losing him this summer.

The Latest: L’Equipe source makes big Levy claim…

As per the print edition of French newspaper L’Equipe (via Sport Witness), a source close to the situation has detailed just how desperate Levy is to see Pochettino return to Spurs.

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The Tottenham chairman is apparently ‘ready’ to make ‘lots of concessions’ in pursuit of the Lilywhites fan favourite, with Levy also holding a belief this appointment could ease the pressure on his position.

“Daniel Levy knows that, in the face of his unpopularity, he doesn’t have much choice,” the source explained to L’Equipe (via Sport Witness) when asked on the Pochettino situation.

“He is ready to make lots of concessions. Bringing back Pochettino, very popular, could allow him to come out of the crisis from the top.”

The Verdict: Boost for Tottenham?

That Levy is seemingly ready to make concessions to land his man could come as an exciting claim for Spurs supporters, but the Spurs chairman’s apparent reasoning behind a possible return for Pochettino may be worrying and indicate a lack of critical thinking.

Indeed, re-hiring the former Southampton manager would come as a big PR win for Levy and may do wonders to appease a large section of fans who, in recent weeks, have voiced their displeasure with his running of the club.

If he really wants what is best for Tottenham, the 59-year-old may have to think harder over who could be the best appointment logically – and that doesn’t necessarily mean the most popular choice.

In other news: ‘Another source just now saying’…Sky reporter drops Pochettino claim on live TV, find out more here.

India `A’ were handed a crushing defeat by the South Africa BoardPresident’s XI in the three-day tour game being played atChatsworth on Sunday

Staff Reporter25-Mar-2002India `A’ were handed a crushing defeat by the South Africa BoardPresident’s XI in the three-day tour game being played atChatsworth on Sunday. The tourists were bundled out for ameagre 90 runs in their second innings, with left-arm spinnerRobin Peterson finishing with dream figures of 7.2-4-9-4. TheSouth Africa Board President’s XI emerged victorious by aninnings and 109 runs.On the final day the home side resumed at their overnight scoreof 369/7 and went to on to make 411/8 declared in their firstinnings. Gerald Dros, a 28-year-old right-hand batsman fromNorthern Transvaal, remained unbeaten on 117. This is only hissecond hundred in eight years of first class cricket. Dros faced220 balls, hitting 16 boundaries and a six; in what turned out tobe a match-winning knock. The other overnight not outbatsman Alfonso Thomas went on to make 22 runs, adding 40runs for the eighth wicket. Amit Mishra, the 20-year-old legspinner from Haryana was the best of the Indian bowlers, pickingup a five-wicket haul (31-4-115-5)Trailing by 199 runs in the first innings, India ‘A’ got off to ashocking start, losing the stylish left-handed opening batsmanGautam Gambhir (7). India ‘A’ were in dire straits at 28/3 afterlosing Amit Pagnis (3) and Abhijit Kale (6). Skipper Jacob Martinand Rohan Gavaskar put on 28 runs for the fourth wicket, whichwas to be the highest of the innings. Ironically, Martin (25) andGavaskar (13) were the only players to get to the double-figuremark apart from Extras (13). India ‘A’ lost their last sevenwickets for just 34 runs, with Peterson plucking out four of thosewickets.