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On-loan Aston Villa youngster Brad Young netted twice for Carlisle United against Everton’s under-21s on Tuesday evening, and a number of Villa supporters have heaped praise on the 18-year-old on social media.

Young, who helped Villa lift the FA Youth Cup last season, was among a number of academy players sent out on loan over the summer to gain some first-team experience.

He is yet to start a League Two game for Carlisle, but the forward staked his claim to manager Chris Beech with a brace in a 2-0 win in the EFL Trophy during the week. The Villa loanee proved to be the difference at Brunton Park with a goal in each half, taking Carlisle to the top of Group A.

Villa fans react

Footage of Young’s second goal of the evening was shared on Twitter by Carlisle during their live commentary of the game. These Villa fans were quick to react to the forward’s strike, with many heaping praise on the youngster.

“Yessssss”

Credit: @jmxavfc

“2 goals from Brad Young. Tearing it up”

Credit: @will_avfc

“BRAD YOUNG’S ON FIRE, YOUR DEFENCE IS TERRIFIED!!!”

Credit: @JackJenningss_

“Go on Braddy Boy!”

Credit: @TheVillaDecree

“Perhaps you might start playing him more regularly now”

Credit: @pudshack72

“Go on son”

Credit: @Reece_AV

In other news: ‘Believe it or not’ – Preece shares worrying under-the-radar update on Villa ace who Smith loves

Many Everton fans slammed Tom Davies after he decided to pass instead of shoot late on in their 1-1 draw away at Manchester United.

The midfielder found himself completely free in the box with a one-on-one opportunity against David de Gea, but decided to square it to Yerry Mina instead of going on to shoot for goal himself.

Mina did put the ball in the net but he was ruled offside after a VAR check, meaning that the goal was chalked off and the score remained 1-1.

It was Davies’ chance to make a real impact from off of the substitutes bench, as the 23-year-old failed to really get into the game in his 20-minute cameo, unable to record a single shot, dribble, or key pass (Sofascore).

He only managed seven touches of the ball overall and lost possession three times (Sofascore), meaning that he squandered it roughly every 2.3 touches on average.

Everton fans on Davies pass

These Everton fans slammed Davies on Twitter after passing up the chance to shoot just prior to Mina’s disallowed goal, with one fan even going as far as to claim that he is ‘useless’:

“What is Davies doing? Stupid mentality.”

Credit: @seanarundel

“Awful from Tom, what was he thinking?”

Credit: @WDR573

“Please sell Davies, so bad”

Credit: @WoodywithWaves

“Davies is absolutely useless”

Credit: @cbakl

“Davies will be thinking about this on the coach home. I know why he passed as he’s not great in front of goal but he had a big target to aim at.”

Credit: @richardwiddows

“Why didn’t he shoot?!!!”

Credit: @MadMikeumadbro

In other news, find out what Bramley-Moore Dock news has left these Toffees fans buzzing

Jerome Taylor handed the West Indians a timely boost with a hostile first spell of his tour to take out the England Lions top order after the visitors’ batting had continued to struggle in bowler-friendly conditions

Cricinfo staff01-May-2009
ScorecardJerome Taylor made an impressive start to his England tour with three early wickets•Getty ImagesJerome Taylor handed the West Indians a timely boost with a hostile first spell of his tour, to take out the England Lions top order, after the visitors’ batting had continued to struggle in bowler-friendly conditions. Taylor’s three-wicket new-ball burst reduced the Lions to 13 for 3 before they rallied to 143 for 6 in reply to the West Indians’ 203 with Chris Woakes claiming a career-best haul.Taylor only arrived earlier this week having been allowed to spend extra time at home to recover from a car accident, but he showed no ill-effects as he slotted straight into his work to revive memories of his memorable spell at Sabina Park when he took 5 for 11 to skittle England for 51.He began by putting a dampener on Robert Key’s day after the Lions captain had been named in England’s Twenty20 squad. Key couldn’t respond with a score when he played around his first delivery and was trapped leg before. His opening partner, Stephen Moore, fared little better as he fended a catch to second slip and when Jonathan Trott edged behind England’s second-string were in deep trouble.Ian Bell, eager to continue his good form after being omitted from the Test squad, managed to weather the early problems as he and Samit Patel – another with plenty of prove – steadied the innings. Taylor’s support bowlers were not quite the same threat and runs came more easily but David Bernard broke through with Bell given out to a marginal lbw decision.Disappointingly for Patel, on a day where he was again criticised by Geoff Miller, he top-edged a pull when well-set on 27 as the Lions wobbled again on 78 for 5. It required some pugnacious strokeplay from Tim Ambrose to revive the innings as he struck 10 boundaries in a confident, unbeaten 49, between stoppages for bad light which limited play to 68 overs, although he also lost Luke Wright to Bernard’s medium pace.Before the West Indian bowlers made their impression the batting had given cause for concern ahead of the first Test. They crashed to 131 for 8 as Woakes continued his form from the opening day to claim the first six wickets, notching the impressive scalps of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Brendan Nash.Wright ended Woakes’ monopoly and Sajid Mahmood also made his first mark before Bernard offered some belated resistance and made a late bit for a Test recall, more than six years after his only previous appearance against Australia. He added 80 with Sulieman Benn to give the total some respectability and thanks to Taylor it was looking more than handy by the end of the day.

The Athletic’s Phil Hay has delivered a Leeds United update on Rodrigo, who was the subject of late transfer interest from La Liga giants Barcelona.

What’s the story?

Speaking on The Phil Hay Show, he said: “My understanding is that Barcelona were keen on him and did have a look at him, but Barcelona have been such a mess through this window that it didn’t feel like it ever got to a point where they were serious about it.

“I mean, Leeds in no way would have let him go on loan, it would have had to have been a permanent (deal). I don’t think they want Rodrigo to go and I don’t think Rodrigo wants to go. Bielsa’s spoken a few times about trying to keep him in the building, keep him in the mix, get him into form.

“So it didn’t seem to me like that was ever going to happen. I mean, from the PR point of view, I really don’t know how that would have looked, you know, right at the end to have been doing a deal for him. But there was Spanish interest in him, without a doubt, because he is a very good player.”

Bielsa could revive Rodrigo

Even here on FFC, Rodrigo’s disappointing career thus far at Elland Road has been criticised, but Hay’s reveal that Bielsa is keen on getting him back to his best is certainly exciting news for fans.

The Spaniard has a proven pedigree at European level with the likes of Valencia and Benfica, and has competed on the biggest stage and in the biggest competitions.

Last season may just have been a period of adaptation, and while his opening day performance against United led to some Leeds fans slamming him, this campaign could well be the making of him.

He showed flashes of his quality towards the back end of last season, not least in Leeds’ 4-0 drubbing of Burnley at Turf Moor where he bagged a late, quick-fire brace after coming on as a substitute.

Whether it’s continuing to give him that role just behind Patrick Bamford, or maybe even a stint up front or out wide like he has played in previous years, Bielsa’s faith in Rodrigo is admirable, and it’s one that may excite fans who are surely keen to see him finally light up Elland Road more than 12 months after first joining them.

Meanwhile, this Leeds United transfer target is now set for contract talks…

Kristjaan Speakman has shed further light on his transfer strategy at Sunderland this summer.

What’s been said?

In a recent interview with the SAFC Unfiltered podcast (cited by the Sunderland Echo), the Sunderland sporting director suggested that a major part of his plan for the recently closed transfer window was to reduce the average age of Lee Johnson’s first-team squad, as well as signing quality over quality.

In his comments, Speakman said: “We did let a group of players go which was potentially risky but we felt that to change the philosophy, the dynamic of the squad and average age that would have to be done.

“The average age this year is 24.8. I think last year it was just over 28. We had some games where we were just short of 29. If you look at that it’s a huge difference [in] what the squad dynamic looks like.”

The sporting director continued: “We had a really clear idea about who we wanted to go for and we wanted to go for a smaller streamline squad of quality over quantity. When you do that you have to be really precise with those signings because you have less room for error.”

Music to the ears of fans

Considering the fact that Sunderland’s decline from the Premier League to the third tier of English football was largely down to disastrous recruitment, horrible mismanagement and chaos in the boardroom – all of which contributed to poor results achieved on the pitch – Speakman’s latest remarks are sure to come as music to the ears of the Stadium of Light faithful.

Finally, it would seem as if there is a clear transfer plan and philosophy at Sunderland – something that would already appear to be bearing fruit, with the Mackems currently topping the League One table after five games played.

As such, it very much seems as if, under the guidance of Speakman in the transfer market and Lee Johnson on the pitch, things are finally looking up on Wearside, something that has been an incredibly long time coming.

And, if the Black Cats can go on to achieve promotion come next May, Sunderland fans will undoubtedly be forever grateful to Speakman for being the man who finally helped get their club back on track.

In other news: Sunderland handed potential injury boost ahead of Accy clash, Johnson will be buzzing

Shivakant Shukla and Parvinder Singh came up with the best performances of their careers to keep Uttar Pradesh in the advantage in their semi-final against Tamil Nadu

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga in Nagpur06-Jan-2009Uttar Pradesh 253 for 3 (Shukla 103*, Parvinder 93*, Balaji 2-53) trail Tamil Nadu 445 by 192 runs
Scorecard

Uttar Pradesh’s chances looked bleak once Mohammad Kaif and Suresh Raina were dismissed, but Parvinder Singh and Shivakant Shukla seized back the advantage © Cricinfo Ltd
Shivakant Shukla, with a century, and Parvinder Singh came up with the best performances of their careers and an unbeaten 190-run partnership to keep Uttar Pradesh’s noses ahead of Tamil Nadu. L Balaji took the big wickets of Suresh Raina and Mohammad Kaif early but Shukla and Parvinder frustrated them for the next six-odd hours. Tamil Nadu didn’t help their own case – Parvinder was dropped by Dinesh Karthik when on 20 and 64, and Shukla by M Vijay when on 95 – as UP were left needing 193 runs on the final day to take the first-innings lead and make their third final in four years.Tamil Nadu struck 13 overs into the day with the wicket of the dangerous Raina who had been subdued yesterday but was back to his fluent self. Twenty-five runs were scored in 19 overs on Monday; today the next 25 came in 5.2 overs. Raina got stuck into Balaji, driving him along the ground and over point. Then, as in the past, he threw away a good start, presenting a gap between bat and pad to Balaji, who was coming from round the wicket. Kaif was involved in two leg-bye boundaries before playing Balaji onto his stumps, and UP were still 382 behind with their two key batsmen dismissed.TN had their tails up and its showed in the field settings for Shukla and Parvinder – for the first time in the match, four slips and a gully. The confidence was not unjustified; Parvinder, who made his debut in 1999-2000, has been in and out of the team since with a best of 68. Shukla has been a regular member of the side since his debut in 2003-04 but has only two centuries and an average of 24.What followed was a gritty effort in good batting conditions by two batsmen who’d recorded their previous best scores alongside each other, when adding 137 for the second wicket against Maharashtra earlier this season. Shukla demonstrated good mental strength after having struggled through a tough period yesterday, scoring few runs but not throwing it away. Yesterday he had scored 10 runs in 56 balls and by lunch today he had added 34 in 108 deliveries. Parvinder made a solid start too, moving to 20 by lunch.Just after lunch, Balaji created another opportunity, but Karthik dropped Parvinder to his right. By that time the pace bowlers had tried their hardest, and Tamil Nadu had to resort to the spinners. Shukla started to score more fluently; in Balaji’s next over he flicked to midwicket to reach only his second 50-plus score of the season, and celebrated it with a perfect straight drive in the next over.The middle session has typically been the best for batting in this match, and so it proved on Tuesday. After Balaji’s spell, Tamil Nadu chose to bide their time and tried to limit the damage before they could go for the new ball. With the old ball, though, Parvinder started accelerating, not shying away from hitting the spinners over the infield. With a cover drive off R Ashwin, his seventh boundary, Parvinder reached his fourth half-century of the season. Shukla had reached only 66 by then. Parvinder offered a sharp chance off Suresh Kumar, but Karthik couldn’t hold on to it and the ball took his glove before lobbing over the slips.The new ball was taken as soon as it became available. But Shukla was solid. Driving superbly against the gentle pace of P Amarnath and C Ganapathy, he gained lost ground on his partner and overtook him. However, the nerves showed in the 90s. He edged Amarnath when on 95, but M Vijay failed to hold on. His century came through an edge, too, which flew between Karthik and a wide slip. Towards the end of the day, the scoring stopped again, but it had to do with Tamil Nadu bowling wide of the stumps consistently. Unlike yesterday’s struggle, the quiet period towards stumps spelled serenity for UP. The last ten overs yielded only four runs, but Parvinder showed no hurry to reach what would be a maiden hundred.UP’s batting has relied long on Kaif, Raina and Tanmay Srivastava, and other batsmen have wasted good starts too often. By performing the way they did, Shukla and Parvinder may have taken the first steps towards undoing that image.

Shane Warne has expressed disappointment at the omission of Bryce McGain for the first Test against South Africa in Johannesburg

Alex Brown27-Feb-2009
Shane Warne says Ricky Ponting’s captaincy has improved, but has called on him to use more imagination © Getty Images
Shane Warne has expressed disappointment at the omission of Bryce McGain for the first Test against South Africa in Johannesburg, and implored Australia’s selectors to show more patience with their slow bowlers in future. The Australians have trialled six specialist spinners in the 19 Tests since Warne’s retirement and, of those, only Cameron White has managed more than three consecutive appearances.Warne, like many pundits, expected McGain to debut on Thursday, but a green Wanderers pitch convinced the selectors to field an all-seam attack for the crucial series opener. The move will presumably do little for the already fragile confidence of Australia’s emerging spinners, although they can take heart from the fact that, with Warne signing on to commentate the Ashes for Sky Sports, they no longer need look over their shoulders in fear of a comeback.Warne believes the time has arrived for Andrew Hilditch’s panel to show faith in McGain. “Bryce McGain is clearly the best spinner in Australia,” Warne said. “I was disappointed that he was not picked for the first Test in South Africa. The South Africans don’t play wristies well.”The hardest thing is that when you’re losing and the spinners are not having a big impact, they can be made the scapegoat. If they were winning they probably could have carried a McGain or a Casson or a Krejza. It’s a tough situation for the spinners. I would stick with one [spinner] … and that would be Bryce McGain.”Warne believes that bowling will prove the key issue for both Australia and England throughout the Ashes. Australia’s difficulties in taking 20 wickets were well documented throughout 2008, and England’s spin concerns have been highlighted with the recent omission of Monty Panesar, of whom so much has been expected since his debut in 2006, in preference to the Nottinghamshire offspinner Graeme Swann.”I’m disappointed with where Monty is,” Warne said. “He has all the attributes to be a good spin bowler … but he has not adapted to different conditions. I’ve not seen much of an improvement in Monty.”Though still a supporter of Michael Vaughan, Warne approved of the appointment of Andrew Strauss to the England captaincy following the damaging fall-out from the Pietersen-Moores split. He also complimented Ricky Ponting on his leadership through this period of team transition, but hinted that his former team-mate lacks adventure in his decision-making.”He’s improved,” Warne said of Ponting. “It’s a very tough time to be captain at the moment. I’d like to see Ricky put guys in situations to try a few different things … and maybe show more imagination at times. But on the whole he is doing a good job.”

Many Southampton fans have been slamming the performance of Ibrahima Diallo in their 2-1 loss at Norwich City on Saturday.

After a promising start with Che Adams giving the Saints the lead inside the first four minutes, the visitors were almost immediately pegged back by Teemu Pukki, before Grant Hanley gave the hosts all three points with a header from a second half corner kick.

Diallo started the match well but badly tailed off in the second half. Asked to play as a right midfielder by Ralph Hasenhuttl, he failed to record a shot, lost six of his 12 duels and made only one accurate cross throughout the match, while he was also guilty of losing possession 12 times, the joint-sixth most out of any of his teammates at Carrow Road (SofaScore).

Southampton fans slam Diallo

These Southampton supporters slammed the 22-year-old’s performance on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that he was ‘hopeless’ against Norwich:

“Our squad is still not good enough. Theo Walcott coming onto the pitch in 2021 is a horrifying indictment of the state of the club. So is not having a single option to switch a Diallo who had an absolute nightmare of a second half”

Credit: @DanJean09

“McCarthy is the first player who needs to be dropped, closely followed by Bednarek and Diallo. I hope Walcott never puts a #saintsfc shirt on again. Can’t wait for his contract to end”

Credit: @miserygutscoop

“Walcott, Broja, Diallo all hopeless in 2nd half”

Credit: @L1minus10

“#saintsfc undoing all of their good work from the first half. KWP neutered, Diallo not getting it right, too many misplaced passes. Norwich have wanted it more and will get the result. Also, how Theo is stealing a living is beyond me. Poor Nathan Tella”

Credit: @TomParker81

“Diallo’s passing today has been some of the worst I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure how he’s still on the pitch”

Credit: @wilcoryce

“#SaintsFC pushing our luck again in the 2nd half – same against Villa. Someone remind Diallo we’re playing in red.”

Credit: @RedondoSaint

In other news, find out whose display against the Canaries was also slammed by many Southampton fans

Newcastle United are reportedly now weighing up a move to sign Rob Dickie before the summer transfer window ends.

The Lowdown: Dickie impressing

Dickie has been impressing so far this season at Queens Park Rangers, helping them take four points from their opening two games in the EFL Championship (BBC Sport).

The central defender has won no fewer than ten of his duels per game in the division, and has also averaged 3.5 clearances, 1,5 tackles and one interception per match, scoring two goals and keeping one clean sheet (Sofascore).

The Latest: Dickie eyed

As per Football Insider, the St. James’ Park faithful as well as both Leeds United and Wolves are now weighing up a move for Dickie, with the other two teams currently monitoring his situation at QPR at the moment.

It is understood that the London side are reluctant to sell him, given that he has a contract there until 2024, but they are bracing themselves for interest late into the window.

The Verdict: Sign

Given his impressive form so far in the Championship, Dickie is certainly ready to make a step up to the Premier League, and the Magpies could be the perfect club for him to go to.

Described as a ‘very talented’ player by manager Mark Warburton back in December, the six-foot-three colossus should give the North East club a threat in both boxes, and being English, would help fill their home-grown quota.

At 25 years of age, he still has potential to grow too, and so he should certainly be a player that the Tyneside club should be looking to sign as soon as possible.

In other news, find out what the latest is on NUFC’s alleged pursuit of this £55k-p/w ace here!

As Kevin Pietersen was skipping through his early matches as England captain, spreading the love wherever he went, there was a gentle warning – wait until you get to India

Cricinfo staff14-Nov-2008
Kevin Pietersen struck a bright 63, but the game was already long gone for England © Getty Images
As Kevin Pietersen was skipping through his early matches as England captain, spreading the love wherever he went, there was a gentle warning – wait until you get to India. After a 158-run defeat in the opening one-day international, as England conceded their highest total, he has been left in no doubt about the task ahead for his team.The only part of the day that went England’s way was the toss, but Pietersen’s hope that there would be early movement for the quick bowlers vanished as quickly as the ball to the boundary. He was soon on the retreat, but was helpless against Yuvraj Singh’s breathtaking assault during the fastest century England have conceded in ODIs.”If you stand and watch an innings like Yuvraj played and Sehwag you have just got to take your hat off to the way they played,” Pietersen said. “It was an amazing batting pitch. You just need to touch it and it goes for four… and a bit harder and it goes for six. You’ve got to say well done, they played super cricket today.”Pietersen refused to switch into panic mode after one match, but with just three days until the next game in Indore there is little time to turn the performance around. “We’ll sit down and see where we made a few mistakes,” he said. “You’ve got to try to make sure you go over what you’ve done not so well and regroup. There’s six games left in the series and we want to bring some real good cricket to Indore.”England opted for a single frontline spinner, Samit Patel, and planned to target India with their fast-bowling quartet. It was a format that worked impressively against South Africa, but conditions in Rajkot were a world away from late-season England and the extra pace of Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison played into India’s hands.However, Peter Moores said he thought the attack could have hit the visitors harder. “Our bowlers didn’t bowl consistently all the way through. They could have been more aggressive with the ball,” he said. “We have got some quick bowlers who are tall and generate enough bounce. We thought the wicket would do a little bit early on but actually you never know it for sure.”