Newcastle fans are hoping to capitalise on the turbulent times at Aston Villa, as they eye up a summer swoop for Jack Grealish.

Newcastle were one of a number of teams linked to Grealish last week after news broke that Aston Villa are facing a financial crisis.

The Villans are likely to sell several valuable assets this summer, and the 22 year-old Grealish will likely be at the front of the shop window.

According to BBC Sport reporter Richard Conway, “administration may be inevitable” at Villa Park, and Newcastle fans think they could snipe a bargain for the feisty 22 year-old.

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Grealish was exceptional in Villa’s playoff run, and was the standout performer in the final at Wembley, despite the 1-0 loss to Fulham.

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Reports last week suggested Villa could want as much as £40m for the youngster, but that price is likely to come way down thanks to their financial crisis, which could result in a bargain for the Magpies.

Newcastle fans have been discussing a move on Twitter, and you can find some of the best reactions down below…

The appointment of ex-England and Chelsea player Frank Lampard as manager has brought mass media attention to Derby County, and will be cause of excitement for the coming season for Derby County fans.

With a wealth of Championship experience in their squad, there is certainly reason for controlled optimism in the East Midlands. Getting the likes of Andreas Weimann and David Nugent firing will be crucial if Lampard is going to get the Rams off to a flyer in 2018/19.

And now Derby fans can get a much clearer picture of how the season could pan out, following confirmation of their first six Championship fixtures…

August 3rd – Reading (A)

August 11th – Leeds United (H)

August 18th – Millwall (A)

August 21st – Ipswich (H)

August 25th – Preston North End (H)

September 1st – Hull City (A)

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Verdict

This opening six is a real mixed bag for Lampard. Reading were poor last season but under Lampard’s old Chelsea coach Paul Clement, optimism has returned and that will be a tricky opener.

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Leeds are another with renewed vigour under Marcelo Bielsa but hosting them is easier than going there, which also goes for Millwall, which will be another tricky test for Lampard.

Ipswich and Preston are home are presentable fixtures before a trip to Hull, who were defensively poor last term, which could offer Lampard the opportunity to rack up some points in his opening six.

It could be tougher for Lampard but it is also a considerable test of his mettle.

Sunderland fans are starting to worry they won’t even have a squad next season, after they missed out on striker target Florian Kamberi.

Switzerland U21 striker Kamberi has joined Hibernian permanently, after spending the second half of last season loan with the Scottish side.

Kamberi struggled to break through with his parent club Grasshopper, but is an extremely exciting prospect, grabbing nine goals in 14 league appearances during his loan spell in Scotland.

According to Roker Report, the Black Cats had “made a six-figure bid” for the young striker on Thursday morning, but the 6 ft 2 forward, valued at £450,000 by Transfermarkt, has opted for familiar territory.

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Jack Ross and Stuart Donald have got a lot of work on their hands at the Stadium of Light this summer, as several first team members are expected to leave the club.

The new men in charge would have loved to get fans on side with an exciting signing, but will now have to look elsewhere for the goals to fire them back into the Championship.

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Fans are starting to worry, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Sunderland fans were in high spirits when Jack Rodwell looked to be nearing an exit, and they are hilariously bashing the midfielder now his contract has officially been terminated.

Sunderland announced yesterday that Rodwell will leave the club at the end of June.

The club said the decision was by mutual consent, though it seems fans suspect the 27 year-old would be happy to keep picking up a wage packet if it were up to him.

According to BBC, the ex Manchester City man earned £70,000 per week in the Black Cats’ season in the Championship, and would earn a further £43,000 per week in League One for the remaining year on his deal.

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Rodwell swapped Manchester for Wearside in 2014 after making just 16 league appearances for Manchester City, but didn’t exactly impress fans at the Stadium of Light either.

The 27 year-old went an incredible 1,370 days without a win, and played just twice in the Championship last season.

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Roker Report have made a superb Twitter thread of Rodwell’s finest moments, and you can find eight of the best reactions to his departure down below, along with one hilarious meme…

Roberto Firmino has had to play a bit-part role for Brazil at the World Cup, much to the dislike of Liverpool fans.

The 26-year-old was a key player in the Reds’ season as he formed part of a scintillating attack alongside Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

In total, Firmino scored 26 goals in all competitions, including 15 in the Premier League to help Liverpool finish fourth, and 10 in the Champions League to push them to the final, which they lost to Real Madrid 3-1 in Kiev.

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Despite the forward’s fantastic campaign in front of goal, Brazil coach Tite has opted to select Gabriel Jesus in all four of the nation’s matches so far.

Firmino has only played 37 minutes of competitive action in Russia across three fixtures after coming on as a substitute.

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The Liverpool star opened his scoring account on Monday after Neymar slid the ball across for his teammate to knock into an open goal, which signalled a 2-0 victory over Mexico in the last-16 stage.

Somewhat bizarrely, a handful of Brazil’s players ran to Neymar first instead of the goalscorer.

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Some Liverpool fans took note of this and criticised the Paris Saint-Germain star on Twitter.

Shane Warne and Michael Clarke do not expect Chris Gayle to be weighed down by jet-lag on his late arrival for Thursday’s first Test in Brisbane

Peter English22-Nov-2009Shane Warne and Michael Clarke do not expect Chris Gayle to be weighed down by jet-lag on his late arrival for Thursday’s first Test in Brisbane. Gayle, who has been in Jamaica with his sick mother, is due back in Australia on Tuesday night, severely limiting his preparation for the start of the three-match series.However, Warne and Clarke, who also live a jet-setting lifestyle, believe Gayle will have no problems adjusting as he brings an intimidating presence to the side. “He’ll be fine,” Warne said. “He’s not one of those guys who is going to occupy the crease for hours and hours. He’s likes to get out there, so I don’t think it’s going to matter too much that he might miss a net session before the Test.”Gayle’s mother Heazlyn Gilroy was released from hospital in Kingston on Saturday night, allowing the captain to start planning his trip to Brisbane via Los Angeles. “[Her discharge] is the best news anyone could get, these situations are very scary and I give God thanks to have her back home,” Gayle said. “It is a tremendous feeling and the family is now at ease.”I am really happy that my mom is back home and that she is able to move around and also that she is in good spirits. I now want to focus on handling business in Australia and fulfilling my obligations to the team.”Clarke was pleased to hear Gayle would be returning for the match and said his appearance would make a “huge difference to the team”. “He’s a fantastic player and we’re feeling for him at the moment with his family issues,” Clarke said. “It’s great to see him coming back to the country. He’s got so much talent and I think he’ll be great for the public, to see him get out there and perform and do what he does best. He scores freely and hits the ball a long way.”Warne said Gayle would provide the team with a big boost at such an important time. “They probably didn’t expect him to be there for the first Test,” he said. “He’s made a big effort to come back again, that will give them a lift.” Gayle left the squad last Wednesday before their drawn tour game and will provide their batting order with some much-needed experience.

Kemar Roach, West Indies’ quickest bowler, believes he can go even faster in this week’s third Test against Australia in Perth

Cricinfo staff14-Dec-2009Kemar Roach, West Indies’ quickest bowler, believes he can go even faster in this week’s third Test against Australia in Perth. Roach has troubled the local batsmen with his speed in the opening two matches, taking four wickets at 58.75, and will feel the need for speed at the WACA from Wednesday.”I really think I can bowl much faster … I think I can get up to 155kph in Perth, easy,” Roach said in the Herald Sun. “I want to bowl as consistently and as fast as possible and try to bowl what the batsmen don’t expect.”Roach, who has played only four Tests, has heard all about the Perth pitch, which was once the fastest in the world but has slowed over the past few years. However, he is hoping it offers more than the typical surfaces around the globe.”Most of the wickets in the world are flat, so to get one bouncy and pacy like this makes me really happy,” he said. “I should really enjoy it here.”Roach has picked up Ricky Ponting twice so far and would like to get him again. “Ponting is one of the best batsmen in the world, I have a lot of respect for him,” he said. “To have his wicket a couple of times is a big prize, I must say.” Ponting has said he has not lost any sleep over facing Roach in Perth, where he will look to take the series 2-0.

Indian captain Virender Sehwag has praised his bowlers for their performance in the third ODI against Sri Lanka. The hosts won comfortably by seven wickets to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series

Cricinfo staff21-Dec-2009Indian captain Virender Sehwag has praised his bowlers for their performance in the third ODI against Sri Lanka in Cuttack. The hosts won comfortably by seven wickets to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.After Kumar Sangakkara, his opposite number, opted to bat, a solid performance from Sri Lanka’s top order had put them on course for a massive total but India’s bowlers hit back to shoot out the visitors – who were 160 for 1 after 22 overs – for 239 in the 45th over.”The credit for this victory ought to go to the bowlers, especially Harbhajan [Singh] and [Ravindra] Jadeja,” Sehwag said. “The wicket was slow and it kept low at times and it helped the spinners a bit.”With the kind of start they got, I was praying they wouldn’t get 350 or 400 on the board,” Sehwag said. “But we were constantly looking to take wickets and Ashish Nehra did a fantastic job during the Powerplay.”Once he got [Tillakaratne] Dilshan out, Harbhajan and Jadeja did their job very well and the game turned on its head.”Sehwag then got India’s chase off to a lightning start with 44 from 28 deliveries, while fellow-opener Sachin Tendulkar remained unbeaten on 96 as India made light work of the target, getting home with 7.2 overs to spare.”My job is to give the team a good start and score as many as I can,” Sehwag said. “I was in good form and I utilised the first 10 overs very well. Tendulkar then played right through the innings and ensured we won. Overall, this was an excellent team performance.”His Sri Lankan counterpart blamed the defeat on the poor batting display after his side lost their last eight wickets for 74 runs. “We had everything going for us: a blazing start, a good partnership which I managed to put on with Tharanga which gave us a good base,” Sangakkara said. “But too many wickets lost and that was probably the story of the game.”We didn’t really have a target in mind at the start but the focus was on keeping rhythm, working hard and building partnerships. We just lost too many wickets and with it momentum.”Sangakkara said Sri Lanka had effectively lost the game in the early overs of the Indian reply. “We had to try and get something with the new ball but these are not the easiest of wickets to bowl on. The bowlers did a really good job and we were good in the field as well but we really had nothing to defend.”We need to take a good look at ourselves as individuals and take a lot more responsibility when we get out there again. We have got to keep fighting and we have got to come back.”

After weeks of uncertainty, the league has finally devised a ‘silent tiebreaker bid’ that, it considers, would end the impassé with regard to equal franchise bids for a player

Nagraj Gollapudi17-Jan-2010An important question ahead of Tuesday’s IPL auction is: If there are equal bids for a player, how do you break the deadlock? After weeks of uncertainty, the league has finally devised a ‘silent tiebreaker bid’ that, according to the organisers, would end the impasse. The proposal, though, has met with objections from various franchises.The method may be used in a scenario where a player has attracted the maximum bid – each franchise has a cap of US$750,000 in total to spend at the auction – from more than one franchise. The franchises would then have to put in a separate, additional bid – to which there will be no cap – to break the tie. Whoever submits the higher additional bid will get the player. However, the controversial part is that the additional amount would go to the IPL and not the player.To simplify the new rule: take an example where two teams are bidding for a player at $750,000. Both would then be asked to submit a fresh bid. In case one of the two submits a new bid of $800,000, the player still receives $750,000 and the additional $50,000 goes to the IPL.Understandably, the franchises are reluctant to shell out more money, especially when they know the investment would last only till the end of the year. The proposal was suggested to the franchises on Saturday but most of them objected because they strictly do not want to spend more than the $750,000 purse available to them for the auction on January 19.”Most of the franchises are not at all happy with it and objected to the proposal on the basic principle that the sanctity of the purse must be protected,” a franchise official told Cricinfo.His suggestion, echoed by few other franchises, to resolve the issue was there should be a lucky draw. “If there are equal competing bids, then you draw lots”.However, Lalit Modi, on his Twitter page made it clear that the tie-breaker rule “will be enforced”. “It’s part of the 2010 IPL auction rules, so anyone not agreeing is a non-issue.”

The South African fast bowler has credited his seven-wicket haul in India’s first innings to a ball change just before tea. India lost six wickets for 12 runs after tea, Steyn taking five of them

Cricinfo staff08-Feb-2010Dale Steyn has credited his seven-wicket haul in India’s first innings to a ball change just before tea. India lost six wickets for 12 runs after tea, Steyn taking five of them.”There was a ball change around tea time [it was actually a couple of overs before tea], the seam had split open…we came back after tea and the ball looped around a bit. It [change of ball] was a good thing,” Steyn said after the day’s play.Asked what was different from conditions in the home series against England, Steyn said: “We have been speaking about these kind of wickets. We wanted to adapt as quickly as possible. We hit the right areas with the same intensity. On some days you can bowl the best of your life and not pick wickets and then you have some days.”The decision to follow on, he said, was taken by captain Graeme Smith after consultation with the bowlers. “There was a huddle after the Indian first innings. The batters came and told us that we were 300-odd runs ahead and asked if the bowlers had enough gas in the tank to go on and bowl another 26-27 overs.”We said we were not finished yet and it would be good to take a couple of wickets in the second innings. We told them we had enough fuel in the tank. We were looking to take a couple of wickets by stumps and then we would come back tomorrow and finish the job.”