Blues coach was a magnificent footballer but after an abysmal season-and-a-half the reality is he hasn’t made it work at the clubHere’s Carlton chief executive, Brian Cook, last night: “Michael Voss will be with us until at least the end of next year.” Here’s the president, Luke Sayers: “The boys love Vossy … Vossy is a phenomenal human.” Here’s sportswriter Peter Ryan: “The Age spoke to six people inside and outside the club who are familiar with the environment surrounding the Blues’ current predicament, and none thought that moving on the coach was an option even worth considering.” Here’s pundit David King: “It’s not anywhere near the crisis some are making it out to be – most issues simply require...
Bowler was largely unknown when he arrived on international stage at the age of 32 but his weapons could threaten England“Scotty Boland, he’s now my favourite player. He always has been, but he continues to be my favourite.”Sure the Australia captain, Pat Cummins, might have displayed some confusion about time and continuity. But his sentiment was what mattered, after another decisive bowling burst from the Victorian quick opened up Australia’s path to victory against India in the World Test Championship final. Continue reading...
A history of ruthlessness will put the former Celtic manager in good stead as he faces up to player power at TottenhamOne night in May 2009, Frank Farina, the coach of Brisbane Roar, sat down to play board games with his family. He worked his way through a bottle of chardonnay and then had a couple of glasses of red. When he got in his car the next morning, he was still over the limit. As a consequence, 14 years later Ange Postecoglou was appointed manager of Tottenham.It was Farina’s second drink-driving offence in under three years. The Roar sacked him and, in their scramble for a replacement, turned to Postecoglou. Continue reading...
Idling tempo while batting in World Test Championship against India felt unfamiliar compared to Stokes’ all-action approachLunchtime at the Oval, and Australia are six-wickets down with a lead of 373. Alex Carey’s at one end, 41 not out off 61 balls, Mitchell Starc’s at the other, 11 off 19. It’s already over a hundred runs more than anyone’s ever scored in the fourth innings to win a Test here, and that particular match was way back in the 1902 Ashes, when Gilbert Jessop blazed his 76-ball hundred. The pressing question then, the one everyone was chewing over in the food and drink queues, was ‘what’s next?’ A burst of attacking cricket, a tumble of tail-end wickets?What we got, instead, was...
Indian fans believed Shubman Gill was wrongly dismissed but the laws are clear – although that won’t stop the argumentsAs the second session wound onwards on the fourth day of the World Test Championship final, the Oval was a cheerful place. On a perfect, warm afternoon, the bays that were largely full of India supporters erupted after every boundary as Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill made a bright start to a massive run chase.Soon it was much less bucolic, with a fair share of those fans shouting “Cheat!” at the Australian all-rounder Cameron Green. Others lined up to give him a gob-full as he climbed the stairs through the crowd at tea. Fielding in the gully, Green’s crime had been...