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Former Premier League star Carlton Palmer insists that Nuno Espirito Santo is not a “top” manager amid his struggles at Tottenham Hotspur.

The club are winning games, and have lost their last three Premier League outings.

The manner of those defeats have been particularly troubling, with Spurs losing 3-0 to both Crystal Palace and Chelsea, and being beaten 3-1 by Arsenal in a one-sided north London derby.

They face Aston Villa in the Premier League this weekend, with Dean Smith’s men fresh from their 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.

And Palmer does not think that the club made the right move in appointing Nuno, having endured a genuinely chaotic managerial search that saw a number of names linked with the club.

Indeed, the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Antonio Conte and Gennaro Gattuso were all briefly considered by the club, prior to the appointment of the former Wolves boss.

The ex-England international said: “They haven’t been able, even from the start, let’s be right about this and no disrespect to Nuno, to attract a top manager. Nuno was brought in, what, maybe eighth, ninth, tenth choice as manager.

“That shows the unrest within the football club and the way that the club is at the moment.”

Zion Atta left Crystal Palace after the Eagles refused to meet his wage demands, The Athletic’s Matt Woosnam reports. 

The lowdown

16-year-old Atta has departed Selhurst Park and, according to Fabrizio Romano, is bound for Ligue 1 outfit OGC Nice after a deal was ‘verbally agreed weeks ago’.

There was also interest from Italian giants Juventus, a marker of just how highly rated Atta is.

The attacker, capped by England at Under-15 level, made one appearance for Palace in the under-18 Premier League (via Transfermarkt).

The latest

Woosnam has been ‘told’ that Atta was demanding around £2,000 per week to remain at Palace.

But they weren’t willing to agree to those terms because it would mean breaking a ‘strict’ wage structure put in place for academy players.

The verdict

Palace fans might be frustrated to lose such an exciting talent. He may go on to footballing stardom and leave them wondering what might have been.

But while the temptation is do whatever it takes to keep such prospects, situations like this are a test of clubs’ principles.

You could even argue that, had they given in to Atta’s lofty demands, Palace could have risked unsettling a host of other young stars, who might in turn demand more money as a reflection of their value. Who knows if one of those youngsters is the one with superstar potential?

In other news, fans react to this transfer rumour.

Aston Villa loanee would ‘welcome’ a permanent move from Manchester United, according to The Sun.

The Lowdown: Tuanzebe’s third loan spell

Tuanzebe was one of five Villa signings over the summer, sealing a third loan move to Villa Park.

He’s started two of four Premier League games this season but won’t be able to feature in Villa’s trip to Old Trafford later this month.

The 6ft defender still has two years remaining on his Manchester United contract, but it seems as if he is open to a permanent transfer to the Midlands.

The Latest: Transfer update

The Sun shared a story on Monday afternoon regarding Tuanzebe’s future.

They were informed by an insider that the 23-year-old is ‘very happy’ at Villa Park and would ‘welcome’ a full-time move to the club, should that arise.

Tuanzebe believes Dean Smith can get the best out of him and would relish the opportunity to make his stay at the club permanent.

The Verdict: Sign

Reports back in May suggested that an offer of £7m could have been enough for Tuanzebe on a permanent basis, and if that is still the case, it could be a wise move by Villa.

Tuanzebe, who was handed his Manchester United debut by Jose Mourinho, is capable of playing as a centre-back and a right-back and is still in the early stages of his career even though he has racked up over 75 senior appearances.

Villa are fairly short of centre-back and right-back options, so keeping hold of a player who wants to be at the club seems a smart call.

In other news: ‘Bad attitude’ – Aston Villa ace’s comments have got loads of fans talking. 

Seventeen wickets fell on a dramatic third day in Mysore, but there was nochange in overall match situation, with Karnataka retaining a firm grip

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran in Mysore18-Nov-2008
Scorecard

Rahul Dravid’s polished 50 was the centrepiece of Karnataka’s secondinnings © AFP (file photo)
Seventeen wickets fell on a dramatic third day in Mysore, but there was nochange in the overall match situation, with Karnataka retaining a firm grip.Andhra fought back after falling 148 runs short in the first inningsthrough medium-pacer P Vijaykumar’s six-wicket haul. But their top order’sfailings, on a pitch with a hint of variable bounce, put Karnataka back incharge.Andhra mostly kept only two fielders on the leg side, and their bowlers’persistent outside-off line had most of the Karnataka batsmen feeling forthe ball. Vijaykumar reaped most of the benefits, five of his wicketscoming through catches to the keeper or slip. His other victim, RobinUthappa, squatted exaggeratedly after being bowled for 9 indicating thatthe ball kept lower than he had anticipated.Rahul Dravid’s polished 50 was the centrepiece of Karnataka’s secondinnings, but the youngsters in the line-up failed again. A big chunk ofDravid’s, and Karnataka’s, runs came in the region between third man and cover.He started cautiously, refusing to be tempted by the wide deliveriesoutside off stump, and it was only after getting his eye in that heemployed the cut. There were some soft-handed, controlled glides past slipand, some delicate leg glances when the bowling drifted onto his pads.The only blemish in another assured knock was an attempted upper-cut whichflew just above the hands of slip. He finally fell, nicking a widedelivery from D Kalyankrishna to the keeper; Karnataka slipped to 135 for6.Brief bursts of hitting followed from Thilak Naidu, Sunil Joshi and VinayKumar before the innings came to a close with NC Aiyappa giving astraightforward catch to Hemal Watekar at slip off Vijaykumar, who was soelated with his career-best performance that he tripped over ateam-mate’s foot as he set off on a celebratory run.Barring Dravid, the Karnataka batsmen frequently groped for theball outside off stump before finally getting an edge. G Satish’s inningstypifying their display: he edged past third slip, survived two massiveappeals for caught behind, and, in one period, was beatenin four of five deliveries, before finally being caught by wicketkeeper Manoj Sai.Andhra needed 320 off 120 overs to pull off a comeback victory, achallenging task but as good a position as they could have hoped for atthe start of the day. However their batsmen chose to follow the templateset by Karnataka’s batsmen. Loose away-from-the-body wafts led to threeAndhra wickets; those of their openers, Watekar and LNP Reddy, and theirfirst-innings top scorer Sai. Joshi chipped in with one more,trapping B Sumanth lbw on the back foot, and the visitors finished the day on 28for 4.Their tail-enders had responded better to the challenge of saving thefollow-on in the morning session. They were eight down after Joshi gotKalyankrishna in the fourth over of the day, but M Suresh and debutantSuresh Babu resisted. Suresh fell soon after bringing up his fifty, miscuing a pull to point. Andhra were nine down, and still needed 16 more runs.The inexperienced left-arm spinner KP Appanna was brought on at thatstage, a move which backfired as Babu slammed three fours in his firstover. A sweep for four in Appanna’s next over ensured Andhra avoided the follow-on. Karnataka were disappointed but their smiles were back by the end of the day.

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.”

India A seized the advantage in the first Test against New Zealand A after some splendid work by the Indian bowlers

Cricinfo staff29-Sep-2008
ScorecardIndia A seized the advantage in the first Test against New Zealand A after some splendid work by the Indian bowlers. Having bowled out New Zealand for 230, ensuring an 18-run lead, India were 27 for 1 at stumps, having lost the wicket of Shikhar Dhawan.Earlier in the day, the New Zealand openers added hust 29 runs to the overnight score of 36. BJ Watling was the first to go, and Aaron Redmond followed after scoring 51, which consisted of eight fours and a six.A solid 90-run partnership between Peter Fulton and James Marshall for the third wicket looked like putting New Zealand back on track at 179 for 3 before the trio of Ashok Dinda, Mohnish Parmar and Amit Mishra triggered a collapse. And after Sudeep Tyagi removed Brent Arnel and Reece Young in two overs, it was upto Parmar to wrap up the innings by removing last man Trent Boult. Parmar, the offspinner, was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 57 as Dinda, Mishra and Tyagi bagged two wickets apiece.India’s openers began cautiously but Boult struck in the sixth over, removing Dhawan who was caught by Redmond.

Steve Magoffin’s first ten-wicket haul in first-class cricket ensured a gettable chase for Western Australia despite defiant half-centuries from Greg Mail and Dominic Thornely

Cricinfo staff12-Oct-2008
Scorecard
Steve Magoffin finished with 6 for 66 and recorded his first ten-wicket haul in first-class cricket © Getty Images
Steve Magoffin’s first ten-wicket haul in first-class cricket ensured a gettable chase for Western Australia despite defiant half-centuries from Greg Mail and Dominic Thornely. Magoffin followed up his first-innings collection with a six-wicket haul that left the Warriors chasing 223 and by the close they made an excellent start with Liam Davis on 30 and Shaun Marsh on 10.Resuming on 2 for 62, New South Wales lost their nightwatchman Beau Casson in the second over to Magoffin before Thornely joined Mail for a crucial 78-run stand. The Warriors could have ended the association earlier had Brett Dorey held on to a regulation catch off Thornely at gully four balls after lunch. Thornely was on 16 at that time and the Warriors didn’t see the back of him until he had added 81 more.Marcus North broke the stand when he had Mail caught by Dorey for a patient 77 off 213 balls. Steve Smith was bowled soon after by Magoffin with the score on 175 and the Blues were in a spot of bother. Thornely was involved in another crucial stand, this time yielding 81 with Grant Lambert and the lower order supported the captain to extend the lead past 200.Thornely fell three short of a century as he edged to Adam Voges at first slip off the debutant Arron Crawford and Magoffin cleaned up the tail to finish with 6 for 66 and match figures of 10 for 102. With both openers still at the crease, the Warriors had the upper hand ahead of an intriguing final day on a pitch that had offered something for batsmen and bowlers alike.

Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Joe Hart has opened talks over a move to Scottish giants Celtic, as reported by Fabrizio Romano on Twitter.

The Lowdown: Spurs gear up for 2021/22

Looking towards a new era in North London, newly appointed Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo will be keen to shift spare parts of his squad in order to cultivate a winning environment in his dressing room.

Thus far, the Portuguese manager has yielded five early casualties in his term at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, in the form of Juan Foyth, Danny Rose, Erik Lamela, Toby Alderweireld and Paulo Gazzaniga [Transfermarkt].

Could another departure be set to take place in the wake of recent developments?

The Latest: Romano reveals Hart talks

Transfer guru Romano relayed the following information on Twitter regarding the Hart situation, claiming:

“Celtic have opened talks with Tottenham to sign Joe Hart as new goalkeeper. Negotiations ongoing between the two clubs.”

The Glaswegian outfit are said to be on the lookout for a new stopper due to long-term issues between the sticks [Glasgow Times].

34-year-old Hart has been told he can leave his current employers this summer, with Parkhead looking a likely destination after a few years as a peripheral figure at various clubs [Glasgow Times].

The Verdict: Makes sense due to lack of first-team openings

Facing the prospect of playing third fiddle to Hugo Lloris and new Tottenham import Pierluigi Gollini, it may be the best course of action for Hart to move on to play regular football north of the border.

In 2020/21, the Shrewsbury-born man registered five clean sheets across ten appearances in north London [Transfermarkt].

However, the 6 foot 5 giant has suffered something of a fall from grace in recent years, only managing 57 outings across all competitions in the last four seasons [Transfermarkt].

Nevertheless, his experience within the changing room would be missed by his contemporaries at Spurs.

Once labelled as ‘fantastic’ by fellow England international Fraser Forster, it may be time for the former Manchester City stopper to move on to pastures new [Daily Echo] and re-find that form elsewhere.

In other news, an ex-Tottenham man has backed the club to pursue a Premier League poacher.

Col Egar, the former Test umpire and Australian cricket administrator, has died in Adelaide at the age of 80

Cricinfo staff05-Sep-2008
Col Egar (right) chats to Ian Meckiff, whom he no-balled for throwing Reproduced with permission from The Cricketer International
Col Egar, the former Test umpire and Australian cricket administrator, has died in Adelaide at the age of 80. Egar was one of the leading umpires during the 1960s and went on to serve as the chairman of the Australian Cricket Board from 1989 to 1992.He officiated in 29 of Australia’s 30 home Tests during the 1960s and is probably best remembered for his part in the Ian Meckiff throwing incident. In the first Test of the 1963-64 series against South Africa, Egar no-balled Meckiff, the Australia fast bowler, four times in his first over.It finished Meckiff’s career and also brought death threats for Egar, who went on to continue umpiring at the highest level for five more years. He also stood in the tied Test between West Indies and Australia in Brisbane in 1960-61 and, along with his colleague Col Hoy, earned the praise of the visiting captain Frank Worrell for their calm and unobtrusive officiating.After retiring from on-field duties, Egar stayed involved with the game by joining the board of the South Australian Cricket Association. He was a board member from 1971-72 to 1999-2000, including 12 years as vice-president, and sat on the Australian board from 1981 to 1998. During that time Egar managed several Australian tours, including the 1988 visit to Pakistan when he helped keep the tour on course despite disputes over umpiring standards.Creagh O’Connor, the Cricket Australia chairman, said Egar had given lifelong service to the game. “Col will be best remembered by cricket followers as an outstanding international cricket umpire who was involved in several historic moments on field,” O’Connor said.”But those of us who knew and worked with Col will also remember him with high regard for his selfless service to SA and Australian cricket as an administrator and volunteer, and as a manager of Australian touring cricket teams. He gave a lot to cricket and the Australian game is all the better for that.”

An update has emerged on Rangers forward Kai Kennedy, regarding West Ham’s interest in his services.

What’s the talk?

According to Football Insider, Rangers have rejected a second bid from West Ham for winger Kai Kennedy as they look to keep hold of the youngster.

The 19-year-old is under contract at Ibrox until 2023 and has now been called up for first-team training with Steven Gerrard’s side in an attempt to dissuade him from wanting a Premier League transfer.

Fans will be delighted

Rangers fans will be delighted by this news as it shows a willingness from the club to dig in and retain their best talents. Kennedy is a young prospect who could be a future first-team star and Ross Wilson has made it clear that he will not allow him to leave easily by rejecting two offers from the Hammers.

If the Premier League side are going to sign Kennedy this summer then they are going to need to shell out big money to land him, as shown by their two opening bids being turned down.

Rangers do not need to worry about his contract situation this summer, as he still has two years left to run, which means that they can demand as much as they like for the forward.

Fans will be happy about this because the attacker is a prospect who could have the potential to make an impact in the first team.

Inverness boss John Robertson heaped praise on the young winger last year and called him a “crowd-pleaser”. The Scottish coach said that he excites him with his direct play on the ball out wide whilst he was on loan there.

He said:

“He beats people for fun and gets out of tight situations – he’s a crowd-pleaser.

“Even in training when we see him getting the ball, he excites us. He goes past players and we think he’s going to lose it, then the next minute he wriggles away and he has created something.

“Kai at times looks like a wee ragamuffin as he just bounces about, but he goes past people and excites people. That’s the type of player we wanted to come.”

The 19-year-old managed two goals and five assists for Inverness and Raith Rovers combined last season during two separate loan spells in the Championship. This is a valuable experience for the teenager and shows that he can already make contributions in the second tier despite his age.

Therefore, he could have the potential to improve further and become a key figure in Gerrard’s side moving forward, which is why fans will be delighted with Wilson’s approach to West Ham’s interest so far.

Hopefully, he can continue to ward off unreasonable offers and either keep hold of Kennedy or receive a sizeable fee for his services.

AND in other news, Time to go: Rangers must ruthlessly axe £9k-p/w “warrior”, Gerrard doesn’t need him…