West Ham are going in to this summer with a new sense of optimism after two extremely underwhelming seasons since switching to London Stadium from the Boleyn Ground.

Their relocation has been nothing short of catastrophic but this pre-season fans will be hoping new Hammers manager Manuel Pellegrini can put some promising foundations in place to ensure they do not suffer a third consecutive battle against relegation.

Last term, the Hammers were forced to play their opening four games of the season away from Stratford due to a pre-arranged athletics tournament taking place in the summer – the time it takes to convert London Stadium from athletics to football mode takes longer than initially thought.

That won’t be the case this season, though, and the Hammers will be keen to continue what was a strong end to the season with a strong start to the 2018/19 campaign. They ended 17/18 with a run of three games unbeaten and just two defeats in eight, including impressive victories over Leicester City at King Power Stadium and Everton at home on the final day.

With a number of exciting players being linked with moves to East London this summer, the coming season promises to be an interesting one for West Ham.

Their opening fixtures of the 2018/19 Premier League season, now officially confirmed, will give Hammers fans an indication of how likely that is…

11th August – Liverpool (A)

18th August – Bournemouth (H)

25th August – Arsenal (A)

1st September – Wolverhampton (H)

15th September – Everton (A)

22nd September – Chelsea (H)

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Verdict

Pellegrini’s West Ham spell faces a tricky start. The Hammers have won at Anfield just once during the last half century, while Goodison Park is never an easy away day either.

Throw in two London derbies with Arsenal and Chelsea and there are certainly challenges for the Irons new boss to overcome – ones that will test his commitment to attacking football and his ability to implement it quickly enough on the training pitch to ensure the east Londoners are effective enough at it to really have a go at the bigger teams.

They should get some joy out of Bournemouth though during Pellegrini’s first home game, while Wolves may still be adapting to Premier League life by the time the Hammers host them on September 1st.

West Bromwich Albion should consider taking a chance on Tottenham Hotspur winger Georges-Kevin N’Koudou.

What’s the word?

In order to cope with a gruelling Championship season, the Baggies need strength in depth.

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Darren Moore’s main, and probably only, objective will be to secure promotion to the Premier League following last season’s relegation.

The team are in need of some added zip in attacking areas, and there is one man at Tottenham who could potentially provide that.

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N’Koudou, who is valued at £6.3m by Transfermarkt, has struggled to get his chance at the North London outfit, but he possesses pace on the wing and he will have something to prove.

Is West Brom a good fit?

Since moving to Tottenham from Marseille in 2016, the Frenchman has failed to earn a regular spot in Mauricio Pochettino’s team.

N’Koudou was sent out on loan to Burnley for the second half of last season, but he struggled to impress.

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Even though his recent history is not ideal from the Baggies’ point of view, the winger does provide different options as he can play on the left or the right.

In addition, due to the fact that he has been given very little game time so far, N’Koudou may be determined to prove himself at a new club.

Plus, the attack-minded player is likely to be used regularly by the Midlands outfit, which can only bode well for his career.

Yep it’s that time, plenty of Leeds fans have gathered in the Tavern once again to hear the latest transfer news concerning their club.  

New boss Marco Bielsa has worked quickly to identify who he needs to bring into the squad. The Argentinian manager seems to have a list of targets already drawn up and one of the areas he’s looking to strengthen is at goalkeeper.

Manchester City’s Angus Gunn has been linked with a move to The Whites recently, following his impressive loan spell with Norwich City. However, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post (h/t HITC), Leeds are now targetting a loan deal with a view to it becoming permanent next summer.

Leeds endured a terrible time with goalkeepers last season which has resulted in Felix Wiedwald to leave the club after a poor season. It’s also reported that Andy Lonergan will also depart the club as Bielsa looks to bring in a new number one.

Although David Stockdale is coming from a club that finished below Leeds last year, a new goalkeeper is essential for Leeds if the club is to progress. Moreover, the report also states that Birmingham City boss, Garry Monk doesn’t see Stockdale as part of his plans and therefore a deal may be easy to secure.

At 32, Stockdale could add some added experience to Leeds and although some fans may disagree with the transfer if Leeds can’t bring in Gunn – which seems likely – Stockdale would be a safe option at least in the short term.

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So Leeds fans, should Leeds bring in Stockdale?

According to Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, Wolves have met the €5m buyout clause of Egyptian winger Mahmoud Hassan – better known as Trezeguet.

What’s the story?

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are up against Galatasaray, who have also met the buyout clause in Trezeguet’s contract with Turkish Super Lig side Kasimpasa, but the Turkish champions have offered higher wages.

The 23-year-old scored 16 goals and provided eight assists in 33 matches in all competitions last season and has impressed for his country in Russia on the biggest stage.

Trezeguet was given the nickname by a youth team coach due to the Egyptian’s striking physical resemblance to the French World Cup winner at the time.

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Battle for his signature

Santo’s preferred formation for Wolves last year was a variation of a 3-4-3 and Trezeguet could fit perfectly into the left-sided forward role that this creates.

He has played as an inside forward for Egypt in this World Cup and has linked well with striker Marwan Mohsen. Playing in this position also allows for attacking wing-backs to utilise the space left out wide when the oppositions full-backs attempt to track Trezeguet’s runs.

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Trezeguet is a hard-working forward player who excels at the press that has become so popular in English football recently and could be a bargain at just €5m. Santo should do all he can to convince the winger that he should be playing at Molineux next season.

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Tim Bresnan has declared his Test ambitions after his impressive performance in England’s seven-wicket victory over South Africa in the fourth ODI in Port Elizabeth.

Cricinfo staff01-Dec-2009Tim Bresnan has declared his Test ambitions following his impressive performance in England’s seven-wicket victory over South Africa during the fourth ODI in Port Elizabeth. He displayed control and hostility to take 1 for 15 in eight overs and help England to an unbeatable 2-1 lead in the series.Despite making his Test debut against West Indies earlier in the year, when he filled in for the injured Andrew Flintoff, Bresnan was not included in the Test squad to face South Africa. Instead Luke Wright and Liam Plunkett were selected as England try to find an allrounder for the No. 7 spot. Bresnan admits he wanted to be on the tour but feels he can earn back his Test place.”I’m a little bit disappointed,” he told reporters in Durban. “I don’t label myself as just a one-day cricketer. I want to be in the Test team – it’s the height of cricket, as far up as you can go. But I’ve just got to work my way into that.”Having made his ODI debut almost three years ago, success has been a long time coming for Bresnan. Back then he was given a harsh lesson by the touring Sri Lankans – he took two wickets and conceded 169 runs at 6.76 in his four matches – but he feels a different cricketer from the one who struggled to make an impact.”I’m more confident as a cricketer. Back then, I was like … ‘Should I be here, do I deserve to be – am I good enough?’ Now I think ‘Yeah, damn right I am. I’ll show you what I’ve got and get you out – rather than just try to keep this on the island’.”Now 24, Bresnan has grown into his role as a back-up bowler to James Anderson and Stuart Broad and has contributed useful runs down the order too, most notably a composed 80 that salvaged England’s innings after they collapsed in the semi-final defeat to Australia in the Champions Trophy.”I’m relaxed and enjoying my cricket, and feeling good. That’s pretty much how I operate for Yorkshire. It’s just taken me a while to transfer that into an England shirt. There’s a little bit more pressure obviously, and about 20,000 more people [in the crowd] as well. But you’ve just got to put all that aside and concentrate on what you’ve got to do.”

It isn’t only the crowds that Kevin Pietersen is having to battle in South Africa, but also his own form after a four-month injury lay-off follow Achilles surgery

Cricinfo staff30-Nov-2009It isn’t only the crowds that Kevin Pietersen is having to battle in South Africa, but also his own form after a four-month injury lay-off following Achilles surgery. His innings during the one-day series have been unconvincing, but given the career he has already had, expectations were always going to be high as soon as he returned to the England side.His soft chip to midwicket at Port Elizabeth ended a six-ball 3 in which he had already been dropped at long leg off a top-edged hook. At Centurion Park he made 29 off 19 balls in the second Twenty20, his comeback match, but managed just 4 in the one-day international on the same ground. His top score of 45 came in Cape Town but, although there was the odd glimpse of his usual style, he looked like a player feeling his way back.The camp, though, remain unconcerned about Pietersen’s results. Before the fourth ODI, Paul Collingwood said it was only to be expected that he would struggle for a while after such a long time out and now the coach, Andy Flower, has said he it was always going to be a challenge for Pietersen.”I wouldn’t be too worried. I think he’s going to take a little while to get back in form,” Flower told reporters after England arrived in Durban. “Being out for four months – when he’s used to playing all the time – I think is a challenge he’s going to have to overcome.”He’s a high achiever, an outstanding sportsman – and he will be very impatient to get back into his dominant ways again. I think we should be patient with him, because it’s not easy just to walk back in and dominate straight away.”Given Pietersen’s record of performing best when the pressure is on, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him emerge from his early problems during the final one-day international at Durban – his old home ground for Natal and where he first encountered England during the 1999-2000 tour and made his intentions known about switching allegiance.”He tends to want to do it his way,” Flower said. “That’s part of his strength, his make-up – what makes him a different and very powerful player for us. He will score heavy runs on this tour, and maybe Friday is the day. It could be his day.”

Ian Chappell has said that India don’t have the resources to retain their No.1 spot in the ICC Test rankings for a long enough period to emulate Australia and the great West Indies teams

Cricinfo staff12-Jan-2010Former Australian captain and leading commentator Ian Chappell has said India don’t have the resources to retain their No.1 spot in the ICC Test rankings for a long enough period to emulate Australia and the great West Indies teams of the past. Chappell said that India’s batting alone will not sustain them and to do so, they will have to unearth a couple of champion bowlers.Chappell and former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar aired their views in Time Out, Cricinfo’s new fortnightly audio show hosted by the leading commentator Harsha Bhogle. India bagged the top ranking from Australia after beating Sri Lanka 2-0 in the three-Test series at home last month. India jumped from No. 3 to No.1 for first time since the rankings came into place in May 2001.Manjrekar said a big reason for India’s success is the arrival of a strong opening pair in Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, and the ability to adjust to foreign conditions.”It’s a huge asset to have, a stable opening pair. I noticed a change in India’s batting around the time Sourav Ganguly was leading India, John Wright was in charge, and I saw India playing on foreign pitches,” Manjrekar said. “I found that the new generation of Indian batsmen could play the pull shot, the cut shot, and they were pretty good against the short deliveries.”However, Chappell felt that India have completed only half the job of being a well-rounded team.”I don’t think great teams are built on opening batting partnerships. But to me, there is a far more important thing, and this is one reason why I don’t rate India as a long-term No.1, ” Chappell said. “I think you have got to have two champion bowlers in your line-up to be a long-term successful cricket team. That is where India is falling down at the moment.”When I look at the averages and the strike-rates for India in the last 12 months, I don’t see two champion bowlers. In fact, I am struggling to find one champion bowler in that line-up. They’ve got some good bowlers. Sure, they have got a very good batting line-up, but the bowling is really not good enough to see them win consistently all around the world.”Over the last two years, India have played 20 Tests, winning nine and losing three. Three of those wins have come against Australia, including one in Perth during their last tour in 2007-08. Chappell acknowledged that India had performed above themselves in the last two tours of Australia, but their success would have tasted much better had they beaten them while they were still a major force in international cricket.Since the collective retirement of their champion players like Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Justin Langer and later Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist, Australia haven’t produced the same level of consistency in results.”I would have thought it was a greater achievement if they had caught up with Australia while Australia was still very much a great side, rather than waiting for Australia to come back to the field,” Chappell said. “That to me has been the disappointing thing. It seems to me that the other teams have almost thrown their hands and said that ‘it’s hard to beat them, we will just wait for them to fall back and then we will catch them’.”

The pressure an India-Pakistan match in a World Cup brings is storied and, on Saturday, Azeem Ghumman and Ashok Menaria will experience it for the first time

Cricinfo staff22-Jan-2010Azeem Ghumman and Ashok Menaria were not yet in their teens when Sachin Tendulkar blitzed Pakistan at Centurion in the 2003 World Cup. They were merely 17 when Misbah-ul-Haq came agonisingly close to snatching the inaugural World Twenty20 from India in 2007. The pressure an India-Pakistan match in a World Cup brings is storied and, on Saturday, these two teenage leaders will experience it for the first time – when their teams clash in the quarter-final of the Under-19 World Cup in Lincoln.Indian and Pakistani sides have traditionally been the form teams at U-19 World Cups. They enter the tournaments as favourites and rarely fall out of contention before the semi-finals. One will tomorrow. Few expected them to come up against each other so early in the competition. Pakistan won all their league games and topped their group. India won the first two but dropped their last against England. If they hadn’t, they would be playing West Indies.”We are seething after the loss [to England], and we’ll take it out against Pakistan,” Meenaria told the . “The world comes to a standstill when an India-Pakistan match is on.”Pakistan perhaps hold the edge. They scored big against West Indies, bowled Papua New Guinea out cheaply, and held their nerve to win a thriller against Bangladesh. They have the tournament’s highest run-scorer, Babar Azam – 260 runs at an average of 130, and the joint highest wicket-taker, Usman Qadir – eight at 15 apiece.The victories India scored were against Afghanistan and Hong Kong and they ensured India’s qualification even before the loss to England. Unlike the 2008 campaign, when Tanmay Srivastava and Virat Kohli led the batting charts, this time India’s highest runscorer – Rahul Kannaur with 117 in three innings – is 15th on the list. Saurabh Netravalkar, their left-arm fast bowler, could prove to be key. He was exceptional against England, rattling the top order and finishing with figures of 3 for 25.There is an external factor – and a significant one – in India’s favour. They are familiar with conditions at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval, having played two group matches there. Pakistan only got to Christchurch a few days ago – their group matches were on North Island. The pitch at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval aids seam bowling, and is good for batting when the sun shines. Scoring runs, however, requires a disciplined approach as India found out the hard way against England. They must learn quickly from their errors; Pakistan, however, have no second chances.Another external factor, an uncontrollable one, favours Pakistan. It rained all day in Christchurch on the eve of the match and although Saturday’s forecast is brighter one can never be certain. Should the match end in a washout, Pakistan will go through to the semi-final because of their better group position. There is no reserve day.Pakistan’s manager, Shafqat Rana, says this side is the best U-19 Pakistan side he has seen but he’s aware of the gravity of the contest. “These children have never played India, forget in a World Cup game, but have grown up watching the high-intensity clashes between the two countries,” he told the . “They are aware of the expectations back home. Be it an U-13 India-Pakistan game or a veterans’ contest, it will always remain special.”And then there’s the raging controversy in the subcontinent over the Pakistan players being ignored by the IPL, and maybe it would provide the contest added edge. Rana didn’t think so. “They are kids, they have very little idea about IPL auction and other issues,” he said. The absence of intense media coverage could also help them focus better.Ghumman, Menaria and their team-mates will say they’re approaching the contest like they would any other. They can try, but all will not succeed. Even the wealth of Tendulkar’s experience in pressure situations couldn’t prevent him from living the Centurion match a year in advance. And even he slept poorly for 12 nights before d-day.

Sachin Tendulkar, who broke the record for the highest ODI score, has said his ability to bat the entire 50 overs was a testament to his good fitness after having played the game for more than 20 years

Cricinfo staff24-Feb-2010Sachin Tendulkar, who broke the record for the highest individual ODI score, overtaking Saeed Anwar and Charles Coventry on his way to the format’s first double-hundred, has said his ability to bat the entire 50 overs was a testament to his fitness after having played the game for more than 20 years.”It feels good that I lasted for 50 overs, a good test of my fitness. I’d like to bat another 50 overs at some stage and see that the fitness level doesn’t drop,” Tendulkar said after his effort helped India take a unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. “The ball was coming onto the bat and I was striking the ball well. So when everything falls into its place, it feels nice. It was one of the innings where I felt I was moving well. Since I was timing the ball well, I could be more aggressive and put pressure on the bowlers.”Tendulkar, while dedicating his feat to the people of India, credited coach Gary Kirsten for the team’s success in both forms of the game after the debacle in the World Cup in the Caribbean. “I’ve enjoyed various challenges; after the 2007 World Cup things have looked different and I’m enjoying the game,” he said. “The credit also goes to Gary [Kirsten], he has really held the team beautifully. It’s about togetherness and playing for each other. You see during the practice sessions that Gary himself trains as hard as anyone else, or probably harder than anyone else as he’s the one giving us practice all the time.”Tendulkar said he sensed an opportunity to break the record and reach a double-century when he had gone past 175 in the 42nd over. The record eventually came in the 46th over, and the 200 in the 50th. “When I was near 175-180, I thought I could get a 200 as there were quite a few overs left,” he said. He added that he would prefer his achievement to be upstaged by an Indian. “I don’t play for records, I play for enjoyment and play with lots of passion. That’s how cricket started. I didn’t start playing cricket to break all the records; it’s happened along the way. The dream was to play for India and do my best.”I don’t think any record is unbreakable. Records are made to be broken. I hope that if this record is broken, it’s done by an Indian.”This was India’s third-highest score in ODIs, and Tendulkar said the 400-mark would not have reached if not for some big hitting by Yusuf Pathan and MS Dhoni. “I thought a target of 340-350 would be a good one, but Yusuf Pathan and MS Dhoni came in and hit the big shots and cleared the ropes consistently and helped us pass 400.”Tendulkar added that India were not relaxing despite having put up a mammoth score, for they were aware South Africa were the only team to have chased down a target in excess of 400. “This was the team that chased 434 against Australia. So we didn’t get complacent and told ourselves that we had just got through the half-way stage by scoring 401. And what we did in the second half was extremely important. We were aiming at getting early wickets and putting them out of the game.”Dhoni, who witnessed Tendulkar surpass the record from the other end, said: “I think one of the best innings, you can say. It’s always good to be on the other side, watching him score 200 runs. When he is tired and can’t play the big shots, he was very clever to use the pace of the bowler and it’s very difficult for the bowlers as they don’t know where exactly to bowl.”India lost Virender Sehwag early, and Tendulkar was assisted in three sizable stands where runs came at a brisk pace, with Dinesh Karthik, Yusuf and Dhoni. “Once Viru got out, it was important to get some kind of a partnership going. They [Tendulkar and Karthik] went on with their innings, and they set a platform after which we were sure we would get 350-plus which would be a difficult target,” Dhoni said. “Yusuf was sent up the order and with the talent he’s got, he can be a great asset to the side.”Yusuf scored a quickfire 36 and was particularly lethal during the batting Powerplay, while Dhoni proved destructive at the death, bludgeoning 68 off 35 in a century-stand with Tendulkar in just 53 balls. “I have changed my batting a bit, but the situation demanded that kind [attacking] of innings,” Dhoni said. “The ground is a small one, and we were a bit worried about the dew factor. But once they lost 3-4 early wickets, it was difficult for them to get back into the game.”For South Africa and their stand-in captain Jacques Kallis, it was a case of the basics gone wrong. “The toss was quite vital. Our basics were just weren’t good enough today. We were outplayed,” Kallis said. “We lost wickets at crucial stages, our basics let us down. A fantastic innings by Sachin; he took advantage of some good conditions and he played superbly. We let ourselves down in some areas.”

Indian news broadcasters will cover the IPL after all, with the IPL and the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) resolving the dispute regarding tournament footage

Cricinfo staff12-Mar-2010Indian news broadcasters will cover the IPL after all, with the tournament organisers and the News Broadcasters’ Association (NBA) resolving the dispute regarding tournament footage. Lalit Modi confirmed the development on the eve of the third season of the IPL in his Twitter page. Further details on the compromise are still awaited.”NBA issue resolved. News broadcasters will carry IPL news,” Modi wrote. “Both us moved forward to ensure all fans don’t miss the IPL. My sincere thanks to the NBA members for making it happen.”The NBA, which has 34-member channels, had last month decided to boycott the tournament in protest against what it called “arbitrary” guidelines and contentious clauses regarding tournament footage. The decision followed a meeting between the NBA and officials of the IPL and Set Max, the tournament rights holder. The media coverage guidelines for 2010 had reduced the duration of match footage that news channels could carry — 30 seconds per bulletin and seven minutes a day. Repeats would be allowed three times a day, as against four previously, and while match footage could earlier be telecast with a five-minute delay from the end of the live telecast, it had been expanded to a half-hour delay.The first IPL season was boycotted by the international news agencies over several contentious clauses in the media accreditation guidelines, including a bar on supplying photographs to cricket-specific websites such as Cricinfo.The second season witnessed a repeat after News Media Coalition, the umbrella body that includes global news and photograph agencies Reuters, AP, AFP and Getty Images, objected over the same clause. However, the boycott was lifted after the IPL removed the clause from the terms of coverage.