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15th place. five points clear of the relegation zone. 2015/16 champions.

Leicester City have experienced the starkest fall from Premier League grace imaginable. As their dreams continue in Europe, Claudio Ranieri’s Foxes have been brought back to earth the most brutal of thuds. With five points from their last seven matches and having won only five Premier League matches all season, Leicester City are under very real threat of relegation.

The improvement of Swansea and Hull City, particularly, must be concerning Ranieri. The one-time ‘Tinkerman’ stuck to the same eleven and same tactics last season. This season, as results have gone from bad to worse, he has altered his approach on a regular basis, whether that be a back five or a midfield diamond, the Foxes are all at sea.

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The most recent example of the disastrous tinkering was this weekend. Southampton walked all over Ranieri’s side to beat them 3-0 and, frankly, the champions were fortunate it was not an uglier score line. Ranieri took the blame for a defeat, as his diamond midfield was toyed with by Southampton. Leicester’s midfield played like they had never even trained in the formation before and they are beginning to show the body language of a team under pressure.

Now, no one expected anything like another title challenge from Leicester this season. However, flirting with relegation was not expected either. Their best players from last season have hardly even been shadows of their former selves and their defence – that surprised everyone with its brilliance last season – is in a full-on self-destruct mode. Nothing is functioning correctly in the current Leicester side, few players are performing to an adequate standard, even. Their best hope of improvement are the returns of Algerian duo, Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani, from the African Cup of Nations.

Next up for Ranieri’s side is a trip to Burnley. The Clarets boast a home record deserving of the top six and have shown the sort of defensive resilience, led by their goalkeeper Tom Heaton, which defined Leicester’s title win last season. While Leicester have looked like a team playing in the shadows of their own success for much of this campaign, there has been the odd match (particularly in Europe) where they have looked as fiercely motivated as they did last season. A trip to Turf Moor is unlikely to motivate them in quite the same way, in that sense, it is the hardest possible fixture at this juncture.

Burnley have played with a Leicester-esque spirit for periods of this season, just as they showed at Arsenal last time out. Sean Dyche’s team would love nothing more to topple the champions and they are understandably strong favourites. Ranieri must find a way for his team to turn their form around in matches like this if they are to avoid being dragged into an increasingly competitive relegation battle.

Leicester’s removal from the identity that made them the greatest shock in sporting history is putting them in serious peril. Ranieri is right to change his team’s system when results are poor, but there is only so much that can be done. Whatever tactics they have employed, Leicester have looked a team uninspired and been unable to compete. A second half comeback against Stoke City and victory over Manchester City are the beacons of hope for Leicester in the latter stages of this campaign, they must channel those two performances if they are to avoid defeat against Burnley in what has become one of the hardest Premier League fixtures.

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Chelsea star Ramires has signed a new contract despite the ongoing crisis surrounding the club, according to reports from the Daily Star.

The Blues are currently struggling in their title-defending campaign, with Jose Mourinho’s men already losing five league games compared to losing only three in the entirety of last season.

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However, this has not stopped Brazilian midfielder Ramires from extending his time at Stamford Bridge, penning a new contract which will keep him at the club until the summer of 2019.

And the former Benfica ace is delighted with the deal, stating that he and his family are extremely happy in London.

“I am very happy to sign a new contract with Chelsea,” the 28-year-old said.

“My family and I are very happy here in London and in the past five years the club has lifted every major trophy.

“I hope to be an important part of many more successes in the next four years.”

This will come as a major boost to Chelsea and Mourinho, with the extension coming not long after reports claimed that there is mutiny within the squad.

“There is no mutiny against Mourinho,” Ramires told ESPN Brasil.

“If you take our last games you will see how everyone is running relentlessly, putting their lives on the line on the pitch, as we say.

“Whenever we’re in bad form, it’s only natural that negative speculation arises, but the whole group isn’t paying attention to the outside.

“We are focused on doing what Mourinho asks us to do and, consequently, helping Chelsea to get back to winning.”

There have also been suggestions that if the Blues lose to Liverpool at home this weekend, then owner Roman Abramovich will sack Mourinho just a few months after the Portuguese guided the club to a Premier League title.

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Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney face having to rename Wrexham due to a battle being fought in Wales against “English-sounding place names”.

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• Hollywood stars completed takeover in 2021
• Overseen progress on and off the field
• May be forced to rebrand the Welsh outfit

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Hollywood actors completed a stunning takeover at the Racecourse in 2021 and have seen the faith and funds that they have pumped into the club rewarded with promotion back into the Football League – with a push towards the third tier of English football being pieced together in 2023-24.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The sight of “Wrexham” figuring prominently on fixture lists may, however, soon become a thing of the past. reports on how a petition boasting 1,300 signatures has been presented to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) by linguist Mihangel ap Rhisiart.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  The campaign in question is calling for places such as Wrexham to be renamed as a show of “respect for Wales as its own nation with its own history and culture”. Welsh language minister Jeremy Miles has said of the argument for tinkering with the spelling of certain locations: “We should aim for one spelling when there are a few letters of difference.”

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Wrexham would fall into that category as the proposed change would see the Clwyd-based city become known as Wrecsam. Reynolds and McElhenney have embraced Welsh culture since buying into a historic sporting institution and will continue to meet any demands made of them on and off the field.

There are plenty of rough diamonds who have gone on to make the grade at the highest level, with the latest being Luton Town's Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu

Over the past two decades Premier League clubs have increasingly turned to overseas transfers to bolster their squad. It therefore seems counter intuitive that there would be an influx of non-league players making it to the top level.

Yet, this is exactly what has happened.

Despite Premier League clubs casting their talent nets wider than ever before, there have still been plenty of players slipping through the cracks and entering the character-building world of part-time football.

Here are some of the lucky few who managed to bounce back from this disappointment to return to the summit of English football, with Luton Town's Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu making history as he becomes the first player to feature for the same club at non-league and Premier League level.

Getty ImagesJoe Aribo

Joe Aribo, who sealed a £6 million move to Southampton in summer of 2022, has been one of the latest non-league to Premier League success stories.

In a previous life Aribo lined up for Staines Town in the Isthmian League Premier Division. Incredibly, the midfielder was never picked up by a professional academy in his youth, but his one season for Staines – who have since sadly gone out of business – was enough to convince Charlton to hand him a one-year deal following a successful trial.

A full debut followed over 12 months later in 2016 with Aribo soon establishing himself as a regular starter and fan favourite.

A move to Rangers in 2019 would follow, with the Nigeria international falling narrowly short in the 2022 Europa League final – his last action before signing for Saints.

AdvertisementGettyMichail Antonio

Michail Antonio has had a pretty strange career, evolving into one of the most effective strikers in the Premier League after spending significant time shoehorned in at right-back. This is not the only distinguishing feature of his playing career either.

The West Ham icon's footballing education actually came at Tooting & Mitcham United, located a stone's throw from his home stomping ground of Wandsworth.

After a handful of senior appearances in non-league Antonio was snapped up by Reading in October 2008, beginning a long, winding road to the Premier League.

A string of loan moves and sporadic appearances for the Royals followed, before successive spells at Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest solidified Antonio's reputation.

West Ham took a chance on him in 2015 and the rest, as they say, is history.

GettyMax Kilman

Every time Wolves play on TV you can feel the painful restraint the lead commentator is exercising to avoid mentioning Max Kilman's futsal past. Unfortunately, they are rarely successful in avoiding bringing up the fact that he has 25 England caps in that form of football.

A less-discussed aspect of Kilman's pre-Wanderers career is the time he spent in the lower reaches of the game.

Following his release from Gillingham, the defender joined Welling United and then Maidenhead United, making 33 appearances for the latter and helping the Magpies finish above non-league sleeping giants Leyton Orient and Hartlepool in the National League.

He played predominantly as a left-back during that campaign but has moved into Wolves' back three seamlessly in recent seasons. Kilman is genuinely one of the most technically proficient defenders in England with rumours linking him with a top-six move having been rife.

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Getty ImagesChris Smalling

From Maidstone to the Eternal City, Chris Smalling has had quite the footballing journey.

After being released by Millwall, Smalling rocked up at the Gallagher Stadium in Kent and after just a few appearances clubs were queueing up to offer him a professional contract.

Amid strong interest from Middlesbrough, the centre-back was eventually snapped up by Fulham. Soon enough he had established himself in the first team and Manchester United came calling.

Despite catching some unfair criticism from fans at times, Smalling went on to win every domestic honour available to him, including a pair of Premier League titles, and also lifted the Europa League in 2017.

After falling down the pecking order at United, Smalling has gone on to rebuild his career at Roma, tasting continental success in the form of Europa Conference League glory in 2022. His form in Italy has even led to calls for him to add to his 31 England caps.

As we head into the the latest international break, Goal pays tribute to the best buys of the summer transfer window

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  Paco Alcacer

  Paco Alcacer has featured in just four games in all competitions since joining Borussia Dortmund from Barcelona as part of a €2m (£1.8m/$2.3m) loan deal – yet the striker has already netted seven times.

  Indeed, the 25-year-old Spaniard is the Bundesliga's top scorer, with six goals, even though he only played 81 minutes in total and a permanent move to Signal Iduna Park at the end of the season is already looking like a certainty.

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  Jonathan Bamba

  Jonathan Bamba scored seven goals in Ligue 1 last season. The winger has already matched that tally after just nine appearances for new club Lille.

  As a result, the free transfer from Saint-Etienne sits just one goal behind Paris Saint-Germain superstars Kylian Mbappe and Neymar in the goalscorers' chart.

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  Joao Cancelo

  No surprise that a Portugal international signed by Juventus makes our list of the signings of the season so far – but it's not Cristiano Ronaldo.

  The €117m (£105m/$135m) signing from Real Madrid has enjoyed an impressive start to his career in Turin but his compatriot Joao Cancelo has proven even better value for money at €40.4m (£36.4m/$46.5m).

  The former Valencia right-back, who spent last season on loan at Inter, has slotted seamlessly into the Bianconeri backline, while at the same time proving a constant threat going forward.

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  Gonzalo Higuain

  AC Milan may be a little annoyed that Andre Silva has found his shooting boots at Sevilla but at least they replaced him with one of the best strikers in the world.

  Gonzalo Higuain has continued to do what he does best since joining the Rossoneri on an €18m (£16.2m/$20.7m) loan deal with an option to buy: score goals. The Argentine has already hit six in seven appearances in all competitions so far this season.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Fluminense tem o desejo de manter o volante Yuri no elenco para a próxima temporada. O Tricolor carioca fez a proposta ao Santos, que ainda vai analisar. A informação foi inicialmente publicada pelo ‘GloboEsporte.com’.

O LANCE! apurou que o Fluminense ofereceu um contrato de três anos ao atleta, que quer permanecer no Rio de Janeiro. Há intenção também de aumentar a base salarial do jogador.

O Santos espera contratar o novo técnico para conversar sobre o plantel para 2020. Yuri chegou ao Fluminense emprestado em maio, ganhou sequência e terminou o ano com moral nas Laranjeiras.

-Eu estou esperando ver o que vão resolver, estou ciente do que for resolvido e, tanto no Santos, tanto no Fluminense, eu vou dar meu melhor. Foi um ano muito bom, eu consegui ter uma sequência boa, eu joguei bastante e aumenta a confiança. Isso foi bom. Agora é esperar e ver o que vão decidir – afirmou Yuri, na última quarta-feira, em jogo beneficente na Vila Belmiro.

O volante tem contrato com o Peixe até 2021 e participou de 11 jogos neste ano, sem marcar gol. No Fluminense, realizou 25 partidas.

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Lancashire fought back well against Northamptonshire on a second day dominated by the batsmen as the home side’s middle order made a solid start in replying to 438

ECB/PA30-Jun-2015
ScorecardThe runs continued to flow for Ashwell Prince, who passed 1000 in the Championship this season•PA Photos

Lancashire fought back well against Northamptonshire on a second day dominated by the batsmen as the home side’s middle order made a solid start in replying to 438. Karl Brown made 97 and Ashwell Prince 83 to help Lancashire to 257 for 4 at the close.In perfect batting conditions, the Division Two leaders started the day hoping for quick wickets, with Northants on 388 for 6 and their tail exposed. A frenetic opening hour saw the visitors lose Adam Rossington, trapped lbw by Kyle Jarvis for 89, before former Lancs allrounder Steven Crook and Azharullah added valuable late-order runs. Australian James Faulkner was the pick of the Red Rose bowlers, finishing with figures of 4 for 63.With the mercury rising, Lancashire’s reply got off to a poor start when a wonderful second over of the innings from Olly Stone climaxed with the 21-year-old knocking back Paul Horton’s off stump as the Lancashire opener’s poor run of form with the bat continued.In a mirror image of Northamptonshire’s batting, an early wicket was followed by a century partnership as Brown and Alex Davies began rebuilding with determination and no little skill.Brown, who earlier survived an easy stumping opportunity when Rossington fumbled a sharply turning delivery from Graeme White, reached his half-century in the half-hour before the break. He was quickly followed by Davies, who celebrated being shortlisted for the LV= Breakthrough Player of the Year award with a fifth fifty of the season before edging Rob Keogh behind two balls later.Despite the breakthrough, things did not get any any easier for the overworked Northants bowlers after tea as Brown and the in-form Prince set about building another big partnership. It was a particularly memorable afternoon for South African Prince as he first passed 18,000 first-class runs when reaching 55 and then became the first player this season to hit 1000 Championship runs after making 61.Meanwhile, at the other end, a long-awaited second first-class century seemed to be within Brown’s grasp until he inexplicably top edged a cut off White to Stone at slip for 97 with the score on 226 and the third-wicket partnership worth 116. It was especially unfortunate for Brown, having been dismissed for 96 against Leicestershire earlier in the season.Northants sniffed a rare chance and got their reward when Prince followed soon after, edging a drive to Stone at slip off Keogh, who bowled his offbreaks tirelessly for 27 overs.Despite Richard Levi dropping a late chance presented by Steven Croft off the bowling of Keogh, the double breakthrough perhaps tipped the scales slightly in the visitors’ favour with Faulkner and skipper Croft negotiating the rest of the day’s play safely.

Five wickets for Harry Gurney – a career-best 5 for 43 in fact – ensured that the magnificent contribution of the two rookie pace bowlers, Luke Wood and Jake Ball, was made to count as Sussex were finished off in 32 overs

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge03-Jun-2015
ScorecardHarry Gurney helped hurtle the match to swift finish on the final day•PA PhotosFive wickets for Harry Gurney – a career-best 5 for 43 in fact – ensured that the magnificent contribution of the two rookie pace bowlers, Luke Wood and Jake Ball, was made to count as Sussex were finished off in 32 overs in rather a tame end to what had been a contest of fluctuating fortunes, bowled out for 150 five overs into the afternoon session on the third day of the scheduled four.It gave Nottinghamshire a first win of the season after a worryingly inconsistent start for a county seemingly laden with talented. Ball, the 24-year-old right-armer, finished with 9 for 67 from the match, 19-year-old Wood 5 for 96 plus, of course, the little matter of 153 runs – a maiden century followed by 53 in the second innings – which suggests he is more than just a promising left-arm seamer.It leaves director of cricket Mick Newell facing an unexpected selection dilemma for Nottinghamshire’s next Championship match, against Somerset at Taunton the week after next, when he will have the former Australian Test bowler Ben Hilfenhaus available after arriving to replace Vernon Philander in the overseas slot, as well as Stuart Broad, now available after being omitted from England’s one-day international squad.Someone is going to be unlucky and it is not easy to identify who. With Michael Lumb likely to return from injury to bolster the top order but with Alex Hales and James Taylor away on England duty, Newell will go with four seamers instead of three, which opens up one place.”You are probably looking at two from three of Jake, Luke and Harry,” Newell said. “We have a lot of Twenty20 cricket in June so that comes into it and Luke will only play red ball cricket, so he has a good chance. And we’ll look at where we are with Jake and Harry when that game comes around.”Jake has been terrific in this game. I’ve said before that he has been out best bowler going back to our pre-season tour and like Harry he can do well in all forms of the game, so we’ll have the option to share things round.”Mark Robinson, the Sussex cricket manager, would love a headache of that nature. With Tymal Mills, Ajmal Shahzad, Ashar Zaidi, James Anyon and Lewis Hatchett all injured, and Chris Jordan picked for the England ODI squad, his bowling resources could not be more stretched.At least Steve Magoffin appears to be unbreakable. The 35-year-old Australian took 12 wickets in this match, six in each innings, to take him to 35 for the Championship season so far. Robinson says Magoffin has yet to find a level of consistency the bowler himself believes to be satisfactory so far, although there were phases in this match when he looked close to his best. It is only the third time in his career he has taken 10 or more in a match. Goodness knows what he will achieve if he can return to peak form.Despite all the injuries, Sussex went into this match only 18 points behind the Division One leaders with a game in hand, so they are hardly struggling. The absence of Ed Joyce undermined their potential with the bat here on a difficult wicket, yet Robinson believed it was by letting Nottinghamshire off the hook twice in the match when his bowlers were on top that cost Sussex dearly.”The young lad Wood took it away from us in the first innings and then after having them seven down for 108 to let them get near to 250 on a 150 wicket left us massively behind the eight ball,” he said.”I was disappointed that we started to feel a bit sorry for ourselves towards the end of the second day and I think that carried over a bit. But for the last four games we have played on result wickets and the batsmen are a bit shell-shocked, really, and they need to get some confidence back.”Nottinghamshire’s last three second-innings wickets went in the space of 20 balls into the morning session. Wood thick-edged Ollie Robinson to point for 53 before Samit Patel completed his first century since the corresponding match in April last year, but then the innings ended rather rapidly with Patel top-edging his next ball to be caught at point and then Ball swinging at one and getting a nick as Magoffin finished with two wickets in two balls.That gave him 6 for 50 and 12 for 159 for the match. It is the second time the Australian has taken 12 wickets in a match although not his career best. Against Somerset in 2013 he took 8 for 20 and 4 for 11.Sussex needed 310 to win but they were quickly two down as both Mike Yardy and Matt Machan were out without scoring, both leg before to Ball. In match of duplications – three six-wicket hauls, two men out the ball after reaching 100 – Ball found himself on a hat-trick for the second time in the match, and as in the first innings by taking wickets with the last ball of one over and the first of the next. Chris Nash survived but then Brendan Taylor, who had dropped Luke Wells once, held on to a second chance offered by the left-hander off Wood.Chris Nash fended off a brutish ball from Wood into the hands of short leg before Gurney began a run of five wickets in 43 balls by having Craig Cachopa caught behind, then bowling Luke Wright for 39. Jordan and Robinson went to consecutive balls, after which Magoffin and Ben Brown at least extended the contest beyond lunch, adding 52 for the ninth wicket before Magoffin missed one and Ball claimed the final scalp.Patel, now 30 and until recently the last graduate of the Nottinghamshire academy system to find a permanent home in the first team, heralded the progress of Wood and Ball.”To see the way Luke Wood played in the first innings, that’s what won us the game,” Patel said. “And he played with a lot of maturity in the second innings too.”Jake has come on leaps and bounds and the pace he has gained his crucial. If you are to survive at this level you have to have a bit of pace. People talk about us needing to bring local talent through and to see them doing so well as local lads is fantastic.”

ScorecardA seven-wicket haul from the left-arm spinner Rahil Shah helped Tamil Nadu bundle Mumbai out for 141 in Chennai, but two late strikes from Akhil Herwadkar reduced the hosts’ advantage. Mumbai, opting to bat, failed to gather any momentum in their innings, as they lost wickets right from the off. Shreyas Iyer stroked a bright 50, with five fours and two sixes, but no other batsman was able to contribute more than 21. Rahil fetched returns of 7 for 34 from 20 overs – his second five-for in as many matches – as Mumbai folded inside 49 overs.Tamil Nadu were dealt an early blow in their reply as Abhinav Mukund, the team’s centurion from the previous game, fell for 7. M Vijay, who was back after an impressive series in Australia, stroked three fours to make his way to 27, but had to depart after lofting Akshay Girap straight to Herwadkar in the deep. However, the team rode on a 76-run stand between V Shankar (47*) and Dinesh Karthik (43) to once again wrest the initiative. The pair’s partnership took Tamil Nadu to within 11 runs of Mumbai’s total, but Herwadkar removed both Karthik and Aushik Srinivas in the space of four deliveries, as the hosts ended the day at 136 for 4.
ScorecardSudip Chatterjee muscled a half-century, and anchored two crucial 50-plus partnerships, as Bengal made 141 for 4 on day one against Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad. Bengal, after being put in, lost their opener Abhimanyu Easwaran early, but Chatterjee and Arindam Das steadied the innings with a second-wicket stand which yielded 60 runs. Uttar Pradesh fought back with two quick wickets, but Bengal once again counterattacked, with Chatterjee and Wriddhiman Saha (45) adding 52 runs for the fourth wicket. Chatterjee scored 60 off 128 balls, but was run out towards the end of the day.
ScorecardOnly 23 overs were possible on the first day of the Group A match between Railways and Jammu & Kashmir, in Delhi. After being put in, Railways lost their first wicket to a run-out in the third over, but were comfortably placed at 50 for 1 when play was called off.

Tom Cooper underpinned a healthy South Australia first innings while Phillip Hughes did not endure in his first innings since serving as Australia’s reserve Test batsman in the UAE against Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-2014
ScorecardTom Cooper underpinned a healthy South Australia first innings while Phillip Hughes did not endure in his first innings since serving as Australia’s reserve Test batsman in the UAE against Pakistan.The Redbacks reached 9 for 290 by the close of day two of the floodlit Sheffield Shield match at Adelaide Oval, Cooper’s stands of 129 with Travis Head and 82 with Joe Mennie allowing the hosts to establish a handy first-innings lead over New South Wales.Johan Botha’s sixth wicket of the first innings had ended the Blues innings quickly on day two, but Hughes could manage only a flighty 20 before falling to his fellow UAE tourist Mitchell Starc, who formed a far more potent NSW attack than the one fielded against Victoria in round one.Starc, Gurinder Sandhu and Josh Lalor all made an impact, though Steve O’Keefe was wicketless as he re-adjusted to bowling spin down under. Cooper’s runs were made briskly in Head’s company before becoming more deliberate alongside Mennie, who helped ensure the Blues would trail entering day three.