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Trevor Penney, former Sri Lanka assistant coach, is one of the first men Duncan Fletcher is likely to bring on board as fielding coach

ESPNcricinfo staff24-May-2011Trevor Penney, the former Sri Lanka assistant coach, is one of the first men India’s new coach Duncan Fletcher is likely to bring on board. A BCCI official told ESPNcricinfo Penney was likely to be appointed as India’s fielding coach. Penney, 42, worked in a similar capacity, albeit in a part-time role, with Fletcher for England in 2005 before moving to Sri Lanka to be Tom Moody’s assistant.India have been without a fielding coach since Robin Singh was relieved from the post two years ago. Mike Young, who till recently was Australia’s fielding coach, worked with India as a consultant for about a month in late 2009, but there were no permanent appointments made.If appointed, Penney is likely to join the squad from the West Indies tour, which begins on June 4.An excellent fielder during his 17-year playing career with English county Warwickshire, Penney remained fit enough to be named among England’s substitute fielders for the 2005 Ashes, when he was 37 years old. He sparked controversy by coming onto the field repeatedly for England’s fast bowlers.When Moody decided to move to Western Australia after his Sri Lanka stint, Penney joined him there and later worked as Moody’s deputy at IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab. Interestingly, Penney was named as one of the candidates for the post of Sri Lanka coach after Sri Lanka Cricket decided not to renew Trevor Bayliss’ contract after the 2011 World Cup.

Sreesanth, the Indian fast bowler,has said it is important for fast bowlers to maintain their focus in the wake of early success and fame

Cricinfo staff21-May-2010Sreesanth, the Indian fast bowler, has said it is important for pace bowlers to maintain their focus in the wake of early success and fame. Speaking to Harsha Bhogle on Cricinfo’s audio show , Sreesanth said it was difficult for India’s fast bowlers to make the transition from domestic to international cricket, especially when playing overseas, and added that fear of injury and the urge to play on a long-term basis could be reasons for many promising young seamers to cut down on their pace after the first few games.”Focus is surely important, but again everyone lives their own personal life as well. As long as he knows the thin line between foolishness and bravery, that is very important,” Sreesanth said. “If you have a mentor or someone is looking up for you, with so much of money and entertainment involved, if there is one coach or family member, who actually keeps an eye on the player and if the player is ready to listen to them, you are alright. If you are talented and hardworking, nothing should bother you.”India have used 12 fast bowlers in the 68 ODIs they have played since the start of 2008. When asked if immense pressure to perform was the reason behind many struggling to keep their places in the side, Sreesanth said: “Honestly, you need to be performing rather than complaining. There is stress and there is pressure, especially when you play in Indian conditions. It’s actually tough to get on and start performing. It’s a challenge for a fast bowler, especially in the Powerplay of a one-day game, but you must endure those stressful moments.”Maybe the bowlers are planning to play in the long term, maybe 10 to 15 years instead of doing the job that is given to you,” Sreesanth said of the reason behind bowlers dropping in pace. “Maybe it’s the fear of injury. It’s always better to give your best every single day. I think that may be the reason – trying to conserve your energy for the next game than giving your best today.”Sreesanth made his debut against England in March 2006 and starting off his international career in home conditions, he said, made his transition to the highest level easier than for others. “If you’re playing in the subcontinent it’s a little easier because you’ve actually played at the Ranji Trophy level,” he said. “To cope with the international standards of batsmen, especially with most of them who don’t play in the domestic circuit, it’s tough for youngsters to come in and do their job. It takes a lot of patience and hard work to make a strong impact in the international circuit straight from the domestic circuit.”I’ve been lucky. I remember the first series we played was against England in India. I was lucky enough to bowl on an Indian track and then go abroad.”A balance between both strength and skill is an important ingredient for bowling fast along with accuracy, Sreesanth said. “Gym is very important, strength is surely important. But if you forget your skill…..you’ve got to work on your wrists, on your bowling and spot-bowling. What we forget after playing for our country is the spot-bowling which we grew up with in the countryside.”Sreesanth’s eight-wicket haul in the Johannesburg Test in 2006, which helped India win their first Test in South Africa, is considered to be among his best performances. But he rated his 5 for 75 against Sri Lanka in his comeback Test in Kanpur last year as his best outing.”I’ll rate that performance surely, as it is the only Test we have ever won there,” he said of his spell at the Wanderers. “But I think the comeback match against Sri Lanka in Kanpur – that was the best I bowled. I was under a lot of stress and pressure, and I never thought I’ll play for India again. Upon getting a chance in Kanpur, on those flattest of tracks, I could get the ball to reverse…I rate that as my best spell.”

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Aston Villa have been boosted by the news that Keinan Davis has stepped up his recovery from a groin operation.

Davis is yet to turn out for Villa this season after struggling with a groin injury, which was ultimately operated on in the middle of October.

It is unlikely that Davis will be available for selection until the latter stages of 2018, and it might well be the New Year before the attacker is seen in a Villa shirt again.

The forward is back on the training field, however, and he will certainly be looking to contribute in the second half of the campaign.

The 6ft 3in forward joined Villa in 2015, and made seven first-team appearances for the club during the 2016-17 campaign.

Last term, Davis scored three times in 30 appearances in all competitions, and certainly showed that he can be a threat.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Villa fans in relation to Davis’ return can be seen below:

Loads of Tottenham fans have been giving their verdict on the defeat to Liverpool, and they are absolutely fuming with Kieran Trippier.

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As if often the case with modern full backs, Tottenham’s Trippier tends to split opinion amongst fans because he is so good going forward but prone to mistakes at the other end.

The flying right back’s overlapping runs down the wing, crossing and set pieces are all magnificent, but he was extremely poor against Liverpool, giving the ball away in dangerous areas on multiple occasions.

The 27 year-old wasn’t the only one who put in a poor performance on Saturday, but he is the only one with a £23m international waiting to claim his spot, and fans are calling for Serge Aurier to take over.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”291495″ player=”12034″ title=”Rafa’s Pub Facts Giroud Emulates Zidane & Rashford Emulates… Welbeck!”]

Trippier completed just 67 per cent of his passes against Liverpool, made no key passes, no accurate crosses, and not a single tackle or interception, according to Whoscored.com.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below, look away now Kieran…

Having failed to win in the English Premier League in four matches, Tottenham Hotspur head into today’s game at home to Stoke City with a bit of pressure on their shoulders.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side are now well adrift of challenging for the league title, but a top four finish and qualification for the UEFA Champions League is seen as a must and they can’t afford to drop many more points.

Stoke arrive at Wembley with confidence having finally managed to pick up a win themselves last week and are set to be stern opposition to the attacking threat of Spurs.

Supporters understand that three points are an absolute must today and want to see their big performers turn up and take the game to their visitors, having had to endure faltering displays in recent weeks.

Can Pochettino’s men finally get back to winning ways in the Premier League?

Fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts…

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Born in Salford, Paul Scholes never really left his hometown of Manchester.

Just across the river from Salford – a City in its own right, but very much an inner part of Greater Manchester – lies Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United. Scholes joined United as a youth player in 1991 and went on to make 718 appearances for a club that won everything.

In 1991, Manchester United were a big club. They’d won the European Cup in their history, and were still known around the world for the Matt Busby years, but United hadn’t won a league title since 1967, a year before their European Cup triumph. Due to reforms after the Taylor Report all British football grounds were required to be all-seater stadiums, and United’s highest attendance in the 1991/92 season was just over 47,000. North West rivals Liverpool were the kings of the English game.

Today United have won three Champions League / European Cups and more league titles than anyone else. Old Trafford’s capacity is over 75,000, and United are the holders of the world record transfer fee. A lot of that had to do with Paul Scholes and his colleagues.

The breakthrough may have started with the arrival of Alex Ferguson from Aberdeen in 1986, but it was the 1992 FA Youth Cup final where it really came to light. By the time Scholes, along with his teammates from that victory over Leeds United’s youth side – Gary & Phil Neville, Nicky Butt, David Beckham – came into the first team in 1994, United were already the first champions of the new Premier League, but with Scholes, they’d go on to win 11 more.

That and three FA Cups, two League Cups and two Champions League titles. A treble in 1999 was an unprecedented achievement and one which may never be equaled by a Premier League club ever again. Chelsea’s recent failure to beat an Arsenal side in crisis and win the 2016/2017 League and FC Cup double highlights just how hard it is to win two trophies, let alone three.

In all, Scholes reached the top of the European game, playing in four Champions League finals in the course of his career. The final two saw his side defeated to Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona, both in 2009 and 2011.

He wouldn’t make it that far with England, though. Like so many generations of English talent who conquered the club game, Scholes and his famous ‘Class of ‘92’ side came up short on the international stage. But perhaps the most egregious mistake in the history of the England football team is playing Scholes on the left wing.

Arguably the greatest passer of his generation, and certainly in England, Scholes was the victim of the rigid 4-4-2 formation. At United, Beckham and Ryan Giggs would take up the roles on the right and left of midfield. For England, there was no Giggs, and so Scholes was the man asked to play on the left-hand side in what seemed a flagrant waste of his considerable talents. Indeed, after England’s Euro 2004 exit he promptly quit the international scene, and England – through their own disorganisation – were left without one of the top midfielders of a generation.

Later this month, though, Scholes will represent England again, this time with a set of golf clubs at The Belfry, as a team of English footballing legends takes on a Rest of the World team in the ICONS of Football Ryder Cup-style tournament from 23-25 June. It will be another mouth-watering chance to see the Salford wizard in sporting action again.

Tickets for Icons of Football 2017 are available now at icons-series.com

A lot has been made of players struggling to perform in the Premier League after playing in Europe just a few days before.

With Man City, Arsenal, Man United, Southampton, Leicester and Tottenham all competing on the continent this week, you may find their high scoring players in FPL will have a quiet weekend domestically.

That may not be the case but you have to allow for these eventualities in the world of Fantasy Premier League.

So we’ve picked out three players who don’t have the burden or European football during the week but are still decent FPL points scorers you should be considering for your team ahead of gameweek 13.

First up is Yannick Bolasie. The Everton winger has been relatively quiet since his mega-money move from Crystal Palace in the summer but he has been going about his business in a positive way, notching one goal and four assists so far this term.

He is averaging a modest 4.1 points per 90 minutes played at the moment but, given his goal/assist potential, expect that to rise over the coming weeks.

Then we have West Ham’s Manuel Lanzini, who netted his third league goal of the season last weekend despite the Hammers’ heartbreaking last-gasp defeat to Spurs.

The Argentine is yet to assist a goal for the Hammers this term but is currently averaging an impressive 5.2 points per 90 minutes played, which will surprise those who have simply written off West Ham’s players on FPL so far. The attacking midfielder is only owned by 0.3% of FPL teams, too, which means his £6.4m price tag could be worth every penny as a differential.

And lastly we have Roberto Pereyra of Watford, who also netted a wonderful goal in the Hornet’s superb 2-1 victory over champions Leicester City last weekend.

The midfielder is another player who has quietly gone about his business since arriving in the summer, and the fact he is only owned by 0.7% of FPL teams proves many have overlooked his return of two goals and three assists this season. At £6m, he’s cheap and well worth considering to get the edge over your mates.

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In a titanic tussle at the top of the Championship table, Leeds walked away from the Hawthorns with a valuable point against West Brom.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side needed a reaction after going 1-0 down to the Baggies, and in a fine comeback, they equalised through an own goal from Semi Ajayi. And one man who could really claim to be at the forefront of Leeds’ impressive performance, was Mateusz Klich.

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The 29-year-old has been an ever-present for the Whites this season, making 26 appearances across all competitions, and proving his worth to his manager by playing in three different positions – attacking midfield, central midfield and left midfield. Against West Brom, Klich ran the show in the middle of the park.

Virtually impossible: Can you name the year all of these Leeds flops arrived at Elland Road?

As per Sofascore, he completed all three of his attempted dribbles, made two tackles, provided two key passes and won seven total duels too. And after seeing his display, Leeds fans flooded to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the midfielder.

Some Leeds supporters even felt that Klich’s display was his best for the club in some time.

A couple of fans suggested Klich would be their choice for the man of the match award, with one supporter in particular claiming that he fended off competition from several others for it.

With a 7.3 match rating as per Sofascore, Klich was in the top three of Leeds performers on the night. And when looking at underlying numbers it is easy to see why. He helped immensely in the battle for midfield supremacy, and can be incredibly pleased with his work. Bielsa will be wondering whether a sustained role in the centre of the pitch rather than further forward or out wide is the way to go.

Meanwhile, Leeds may encounter the same problems as they did with Eddie Nketiah if they end up signing this Premier League striker.

Nicolas Jackson may have handed Chelsea another injury headache, with the striker spotted wearing a splint on his wrist.

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• Striker netted match-winner against Brighton
• Replaced late on in that contest
• Required a protective cast afterwards

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Senegal international gave the underperforming Blues a welcome shot in the arm when netting the only goal of the game in their 1-0 victory over Brighton in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday. That effort was just his second of the season.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Jackson was replaced late on against the Seagulls, as Armando Broja took his place, but fears were raised afterwards regarding the 22-year-old’s fitness. That is because he was seen sporting a protective cast on his right arm.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Chelsea supporters will be hoping that splint was just precautionary, with Jackson ready to continue filling a central striking berth. The Blues splashed out £32 million ($39m) when luring him away from Villarreal over the summer and are short on attacking options at present with Christopher Nkunku ruled out and Broja still working his way back from a long-term injury absence.

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  WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

  Chelsea, who have picked up just five points from six Premier League games this season, will be back in action on Monday when taking in a derby date with west London neighbours Fulham. Meanwhile, Mauricio Pochettino’s side have been drawn against Championship outfit Blackburn in the Carabao Cup fourth round.

There will be a huge summer clearout at Stamford Bridge, but who should stay and who should go?

Chelsea are set to undergo a period of huge transition when the transfer window creaks open, as a notoriously bloated squad is finally trimmed down to size after what was effectively a wasted season. Mauricio Pochettino has been appointed as the new head coach, and his first job will be to hack away the deadwood that has built up across two thriftless transfer windows under the stewardship of co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali.

There is already some semblance of a plan in place for how to approach a crucial transfer period for a club that has just registered its lowest Premier League position since 1994.Chelsea will look to sell any player entering the final year of their contract, while a new loan policy will mean that only players who have a real chance of making a first-team breakthrough will be shipped out on a temporary basis.

With that in mind, who should Chelsea keep, loan or sell out of all the players whose futures are uncertain, including their returning loanees? GOAL runs through the list…

GettyKEEP: Mason Mount

An academy graduate who Chelsea should certainly be looking to keep, but it's looking unlikely. Pochettino is keen to work with Mount, but the Blues are struggling to convince him to extend his stay at Stamford Bridge amid interest from Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United and Bayern Munich.

Advertisement(C)GettyImagesKEEP: Romelu Lukaku

Romelu Lukaku's future is set to be one of the most polarising topics of the summer among the Chelsea fanbase; should they keep him given their desperate need for a striker, or should they let him go?

It has been rumoured that Pochettino is open to working with the Belgian, and given the limited centre-forwards available this summer, relying on a Rom-ontada may be the club's best hope of success. He has hit form towards the end of the season in Italy, but he will need to do a hell of a lot to win over the fans after his outbursts during his most recent spell at Stamford Bridge. The best way to do that is by scoring goals.

Getty ImagesSELL: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Without a doubt, it's time to bring Aubameyang's nightmare spell with Chelsea to an end. The ex-Arsenal striker saw the manager who actually wanted him, Thomas Tuchel, sacked just a week after he had signed and barely featured for the Blues thereafter. Time to swiftly move on.

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Getty ImagesKEEP: Raheem Sterling

The jury will be out on Sterling's time at Chelsea following an indifferent debut season at Stamford Bridge, although he still struck nine goals and laid on four more in 2022-23. What isn't in question, however, is the England winger's commitment to the cause, and his experience will be vital in what is guaranteed to be a mightily important season in the club's transition.