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West Bromwich Albion fans have been reacting angrily to a post on Twitter, as the Baggies issued an update signifying that tickets for their trip to Walsall on Tuesday the 27th July are now on general sale [West Bromwich Albion FC Official].

Due to take place at Bank’s Stadium, the Baggies will face off against the Sky Bet League Two side in a 19:30 kick-off slot [West Bromwich Albion FC Official].

Of course, the West Midlands outfit have already made a flying start to pre-season, after consecutive wins away to Woking and Sheffield Wednesday.

West Brom will also take on Premier League side Watford at Vicarage Road on the 24th July.

Despite the positivity surrounding fans getting back into stadiums up and down the country, many West Bromwich Albion diehards took to Twitter to vent their frustration at the difficulties with the process of acquiring tickets.

West Brom fans react:

Replying to the official West Bromwich Albion Twitter account, here is what some supporters had to say about recent developments, as fans suffered through website crashes, payment issues and error codes…

“What a total shambles! Again! Order is cancelled due to a website crash! We seem to have gone backwards! Please can this new system be sorted out, all I want is to simply buy tickets!!!!!!”

Credit: @MattLewis82

“Farce and half!! Utter shocking! Same has happened to me twice. What happens now do we try again and probably get charged twice? And this is preseason”

Credit: @kingofchezo_WBA

“EVERYONE TRYING TO GET TICKETS! There’s a tick box next where you put your card details in, no text next to it, tick it and your order will go through! What a mess #wba“

Credit: @ethdaleaf

“I’ve bought 0 tickets, 20 tickets or anything inbetween depending on error codes. And now I’m back in the queue to try and check. What a farce”

Credit: @BenWBAJones

“I got the same error as well, kept asking for Photographic ID and even though I uploaded it, it wouldn’t save. The system is a shambles, I tried to buy tickets and eventually lost it and had to find a different area.”

Credit: @Baggie_KS

“This is ridiculous I have keep adding tickets to my basket and it errors every time you click buy then after 4 minutes of this constantly happening it then kicks up out to rejoin the queue to enter the website!! Sort it out Albion”

Credit: @haychapperz

In other news, a West Brom star has been targeted by a Premier League giant.

Incessant and often heavy overnight Manchester rain put paid to any hopes of play on the second day of the Frizzell County Championship match with Lancashire, with umpires Barry Dudleston and Nigel Llong deciding to call a halt to waiting for any

Richard Isaacs09-Aug-2002Incessant and often heavy overnight Manchester rain put paid to any hopes of play on the second day of the Frizzell County Championship match with Lancashire, with umpires Barry Dudleston and Nigel Llong deciding to call a halt to waiting for any improvement at 12.15pm.There was little hope of play as puddles began to appear all over the outfield and groundsman Peter Marron and his staff were losing the battle as they attempted to water-hog the surface water from the covers.Rather than hold out and elongate the frustration, the umpires pulled the plug early and hope for a prompt start tomorrow (Saturday). However, the forecast is not the best, leaving just one day left for Hampshire to get something out of this game.

MELBOURNE – Australia will send a full-strength cricket team to theupcoming ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka.

AAP22-Aug-2002MELBOURNE – Australia will send a full-strength cricket team to theupcoming ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka.The Australian Cricket Board and the Australian Cricketers Associationannounced today that both parties will sign a participating nationsagreement.But ACA chief executive Tim May said the players will only sign paperssubject to the International Cricket Council consulting with them onsponsorship deals.The ICC wants players to sign contracts preventing them from promotingtheir individual sponsors for 30 days either side of next February’sWorld Cup in South Africa.Leading players from India and England had also baulked at signing theICC contracts because of concerns over existing sponsorships.A resolution covering the World Cup had yet to be reached.ACB chief executive James Sutherland said negotiations would be dealtwith one tournament at a time.He said in a worst-case scenario, players could be financiallycompensated if their endorsements conflicted with those of the ICC.May has sent the agreement signed by the Australian players to cricketassociations overseas and was hopeful it would be used as a model toencourage other countries to commit full-strength squads to theChampions Trophy.

Florian Lejeune is largely regarded as Newcastle United’s best all-round defender but Steve Bruce appears unconvinced over his fitness, and former defender Steve Howey believes that the Magpies could cash in on the Frenchman.

Lejeune has been unlucky with injuries during his time on Tyneside having suffered an ACL at the beginning of the 2018/19 season before suffering yet another serious knee injury at the end of the same campaign, but former manager Rafa Benitez always knew he was an important player for the Magpies.

The Frenchman endeared himself to the Newcastle United fans beyond his top passing ability when he netted twice in second-half added time at Goodison Park, which saw the Magpies earn an unimaginable 2-2 draw during the 2019/20 campaign, but the club could be willing to sell him this summer to generate funds.

Bruce will know that he has to move on some fringe players this summer to squeeze every last drop out of his limited transfer budget this summer if he wants to avoid yet another relegation battle, and Lejeune could be moved on this summer to do so according to Howey, who spoke exclusively to Transfer Tavern:

“I thought he was a decent player but ultimately sometimes your body just can’t cope after all those injuries so the club will be thinking they can possibly offload him and try to increase the budget.”

Last season Bruce was asked if he was considering bringing the 30-year-old back to Tyneside halfway through his loan spell when the club were hit with a defensive injury crisis which saw Isaac Hayden having to play as a centre back, but Bruce confirmed that it would not benefit him coming back.

During Newcastle’s upturn in form last season, Bruce opted for three centre backs with one of them being Paul Dummett, so if the manager sees the academy graduate as another option at centre back then Lejeune will be even further down the pecking order.

Early optimism turned into frustration for West Indies A, as they struggled tocapitalise on an excellent start to their four-day encounter with Derbyshire.After reducing the hosts to 76-6 in a lively morning session, the West Indian attack were frustrated by a stubborn knock from keeper Luke Sutton (80), with stoic contributions from bowlers Tom Lungley (19), Paul Aldred (29) and Neil Gunter (18) on debut.Derbyshire were bowled out late in the final session for 238. West Indies A lost Devon Smith early in reply, grinding out 21/1 from 14 overs at stumps. Skipper Darren Ganga remained unbeaten with Donovan Pagon.Marlon Black (4-32) and Reon King (3-63) were the pick of the bowlers, returning to claim seven wickets between them after disappointing opening spells on a fine morning. But the visitors’ inconsistent form on tour so farreturned with a vengeance in the afternoon, with bad balls swatted away and accurate deliveries dourly defended.Initially, the two Test seamers were indifferent. Derbyshire’s openers Stuart Stubbings (25) and Andrew Gait (13) took advantage of a wealth of looseners to race to 40 in nine overs. Sulieman Benn’s catch saw the back of Gait, while Stubbings was caught behind off Black.A second ball duck for close-season signing Dominic Hewson left the door ajar, with a second-string Derbyshire team teetering on the brink. King clean bowled James Pyemont, with Jermaine Lawson crashing through stand-in skipper Matthew Dowman’s defences in the next over.When Steven Selwood’s edge gave King his third victim, the home side seemedmortally wounded. Of the top six, only Stubbings, Dowman and Hewson have much first-class experience, and it showed.Sutton took the lead in the afternoon, with a knock requiring patience fromboth batsman and spectators. An uncomplicated player, Sutton is well equipped for rearguard actions – he carried his bat with 140 against Sussex last season – like the one shown today. He was the last man out, giving Keith Hibbert a fourth victim behind the stumps.Lungley was a willing ally. His 19 was grafted from 80 balls in a stay of over an hour and a half. He was unadventurous, leaving the ball well, only to be dismissed leg before to one which straightened from Black.Aldred, a reasonable tail-ender who should not give bowlers nightmares, lasted an hour, while Gunter looked solid before playing all round a straight delivery from Benn.Derby had recovered well after their dreadful morning, and while the visitors are on top, they should tighten their grip on the game tomorrow.

Manchester City will reportedly consider a move for Joao Felix this summer if Harry Kane proves to be too expensive. the Portuguese international could be a superb addition to Pep Guardiola’s squad at the Etihad.

According to EuroSport, Tottenham Hotspur will demand a fee in the region of £150m for Kane this summer which is forcing the Citizens to consider alternative options as they look to bolster their attack ahead of next season.

The report claims that City have a long-held interest in the Atletico Madrid man which stretches back to his time with Benfica, with whom he seriously impressed before completing an eye-watering £113m move to Diego Simeone’s side in 2019.

After struggling in his first season with the club, the 21-year-old certainly played his part last season as Atletico won the La Liga title, as he contributed seven goals and five assists in 31 La Liga appearances, averaging a solid 6.73 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

Although the Portugal international doesn’t boast the goalscoring record of a striker such as Kane, Romelu Lukaku or Erling Haaland, he would arguably be an excellent fit in Guardiola’s side next season due to his ability to play as a false nine or deeper in an attacking midfield role.

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Last season we saw City regularly set themselves up without a natural striker on the pitch, with Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva all regularly playing as the furthest forward attacker and linking the play up, which Felix could be ideally suited for.

The youngster won a lot of plaudits during his time with Benfica, with Portuguese manager Carlos Carvahal singing his praises in 2019, saying:

“He knows how to find space well in the last line of defence, that is why he scores a lot and he shoots well with both feet. When he must connect the game between attack and midfield he does so very well. He’s a very good technical player.

“His characteristics are more near Kaka in my opinion, the way he drives the ball, connects play and his goals.”

[freshpress-quiz id=“577936″]

He certainly seems like the sort of player that Guardiola would love to have in his squad next season, so sporting director Txiki Begiristain should definitely consider a move for the Atletico man this summer.

And, in other news… Man City may already have their next Cancelo in “superb” teen rated “one of the best”

The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece has delivered a major update on Aston Villa’s transfer pursuit of Man Utd defender Axel Tuanzebe.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent weeks have claimed that the centre-back could be set for a reunion with Dean Smith, having of course played under the Villa boss during their time in the Championship.

And now, Preece has said: “As for Axel. Villa will keep tabs on that. Engels could look to move and that opens up a slot at RCB. Could be one to watch.”

Perfect for Dean Smith

The £7.2m-rated centre-back has earned rave reviews for his displays even during his limited game-time this season, earning special praise from United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after helping to stop PSG and Kylian Mbappe in the Champions League earlier in the year.

He said: “Axel’s a tremendous defender, a great leader. He’s come through the academy and we’ve known for years that he’s going to be a top player for us and he’s got the character and the attitude that a Man United player should have. Sometimes you’ll get in a foot race with Mbappe and you have to run with him and we know Axel’s qualities, he’s a top defender.”

Former Villa man Lee Hendrie has previously delivered his verdict on a potential move for Tuanzebe, suggesting that the ball is really in the defender’s court about whether he would want to battle for his place at Villa Park.

He said: “It’s whether Axel wants to come in and actually fight for a place. The two at the moment (Mings and Konsa), basically they’re picked week in, week out if you look at it. I just think he isn’t going to overtake Mings and Konsa at this current time.”

Given the £50k-a-week earning ace has already played under Smith, he should be able to hit the ground running, especially with his experience of Premier League football at United too.

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If there is a deal to be done, then Villa should be all over it in the summer.

Meanwhile, a journo has dropped major Villa’s transfer plans after Buendia…

Former Premier League striker Kevin Campbell believes Kalvin Phillips could be a great signing for Real Madrid if a ‘big-money offer’ arrives in Yorkshire.

The Lowdown: Phillips linked with Real Madrid move

Phillips has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the last 12 months or so, helping Leeds United get into the Premier League and also becoming an England regular.

The 25-year-old is currently starring for the Three Lions at Euro 2020, drawing lots of praise for his shining display against Croatia, and his performances have led to Madrid reportedly being interested in signing him.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359346″]

The Latest: Campbell talks up switch

Someone who believes Phillips would be ready to make the step up to one of the biggest clubs in world football is Campbell, who is a pundit for La Liga TV.

Speaking to Football Insider, the ex-striker claimed the Leeds star could be an ideal replacement for four-time UCL winner Casemiro at the Santiago Bernabeu:

“Why not Real Madrid? Carlo Ancelotti had a good look at him last season.

“He plays the same position as Casemiro, who is probably top three in the world at that role but Real Madrid need midfielders. Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are on the wrong side of 30 now. They are pushing on now and the midfield needs to be rejuvenated and re-jigged.

“I’m a big fan of his and I 100 percent believe he could play for Madrid and join them but at the end of the day he is a Leeds boy and he is happy there.

“When the big teams put in a big-money offer it can be very difficult for a club, even if it is your boyhood club, to turn it down.”

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The Verdict: Worrying for Leeds

While it feels Phillips is unlikely to leave Leeds this summer, given his loyalty to the club and the fact that their Premier League journey under Marcelo Bielsa has only just started, it is worrying to see him linked with such a huge move.

It speaks volumes about the midfielder’s current standing in the game, but it also highlights how difficult it could be to keep hold of him for the long-term future – if more sides like Madrid come sniffing around, it will become increasingly difficult for the Whites to say no.

Hopefully, Leeds will progress so much that he is willing to stay put for years to come and even when those clubs come calling – perhaps a push for a Europa League place next season could do the trick?

In other news, one Leeds player is set to be offered a new deal this summer – find out who it is here.

تحدث بيب جوارديولا مدرب مانشستر سيتي عقب الفوز على أتلتيكو مدريد في ذهاب ربع نهائي دوري أبطال أوروبا، بهدف كيفين دي بروين على ملعب “الاتحاد”.

جوارديولا أكد أنه كان ذكيًا في مباراة الليلة بين الفريقين، وشدد على صعوبة الهجوم أمام فريق يدافع بخمسة لاعبين في الدفاع ويدفع بخمسة في خط الوسط.

وسُئل جوارديولا عما إذا كان سعيدًا بأداء فريقه وأجاب في تصريحاته إلى قناة بي تي سبورت: “لقد واجهنا فريقًا رائعًا يصعب مواجهته لكنها نتيجة جيدة، كانت لدينا فرص لتسجيل الهدف الثاني والثالث”.

وأضاف بشأن التبديلات التي أجراها: “كان اللاعبون يلعبون بشكل جيد، لكننا كنا نعلم أن جابرييل جيسوس وفيل فودين يتمتعان بطاقة خاصة، وأن جاك جريليش لديه القدرة على الاحتفاظ بالكرة، نعم، كان المدير الفني اليوم ذكيًا للغاية”.

وواصل مدرب مانشستر سيتي: “عندما نقوم بإجراء تبديل، فهذا لأننا نعتقد أنه يمكن أن يكون أفضل قليلًا، قد يجدي ذلك نفعًا أحيانًا، ولكن في أحيان أخرى لا يجدي”.

وأكد بيب: “ليس من السهل مواجهة فريق يتمتع بخبرة كبيرة في هذه البطولة، سنذهب إلى هناك للتسجيل ومحاولة الفوز مرة أخرى”.

طالع | أوبلاك بعد الهزيمة أمام مانشستر سيتي: مباراة الإياب على أرضنا وفي متناول اليد

وفي تصريحات نشرتها صحيفة “ماركا” الإسبانية، أفاد المدرب: “مباراة متقاربة وصعبة للغاية، يدافع الفريق بأكمله وهذا صعب، لقد نجحنا في منعهم من الركض، ولم نستقبل أي فرص وتحلينا بالصبر وسجلنا الهدف بعد تواصل بين فودين ودي بروين”. هدف دي بروين في مباراة مانشستر سيتي وأتلتيكو مدريد

وعن دفاع أتلتيكو مدريد، أردف جوارديولا: “لقد شعرنا أنهم سيلعبون 5-3-2، ثم تكيفوا وأصبحوا 5-5، في عصور ما قبل التاريخ، اليوم وخلال مائة ألف عام من الصعب جدًا مهاجمة 5-5، لا توجد المساحات”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. دي بروين: من يريد قول أي شيء عنا عليه محاولة اللعب ضد أتلتيكو مدريد

وشدد: “إنها مسألة صبر، وأشعر بالفعل أنها ستكون مباراة مماثلة لتلك التي سنلعبها في مدريد في الدقائق التي تلي الهدف، وسنرى في غضون أسبوع”.

وبسؤاله “هل فاز أسلوب جوارديولا؟”، رد: “لا.. لا أعرف، لقد فزنا بمباراة، أمامنا الإياب وسنرى، وسنتعلم من مباراة اليوم”.

South Africa struggled to come to terms with some disciplined and determinedbowling as they slumped to 132-6 against Jamaica at tea on day one of two atJarrett Park In Montego Bay.After the fall of Boeta Dippenaar (13) in a curtailed morning session, a half-hour delay to the start of play caused by a damp patch on the pitch, his opening partner Gary Kirsten fell shortly after lunch.It was just reward for fast-bowler Franklyn Rose, who bowled with pace and aggression from the start. Rose got one to snort past Kirsten and take the outside edge as it rose through to wicketkeeper Keith Hibbert who took a comfortable catch. Kirsten (21) was watchful and patient, hitting just the one boundary, but as has been a feature of his tour, fell to a real snorter of a delivery.Jacques Kallis (30) set out to dominate spinners Gareth Breese and Nehemiah Perry after the lunch interval, but was a victim of his own attacking intent, top-edging a pull-sweep to be well caught by Audley Sanson making good ground as he ran backwards from square-leg.Daryll Cullinan looked in magnificent form again as he thumped three fours and a six clean out of the ground off Breese, the ball disappearing into a building site, never to be seen again. Despite his rousing start, Cullinan offered Hibbert some challenging catching practice on 21 and was well caught one-handed to his right by the ‘keeper.Neil McKenzie also launched a big six, this time off Perry, but was trapped leg-before by Sanson on 17 and the bowler struck again in his next over, captain Mark Boucher also leg-before for a duck.