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Tottenham have reached advanced stages in talks with Southampton boss Mauricio Pochettino to become their next manager, with reports that his appointment could be made official within the next 48 hours.

But is he the right man to deliver Spurs’ ultimate ambition of Champions League football, or is he yet another Daniel Levy appointment that will inevitably fail to live up to expectations?

No doubt, the Argentine has had a significant impact on the Premier League since his controversial appointment at St. Mary’s back in January 2013. Under his leadership, the Saints have been transformed from relegation battlers into Europa League contenders, all the while championing a high-octane, modern brand of football that would certainly impress the punters at White Hart Lane.

Yet, in my opinion, the ultimate test of the next Tottenham boss will be staying power; Daniel Levy has burned through eight permanent managers since becoming Lilywhites chairman thirteen years ago, including two this season alone. Many of his appointments and sackings have blurred the line between cut-throat and knee-jerk, and although Pochettino’s track record with Southampton is impressive, it remains to be seen whether it will be enough to prevent Levy getting cold feet as soon as results take a downward turn.

After all, although the Argentine will be charged with the task of administering Tottenham’s qualification into the Champions League, the chances of it happening next season remain relatively slim. Manchester City and Chelsea are all-but guaranteed top four finishes next season, Liverpool are a club only moving forward, Arsenal will spend lavishly this summer in the wake of their record-breaking sponsorship deal with Puma and Manchester United will be determined to make up for lost time as they welcome trophy-laden Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal.

It’s no secret that Tottenham’s strongest finishes in the Premier League era have come under Levy’s two longest-serving managers, Martin Jol and Harry Redknapp. But with £110million’s worth of investment from summer 2013 still on the line, if Pochettino can’t provide instant success at White Hart Lane, it won’t be long before his new employer is hit by yet another case of second thoughts.

Mainly because, although Pochettino’s role in Southampton’s sudden rise should not be overlooked – their 56 points this season is the Saints’ highest ever in the Premier League, and the 42 year-old boasts the third-best win percentage, 38.4%, of any St. Mary’s boss in the modern incarnation of the top flight – it’s not as if it’s been a particularly challenging tenure.

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Nigel Adkins had already laid down the foundations for success and Southampton are one of the best-run clubs in the country. He’s brought out the best in the Premier League’s healthiest and youngest home-grown contingent, but who is to say another manager wouldn’t have with paralleled ease under the same, rather fortunate circumstances?

Then again, as the Telegraph speculates, perhaps that is the crux of the attraction from Levy’s point of view. Tottenham’s squad is bursting with youthful players struggling to hit their full potential, ranging from Kyle Walker to Erik Lamela, and much like the Saints, who are expected to lose several key players this summer after a season of unprecedented success, the Lane outfit are still a selling club at this moment in time.

Pochettino has shown a knack for adding significant value to youthful acquisitions over a short period without getting too involved in the business side of things – a perfect fit for Levy’s transfer model.

But will that in combination with Pochettino’s leadership bring the Lilywhites any closer to Champions League football? As a manager whose biggest job to date remains his 18 month stay on the south coast, I certainly have my doubts. David Moyes earned a decade’s worth of plaudits at Everton, but couldn’t last a full season at Manchester United. Likewise, Pochettino is yet to claim silverware as a coach and thus far has absolutely no experience in Europe.

Whilst Rafa Benitez and Frank de Boer – the other leading candidates for the Spurs gig – are well aware of continental football’s requisites and in the former’s case, that of the Premier League’s top four, the Argentine will be working on educated guess-work.

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Pochettino is clearly an intelligent man. Any manager who acts like he doesn’t understand a hint of English in public whilst getting the best out of an almost completely home-grown squad can rightly be considered a bright spark.

But more coveted and proven managers have failed to survive Daniel Levy’s impatience before – my prevailing concern is that, should Pochettino not get off to a flying start at White Hart Lane, the chairman will quickly wonder whether he’s wrongly bought into a managerial fad.

Securing Champions League football at Tottenham will be the biggest challenge of the Argentine’s coaching career, but in my opinion, it remains unlikely that Levy will allow him the time and tolerance to achieve it.

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According to The Sun journalist Alan Nixon on his official Twitter account, Birmingham City are interested in bringing Swansea City defender Kyle Bartley back to St Andrew’s this summer, and some Blues fans have been quick to react to the rumour.

Nixon says that Championship sides West Bromwich Albion and Leeds United are both keen on the 6ft 4in tall centre-back, and that their Midlands rivals are also keen if they can raise the cash with Garry Monk having worked with him at Swansea and Leeds previously.

While the Brum boss clearly likes the 27-year-old, strengthening at the heart of the defence perhaps won’t be a priority should the money not be available for City, who had Bartley on loan during the 2013/14 campaign, considering they already have the likes of Marc Roberts, Harlee Dean and Michael Morrison in that position.

These Birmingham supporters, who are looking forward to seeing a 23-year-old star in action in a Blue shirt, took to social media to give their thoughts on the Bartley interest, and while one said he “was brilliant at Leeds the season before last”, another said “Bartley excellent at this level”.

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Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Even as he fell for 248 with 32 deliveries left in the India A innings, Shikhar Dhawan could not help but realise he could have become the first man in the world to make a triple-century in a one-dayer

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Aug-2013As he ravaged South Africa A for 248 off 150 balls, Shikhar Dhawan knew he had achieved what only Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag had before – a double-century in limited-overs cricket by an Indian. But even as he finally fell with 32 deliveries still left in the India A innings, Dhawan could not help but realise he could have become the first man in the world to make a triple in the format.”I was aware of the record and it felt really special to score these runs,” Dhawan told . “When I got out in the 44th over it occurred to me that if I had batted till the end I had a chance to score a triple hundred. I am happy with what I scored though.”The way Dhawan went on and on, the India A coach Lalchand Rajput thought the triple was within sight. “Shikhar batted exceptionally well,” Rajput told ESPNcricinfo. “I haven’t seen a better innings in one-day cricket than this one. The way he batted today, I thought he would get 300. They were clean hits, all proper cricketing shots. He pulled, he cut, he drove. He played all shots today and it was a real treat to watch.”While Dhawan was pleased to be mentioned alongside Tendulkar and Sehwag, he was quick to dismiss comparisons between the knocks. “It did cross my mind that I joined Sachin and Viru in scoring a double-century in a one-day game,” Dhawan said. “However, those were two of the greatest innings in cricket history and they came at the international level. So, they are much bigger than my innings.”I’ve always loved watching them bat. But I love my batting as well. So, it’s difficult for me to pick one favourite knock of the three. This will remain one of my favourite matches because I scored 200 for the first time in a 50-over game. Unfortunately it didn’t come live on television but that’s fine because I loved batting.”It was a must-win game for India A if they had to meet Australia A in the final of the tri-series. Their batsmen had come up short on both occasions in tall chases against Australia A but had taken South Africa A for 309 in 38 overs in a rain-hit victory three days ago. Dhawan had made 85 in that game and said he wanted to make a larger score today.”I had scored 85 in the previous match and I wanted to score a big hundred for the team because our batsmen were all getting out in the 80s and 90s,” Dhawan said. “A big century was necessary for giving a good total to the team. Once I crossed 100, I was in a different flow. I thought I made a smart choice of shots and things went my way.”I especially enjoyed it as it came against a South African side in their own backyard. They are very tough to play at home and they play good quality cricket.”

MatériaMais Notícias

O atacante Hernane, artilheiro do Campeonato Pernambucano com sete gols, projetou a decisão do Sport na próxima quarta-feira (3) pelo torneio estadual onde o Salgueiro será o adversário do confronto que vale vaga na grande decisão da competição.

Na primeira fase, o Leão aplicou um sonoro 4 a 0 que, na visão do Brocador, não reflete bem as dificuldades que a equipe encontrou dentro de campo. Até mesmo por isso, ele acredita que agora será diferente e a atenção terá de ser ainda maior.

– O Salgueiro é uma equipe difícil de enfrentar. Na primeira fase foi muito complicado e o placar não resume o que foi o duelo. É um time ousado e disposto a sair jogando e ficar com a bola. Temos de ter bastante atenção, sem errar, pois é um jogo único. Só nós podemos mudar o estilo da partida. Estamos dentro de casa, com o apoio da nossa torcida, mas temos que colocar nosso ritmo e facilitar as coisas pra buscarmos a classificação – declarou.

O atacante cravou que o Sport vai brigar pelo título da competição até mesmo pelo fato de que, entrando na Série B do Brasileirão como campeã estadual, o nível de confiança do plantel dirigido por Guto Ferreira aumenta:

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– Em caso de título, fortaleceremos nossa equipe e nos dará mais confiança pra começar a Série B. E pra coroarmos esse primeiro semestre tem que ser com esse título, então virou obrigação a taça do Pernambucano. Estamos focado pra levantar esse caneco.

Depois de terminar a temporada de 2018 em baixa, o camisa 9 do Sport começou este ano assumindo a artilharia do Pernambucano além do papel de batedor oficial de pênaltis da equipe, principalmente depois da chegada do novo treinador.

– Sabemos que quando os gols começam a sair, a confiança do atleta aumenta, o desempenho melhora, a concentração é melhor, então são fatores que evoluem a partir do momento que ps gols saem. Isso não vale só pra centro-avante, mas pra qualquer jogador – disse, complementando:

– Venho trabalhando forte pra buscar essa artilharia. Sabia que não era fácil, mas os jogadores que chegaram sempre me falaram que estariam dispostos a me ajudar a ser artilheiro da competição. Eles sabem da dificuldade que foi ano passado. Meus companheiros me tranquilizaram e disseram que estaria bem servido. Com a chegada do Guto, um treinador que eu já conhecia de outros dois trabalhos, as coisas estão acontecendo, os gols estão saindo e fico feliz por esse momento.

أوضح جواو فيليكس، لاعب فريق أتلتيكو مدريد، موقفه من اللعب لصالح نادي برشلونة، حيث انتشرت التكهنات بشأن مستقبله في الفترة الأخيرة.

كان فيليكس قد قضى النصف الثاني من الموسم الماضي على سبيل الإعارة مع تشيلسي.

اقرأ أيضًا.. فيديو | لابورتا يثير التكهنات حول تعاقد برشلونة مع برناردو سيلفا

وعاد البرتغالي من جديد إلى صفوف أتلتيكو مدريد، ولكنه ارتبط بإمكانية الرحيل، بينما ظهرت تقارير صحفية تفيد رغبته في الانتقال إلى برشلونة.

ونشر الصحفي الشهير فابريزيو رومانو بيانًا على لسان فيليكس، حيث أكد من خلاله أنه يود الانتقال إلى النادي الكتالوني.

وقال فيليكس في بيانه المنشور: “أود أن ألعب لصالح برشلونة، برشلونة كان دائمًا خياري الأول وأحب الانضمام إليه”.

وأضاف: “لقد كان هذا الأمر حلمي دائمًا منذ أن كنت طفلاً، إذا حدث ذلك، فسيكون حلمًا تحقق بالنسبة لي”.

Queens Park Rangers have battled back from a troubled start to the season, easing the pressure upon the head of Steve McClaren.

The former England boss had seen the West London side lose their opening four games of the Championship campaign, a run that including a 7-1 drubbing at the hands of West Brom, but QPR have since bounced back.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”297163″ player=”12034″ title=”Rafa’s Pub Facts MythBusting Rashford & Spurs Headache”]

Victories over Wigan and Bolton, either side of a goalless draw with Birmingham City, see QPR enter Wednesday evening’s clash with Millwall on the back of a three-match unbeaten run – and the improvements of McClaren’s side are shown in the results of our poll after we asked fans to predict the length of McClaren’s stint at Loftus Road.

41% of supporters believe that McClaren will see out the entirety of the 2018-19 season, compared to 34% of fans who expect their boss to depart before Christmas. A further 20% believe he has just a few weeks left in the role, while 5% are expecting a change imminently.

It is likely the results of the poll would have been extremely different if we had conducted it during QPR’s sequence of defeats but McClaren has clearly earned himself some breathing room.

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England women orchestrated two mini-collapses – one at the start and one in the middle-overs – to secure victory over Australia women in the second ODI at Hove and draw level

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Aug-2013
ScorecardKatherine Brunt picked up two wickets, including that of top-scorer Jess Cameron•Getty Images

England’s bowlers orchestrated two mini-collapses – one at the start and one in the middle-overs – to secure victory over Australia in the second ODI at Hove and draw level in the Ashes. Jess Cameron tried her best to keep Australia in the lead, but her lone stand of 81 was in vain.England’s defence of a 257-run target was near perfect as they dismissed Meg Lanning and Rachel Haynes for nought each. Cameron, coming in at No. 3, held one end steady and her 63-run partnership with Jodie Fields looked to put Australia back on the right track, but a spell of three wickets in five overs, beginning in the 29th with Jenny Gunn’s sharp return catch to remove Alex Blackwell, brought England back into the ascendancy.Jess Jonassen herded the tail during a run-a-ball 34 but she ran out of partners and Australia were bundled out in the 49th over. Seamer Kathrine Brunt and left-arm spinner Holly Colvin picked up two wickets each for England.Having won the toss, England put in a solid batting performance led by Charlotte Edwards, who scored her second fifty of the series, this time a match-winning effort.A 70-run stand between Edwards and Sarah Taylor was followed by a 77-run fourth-wicket partnership between Lydia Greenway and Arran Brindle that laid the foundation for the charge at the death as England made 41 runs off the last five overs. Left-arm spinner Jonassen continued her form with the ball, picking up 2 for 29 to go with the four wickets she took in the first game.Both teams have four points each heading into the third ODI on Sunday.

MatériaMais Notícias

Gustavo Scarpa tornou-se desfalque do Palmeiras na Libertadores. O meia-atacante foi informado da morte de sua avó na manhã desta segunda-feira e foi liberado da partida de terça, contra o San Lorenzo (ARG), no Nuevo Gasometro. Ele já deixou a delegação em Buenos Aires (ARG) rumo ao Brasil, como publicou o Globo Esporte.

Além do camisa 14, Luiz Felipe Scolari não terá Ricardo Goulart para o jogo – o meia-atacante ficou no Brasil para realizar atividades físicas, de olho na sequência de jogos no mês. Lucas Lima, Moisés e Felipe Pires são candidatos às duas posições.

O Verdão tem 100% na Libertadores – são seis pontos em dois jogos, o que lhe dá a liderança do grupo – o San Lorenzo é o segundo, com quatro. A partida está marcada para esta terça-feira, às 19h15, em Buenos Aires.

Uma possível escalação tem: Weverton; Mayke, Luan, Gustavo Gómez e Diogo Barbosa; Felipe Melo e Bruno Henrique; Dudu, Lucas Lima (Moisés) e Felipe Pires; Deyverson.

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Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul has said he is eyeing a return to competitive cricket after a knee injury he suffered in South Africa kept him out of action for more than six months

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Sep-2013

Umar Gul has rued the absence of any competitive cricket in Pakistan currently to assess his fitness and form•AFP

Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul has said he is eyeing a return to competitive cricket after a knee injury he suffered in South Africa kept him out of action for more than six months. Gul suffered the injury in the second ODI of the series against South Africa and six weeks after undergoing a knee surgery in Australia in May, he started his rehabilitation programme at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore.”I’m pretty optimistic of getting back the rhythm as I feel fine at the moment,” Gul told , a Pakistan daily. “It is just that there is no competition at present to find out the actual status of [my] fitness. Everything appears to be settling down. The knee is fine with no signs of ill-effects from the surgery I had a few months ago. Over the past 15 days, I have started bowling in the nets as well.”Pakistan’s next international series is next month, against South Africa again, and Gul said he has started bowling in the nets but the absence of any form of cricket currently has made it difficult for him to assess his fitness and form properly. His fitness will most likely be assessed by the PCB during the pre-tour camp, which begins in Lahore next week.”I am yearning to play some matches to test myself,” he said. “Although I have trained [during rehabilitation] and then bowling [in the nets], one can’t aspire to judge both the level of fitness and form if there is no competitive sort of matches.”The injury kept Gul out of the Champions Trophy, Pakistan’s tour of West Indies in July and the series against Zimbabwe in August and September. Pakistan’s performances varied in these months as they first lost their three matches in the Champions Trophy, won the ODI and Twenty20 series against West Indies and Zimbabwe but suffered a shock defeat in the second Test against Zimbabwe to share the series 1-1. Whatever the results, Gul said he was not worried about missing out on cricket because of the surgery.”I’m obviously not worried about the number of matches I missed because of the surgery,” he said. “But it was quite difficult to sit out and watch team-mates playing without me. Fortunately, the injury this time was not as serious as the one I suffered in 2004 when three stress fractures of the back sidelined me from the game for more than a year. At that stage I feared my career was over.”Starting October 14, Pakistan will host South Africa in the UAE for two Tests, five ODIs and two T20s, a tour Gul would be targeting. However, his recovery in the next few weeks will decide if he will be able to regain full fitness or not.”It will be a great Test series because Pakistan have the potential to compete against them,” Gul said. “We may have lost against them earlier this year but our side can win because the conditions will suit us more than we encountered in South Africa. I would love to play against them, but it all depends how it all goes for me in the coming weeks.”

حرص خوان لابورتا، رئيس نادي برشلونة، على طمأنة جماهير الفريق الكتالوني بشأن مستقبل الفرنسي عثمان ديمبلي.

ومن المقرر أن ينتهي العقد الحالي لـ ديمبلي مع برشلونة في 30 يونيو 2024، ويمتلك بندًا يتيح له الرحيل مقابل 50 مليون يورو فقط.

وقال لابورتا في حواره مع صحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو” الإسبانية: “ديمبلي لاعب محبوب للغاية من قِبل المدرب والجهاز الفني وأنا، أنا معجب جدًا به، لديه بعض الممثلين الذين يصعب التعامل معهم خلال المفاوضات”.

وأضاف: “نحن الآن في المفاوضات، نأمل أن يتم حل الأمر، ولكن بالنسبة لي أرى أنه سيستمر معنا حتى النهاية”.

وواصل: “لقد أعطى برشلونة لـ ديمبلي، وأعطى ديمبلي لـ برشلونة، كان حاسمًا خلال الموسم الماضي، صحيح أنه تعرض للإصابة ولكنه كان حاسمًا في هذا الموسم مقارنة بما كان عليه قبل ذلك”.

وأردف: “تشافي مسرور به، أنا والوكلاء نعرف ذلك، هذا هو السبب في أنهم يضغطون علينا خلال المفاوضات، ولكننا لن نفقد المنطق والتوازن الذي يتطلبه الأمر، لدينا هكيلنا”.

واستكمل: “ديمبلي جزء أساسي لدينا، سنحاول الحفاظ عليه، هو سعيد في برشلونة، هذا هو حظنا الكبير، نحن نريده كذلك معنا، أعتقد أنه سيستمر وهذا ما يريده”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. لابورتا: لا أستطيع التأكيد أن برشلونة سيفوز بدوري الأبطال.. ولن نجدد عقد تشافي الآن

وعندما سُئل عن وجود مشكلة تتعلق في رغبة باريس سان جيرمان في ضم ديمبلي إذا رحل كيليان مبابي، أجاب: “كان لدينا هذا الخوف العام الماضي ولم يحدث، ديمبلي يريد الاستمرار في برشلونة، وأعتقد أنه لا يريد الذهاب إلى أي فريق”.

وعن مستقبل لاعب برشلونة أنسو فاتي، قال: “هو معنا ويريد أن ينجحح في الفريق، لديه موهبة، أخبرني تشافي أن ليفاندوفسكي وأنسو هما اللذان يسجلان أكبر عدد من الأهداف في التدريبات”.

واستمر: “لقد كان يعاني من انتكاسة تتعلق بالإصابة، مثلما قال مدرب منتخب إسبانيا، ولكن بالنسبة لمستقبله فهو يريد النجاح مع برشلونة، تشافي مصمم على منحه الفرص”.

واختتم: “يجب أن نجعل التناوب هو القاعدة وليس التناوب بدافع الضرورة كما حدث هذا الموسم، بل يجب أن يكون هناك تناوب لتجنب المزيد من الإصابات، لدينا رافينها ودمبيلي وأنسو وليفاندوفسكي والزلزولي وفيران توريس، هذا أمر رائع للغاية”.