Doug Bollinger has been included in Australia’s Test squad to tour the West Indies as a replacement for Ben Hilfenhaus, who is suffering from a recurrence of a stress fracture in his lower back. Bollinger will make the trip as part of the 15-man squad as long as he can prove he has recovered from a broken foot he sustained in February.The news came while Bollinger was on his honeymoon, and barely a week after he was offered his first Cricket Australia contract. “I’m just wondering if they might bump me up to first class,” Bollinger told AAP before leaving Sydney for Honolulu. “It’s probably been the best week of my life. I’m so happy that it’s happened and I’m just so excited at the moment.”Bollinger, who was married to Tegan Sutherland on Friday, was unlucky not to be chosen in the original group for the Caribbean campaign following a breakthrough Pura Cup season. He topped the wicket tally with 45 at 15.44 despite missing the last three games with the injury.”I’ve had a bit of a bowl,” Bollinger said. “I’ve been running and I’ve been in the gym, so I feel really well at the moment.”Alex Kountouris, the Australia team’s physio, said Bollinger should be fine to make the trip. “Doug has recovered well from his fractured foot,” Kountouris said. “He has been bowling for the last couple of weeks with no complaints and, as long as he completes the final fitness test, we believe he will be fully fit to take part in the Test tour of the West Indies.”Hilfenhaus’ injury means he cannot bowl for several months, which rounds off a disappointing year after he collected 28 Pura Cup wickets at 43.82 and struggled to have the same impact as in his outstanding 2006-07. However, he did retain his Cricket Australia contract and the selectors said he would remain in the frame for future series.”Obviously this is very disappointing for Ben,” Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said. “However, given the amount of cricket facing the Australian side in all forms of the game over the next 18 months, a conservative approach to the management of his back injury is best to ensure he makes a full recovery.”Kountouris said the aim was to have Hilfenhaus fit and fresh for the start of 2008-09. “Ben had some lingering back pain towards the end of the Pura Cup season and recent scans have revealed a possible recurrence of an old stress fracture to the vertebrae,” he said.”His recovery will involve not bowling for the next few months but continuing on with a rehabilitation and strength program. We believe this will be his best preparation for the beginning of the 2008-09 season.”The squad gathers in Brisbane for a training camp in early May ahead of the three-Test series against West Indies. Five ODIs and a Twenty20 international follow before the players return to Australia in July.
Chris Gayle has been ruled out of the first edition of the Indian Premier League after failing to recover from a groin injury that he sustained during the recent series against Sri Lanka, the Kolkata based reported.Gayle sustained the injury in the third ODI in St Lucia, limping off with a groin strain shortly after finishing his bowling stint. He missed Kolkata’s first two games – in Bangalore at at home – before he was declared unavailable for the rest of the tournament as well.However a spokesman for the franchise said a final decision was yet to be made. “He’s injured but he’s still not out of the tournament,” he said. “No decision has been made yet.”Gayle, along with three other West Indies players, were supposed to return to the Caribbean on May 18, in time for their series against Australia. It was reported that Gayle will be coming to the city first week of May to spend some time with the Kolkata team.
Multan‘s lower-order collapse on the final day, triggered by pacer Mohammad Saeed’s four-wicket haul, resulted in an eight-wicket rout at the hands of Lahore Shalimar, who brushed aside a 76-run target and moved to second place in Group II.Lahore Shalimar won the toss and chose to bowl, and were handed an immediate advantage when Mohammad Bilawal took seven wickets to dismiss Multan for 69.In spite of a shaky start, Lahore Shalimar grabbed a substantial first-innings lead, posting 282, built around Mohammad Saeed’s maiden first-class hundred. The No. 9 batsman scored 113 off 114 balls with 16 fours and four sixes. Offspinner Haziq Habibullah was the pick of the Multan bowlers, returning first-innings figures of 4 for 81.Faced with a 213-run deficit, and with a risk of an innings defeat at 117 for 4, Multan staged a recovery led by Ahmed Rasheed. Rasheed’s 170-ball 89 had 11 fours and contributions from Abdul Rehman Muzammil (47) and openers Usman Liaqat and Ahad Raza helped Multan clear the deficit. However, Mohammad Saeed struck with a four-wicket haul to skittle Multan out for 288 as the batting side lost its last six wickets for 38.The Lahore openers put on a 55-run stand in pursuit of the 76-run target and the side needed just 18 overs to complete an eight-wicket win. Mohammad Bilawal finished with match figures of 10 for 111, his maiden first-class ten-wicket haul, while Saeed added to his first-innings tally to finish with a seven-wicket match haul.A high-scoring match between Islamabad and Hyderabad petered out in a draw in Islamabad.Put in to bat first, Islamabad scored 303, helped by contributions from all batsmen, including a fifty from Moed Ahmed. Fast bowler Farhan Ayub picked up six wickets for 106, but regular partnerships between the Islamabad batsmen ensured they reached a solid score.In reply, Hyderabad, powered by fifties from openers Zeeshan Gul and Darya Khan eked out a slender 17-run lead. The openers added 113 for the opening stand to notch up important innings where other Hyderabad batsmen failed to convert their starts. Gul fell for 50, while Darya Khan missed his maiden first-class hundred by five runs. Hyderabad’s bowlers then gave their side a solid shot at victory, reducing Islamabad to 56 for 5 in the second innings, before a lower-order rally saw Islamabad climb to 200.Set a target of 184 runs, and running out of time, Hyderabad stuttered to 41 for 5 in 21 overs by close of play. Shehzad Azam, the Islamabad fast bowler, picked up 4 for 29 in 11 overs.
Group I
Abbottabad and Sialkot held each other to a high-scoring draw, which featured three centuries at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium.Mohammad Ali (133) enjoyed a memorable debut as he rescued the home side from 38 for 2. Ali, whose innings included 19 fours and lasted just a shade under six hours, and 18-year-old Kamran Ghulam (157) carried Abbottabad to a daunting 513 for 7, before the declaration . Ghulam, though was the more aggressive of the two centurions, as his 23 fours helped him maintain a strike rate over 80. Another debutant, Baber Khan, came in at No. 9 and struck 54 off 55 balls. Hasan Ali, 19, was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 133.In reply, opener Majid Jahangir (107) and Naved Sarwar (80) stabilised Sialkot after quick wickets. A brief collapse in the middle order hurt Sialkot’s momentum but No. 8 Nabeel Malik arrested the slide – three wickets for 36 runs – with his second first-class fifty. The rest of the tail, however, could not muster similar resolve and Sialkot lost their last four wickets for 13 runs to finish at 360.Abbottabad’s second innings lasted for nine overs in which the openers hit 64 runs before the match was drawn.It was a case of first-innings blues as Rawalpindi met Peshawar in the Quaid-e-Azam tournament at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Both teams put in strong performances in their second innings, with Isarullah scoring the only century of the match, as it ended in a draw.Seamer Azam Khan snared four of the top-five Rawalpindi batsmen, including opener Shoaib Nasir, whose 38 remained the highest score of the innings. Azam’s new-ball partner Afaq Ahmed chipped in with three wickets as Rawalpindi benefited from lower-order contributions – the last four wickets added 117 runs – to reach 180.Peshawar’s steady start was interrupted when Ashfaq Ahmed was forced to retire with the score on 42. Iftikhar Ahmed’s 92 was the saving grace after the top-order could not consolidate on their starts. Striking 15 fours in his 107-ball innings, his counterattack helped Peshawar claim a 63-run lead, which proved vital in their claiming three points off this match.Rawalpindi’s solid start was dented when their first two wickets fell within four runs. The score was 99 for 2 and by the time they had added five more runs, another wicket had fallen. Regular wickets became the order of the day until Zahid Mansoor (91) and wicketkeeper Talha Qureshi (45*) steadied the innings, taking Rawalpindi from 186 for 6 to 278 before the partnership was broken. Qureshi remained unbeaten until the end of the innings, taking his side to 384.Azizullah, the 21-year-old fast bowler, toiled away for 42.4 overs and reaped good rewards as he claimed his maiden five-for in first-class cricket.Chasing a target of 322 runs, Isarullah’s ton helped Peshawar set a good pace as they made 181 for 2 in 51 overs, but in the end the honours were shared.
Four tight overs and a quickfire 23 from Kieron Pollard helped Cobras get over the line for a four-wicket win against Knights at Paarl. The result left Knights rooted to the bottom of the table, without a win in six, and kept Cobras on course for a top-three finish.Richard Levi helped get the chase off to a solid start with 36 off 23 balls before becoming one of two wickets in an over for Dillon du Preez. Justin Ontong was less fluent in scoring 40 from 42, with two boundaries, and when he fell, Cobras lost 3 for 19 in three overs to briefly give Knights hope. Pollard, however, was unfazed and hit his compatriot Andre Russell for six and four in the 19th to ensure Cobras would get home.Knights’ total of 140 for 7 was based around several useful contributions but lacked a significant flourish. Theunis de Bruyn top-scored with 45 from 44 balls, adding 51 for the fourth wicket with Russell, but both fell in the same over just as Knights were looking to kick on. Dane Paterson and Rory Kleinveldt picked up two wickets apiece as Cobras kept the target within range.Lions prevailed over Dolphins in a relatively low scoring game at the Wanderers in Johannesburg to register their third win of the tournament.Playing a stellar role with the ball that helped them defend 145 for 6 was Dwaine Pretorius, the pacer, who took 4 for 22 as Dolphins were restricted to 139 for 7. If Pretorius was the hero with the ball, that Lions posted what would be a match-winning total was courtesy Alviro Petersen, who hit four fours and a six in his unbeaten 41-ball 60. The next best came from Devon Conway, who stroked 38.Dolphins started their chase well, with Morne van Wyk (20) and Vaughan van Jaarsveld (42) putting together a 45-run opening stand in just 5.3 overs. Despite two quick strikes after that, David Miller (37) ensured they were well on their way to pocket two points. But Pretorius put the brakes on the scoring by dismissing Cody Chetty, Miller and Dwayne Bravo in the space of two overs to turn the game around. Phangiso, the left-arm spinner, also chipped in with two wickets.Dolpins have now failed to win in four games. Although they remain in second place, they lead the Cobras by just two points, having played a game more.
The tickets for the World Twenty20 are likely to go up for sale by the end of this week, with the BCCI saying it doesn’t think it is too late for the tickets to be made available.The first qualifier starts on March 8, but the Indian board is happy to have the tickets up for grabs a little under two months from the first match of the “main” tournament on March 15. However, when the schedule of the World Twenty20 was announced, the ICC insisted that the qualifying part of the tournament be called the first round of the tournament.At any rate, India have set the record for putting the tickets up for sale with least amount of planning time available for the fans when it comes to world events.For the World Cup co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in February-March 2011, tickets went up for sale on June 1, 2010. In 2012, Sri Lanka offered World T0 tickets six months before the event. The West Indies provided a five-and-a-month notice for the World T20 in 2010. Bangladesh, who hosted the World T20 in March 2014, started the sale of tickets on November 7, 2013. Even South Africa, who hosted the first World T20, put up tickets for sale three months in advance.The ticketing process is always the host board’s responsibility. In an emailed response, the ICC has refused to be drawn into any criticism of the ticketing process. “It will be inappropriate to compare the ICC WT20 India 2016 with any previous event as the preparation for every event is different,” the ICC said.However, a source in the ICC, closely involved with the organising part of the event, told ESPNcricinfo that everything from announcing venues to making tickets available has been handled in the usual ad-hoc manner. “The BCCI pays no heed or provides reasons for delays,” the source said.That the venues were announced only three months before the event were already a source of frustration for the travelling fan who usually looks for bargains by booking air tickets and accommodation well in advance. The fans looking to travel to India will be left even more frustrated because the tickets are not readily available, especially for an event in India, and you ideally don’t want to make travel plans before securing tickets for the matches you wish to attend.The BCCI, though, doesn’t feel it is late. A BCCI official said the dynamics of hosting an event in India were different, and it shouldn’t even be compared with the 2011 World Cup, which was co-hosted by three nations. “There is still two months to go,” he said, “The first match of the main tournament is on March 15. And it works differently in India anyway. The anticipation in the public only builds up closer to the event, but if the tickets are made available well in advance, those asking for complimentary passes make your life difficult.”Tickets in India generally go up for sale less than a week before international bilaterals or smaller tournaments. A huge chunk of the tickets is anyway not put up for sale with local associations handing them out for free to their members and influential people in their constituencies.
Gulam Bodi is expected to respond to CSA charges of “contriving to fix, or otherwise improperly influence aspects of the 2015 Ram Slam T20 Challenge Series” by mid-week. There is no indication of whether Bodi will plead innocent or guilty, but his lawyer played down the hype around the matter.”We have got the charge sheet and we are preparing a response. We will have it done by Wednesday or Thursday this week,” Ayoob Kaka, Bodi’s lawyer, told ESPNcricinfo on Monday morning. “Everything is fine except that I keep getting phone calls from the media.”In a release issued by CSA last Thursday, the South African board said Bodi was cooperating with anti-corruption officials even though when he was initially suspended in mid-December, he also faced a charge of refusing to co-operate with the investigation.A legal case is also being prepared against several other players and an insider revealed that some of them “accepted money to fix”, while others failed to report corrupt activity.
England’s 18-team county system will survive in a revamped 20-over competition if recommendations from an ECB working party are accepted next month – but only if promotion and relegation is the price the counties agree to pay.The proposed rejection of an eight-team franchise, or big city, T20 cricket comes with a recognition that the counties must accept the rigours of two divisions based on merit – rather than the regional system currently adopted – if they are to retain a future at the centre of the English T20 game.The proposals have the pragmatic support of Andrew Strauss, the England team director, who believes they will not only improve the standard of England’s T20 cricket in the build up to the 2019 World Cup but will also prevent England’s domestic T20 competition disappearing into obscurity.A report in the has now confirmed that the long-awaited consultation paper has now been circulated to the counties. County chief executives will be asked to support what is essentially a proposal of minimal disruption to England’s professional game before the decision goes before the Board on March 7. Changes would be introduced from 2017.The working party also rejects the notion, strongly advanced by some of the bigger counties, that those city-based grounds with the biggest capacities should automatically be given First Division status on the grounds that these venues – if full to capacity – provide a better spectacle and a more attractive TV product.Meritocracy – based on the ability to win cricket matches – has for now at least won the day. It has perhaps been a blessing for the smaller counties that football, against the odds, has set an example, as Leicester City’s advance to the top of the Premier League has delighted neutral supporters throughout the country.Modest adjustment these proposals might be, but the ECB hierarchy – led by the chief executive Tom Harrison and chairman Colin Graves – is desperate for even this small mercy to be adopted on the grounds that lucrative global TV rights deal can more easily be secured when viewers can identify with a slowly-changing elite of counties.The IPL’s example, where new franchises appear annually for a variety of reasons, sometimes linked to financial irregularities, suggests that some degree of flux is not an issue. A debate over will nevertheless take place over whether two-up, two-down is preferable, as in the Championship, or whether moves should be made to restrict changes to only one up, one down.The initial contention of the ECB executive, championed by Harrison, was that to maximise revenue English cricket required a new-look tournament based on the Big Bash model and centred around eight city-based teams, so ensuring quality. A working party with a strong county make-up has unsurprisingly rejected the argument that English cricket cannot spread standards across 18 profesisonal clubs..Two divisions based on merit, with more media attention on the First Division, is a potential compromise that has long been signalled. If the solution is adopted, but fails to be a commercial or public success then not too far down the line it is easy to envisage schisms in the English professional game.A new broadcasting deal, after all, is timed for 2020 and negotiations will soon begin in earnest. Those who favour a Big City future are not about to abandon that view.Until 2020 at least, however, the 18 counties remain. They are expected to retain the county name – Warwickshire apart, who already use the Birmingham tag for T20. In theory there would be nothing to prevent all the counties simply playing as the city and town of their home ground. For some, notably Yorkshire, there would be a wish for exemption.In a PCA survey last year, a comfortable majority of professionals – around 65 per cent – believed a tournament with global appeal could simply be achieved within the current county structure by introducing promotion and relegation.The challenge from the players, however – 85% support for a change which has yet to be resolved – was to play that tournament in a block and involve England players as much as possible.A move to an elite collection of city or franchise teams has long been opposed by the counties on the grounds that it would put the entire professional system in England in jeopardy by relegating the 18 counties as second-class citizens, making their gradual demise inevitable.Such an outcome would have a negative effect on the development of players on which all forms of the game depend as well as rendering the investment in many county grounds largely wasted.There is little to suggest that the next generation of cricket lover is irredeemably wedded to the county system, but that they await to be won over by the excitement and sense of occasion they crave in England’s T20 tournament.To reject the recommendations from the working party, chaired by Andy Nash, the Somerset chairman, would leave England’s professional circuit facing an uncertain future that could make it increasingly irrelevant and conceivably bring about its eventual downfall. Tradition is being assaulted from all sides by the commercial argument..Most counties have already assembled their overseas players for the NatWest Blast in 2016 – a challenging task in itself considering the lack of availability for a tournament that stretches over a large portion of the season. Panic buying is therefore unlikely, although some counties – Yorkshire a prime example – still have overseas slots available.Those not yet at full quota have long suspected the possibility that the eight teams reaching this year’s NatWest T20 Blast quarter-final are likely to gain automatic qualification for Division One, with a potential play-off between the fifth-placed teams for the final spot.The loss of local derbies has long been advanced by counties as an argument against two divisions based on merit but this has been rejected by the working party as an essentially defeatist attitude by England’s professional clubs at a time when the rest of the world is revelling in the opportunities offered by the burgeoning interest in T20 cricket.Chelsea do not fret about not playing Fulham. Newcastle and Sunderland, the Manchesters United and City, Aston Villa and Birmingham and many others have long learned to cope at times without each other’s company. If the derby match in cricket is so important perhaps the questions should be addressed about the weak appeal of the other matches.Grumbles that under a new arrangement some counties will concentrate on success in T20 rather than produce Test players for England have also been heard but any shift in priorities is arguably an inevitable consequence of changing times. Twenty20 is an irresistible force even for those who wish to resist it.Fear that some counties will chase T20 glory to the detriment of the longer forms of the game have led some to propose a league table based on results in all competitions – a solution for county cricket’s ills that was first advanced in detail by Matthew Engel in about 30 years ago and which failed to capture the public mood.In any case, there is a simple way to control such an unwanted outcome. If a two-divisional structure in T20 attracts more lucrative TV deals then the desire of some counties to concentrate on T20 could easily be corrected by offering massive increases in prize money for the Championship – and, should it be desired, 50-over cricket as well – to make success comparable to that in T20. All paid out of central funds.As counties already receive additional payments for other factors, such as the number of players produced for England, such control mechanisms would be merely an extension of current policy. The outcome would be that the wealthiest counties would be the ones winning cricket matches.
Goalkeeper Jose Reina has admitted Liverpool may have to lower their targets for next season following the uncertainty at Anfield.
The Reds will compete in the Europa League next season after finishing a lowly seventh in the Premier League table this term.
Meanwhile, the club has been put up for sale by American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett and so are unlikely to spend big in the summer transfer market.
The club's hierarchy and manager Rafael Benitez have vowed to retain their star players like Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, but keeper Reina has offered a downbeat assessment of their targets for the new season.
Reina was speaking from Spain's training camp ahead of the World Cup finals.
"As long as we build a competitive squad we do not have to fear anybody," he said.
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"But it is looking like we will not yet. We have to be less optimistic than the last few years and get ready for setting another kind of target.
"(The owners) have to move quickly and anything that happens has to be right now."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
WAGS, WAGS, WAGS… the media just can’t get enough of them and as we finish the Premier League season we couldn’t resist creating our very own WAG Idol, to find out which player has the loveliest bit of skirt on his arm.
We are running a series of club heats – so please select the wag that gives your club the best chance of taking the Wag crown.
Just click on the individual images of beauties to upload their galleries, so you can get a look of them in greater detail!
Radka Kocurova – The former Miss Czech Republic is the long term partner of Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky and together they form the Posh and Becks of the Czech Republic. While Rosicky spends much of his time on the treatment table, Kocurova has spent time as a whether girl in her native country and must have brightened up the lives of many viewers. It would seem that Kocurova is also wife material for the Arsenal star even though Rosicky hasn’t exactly been the perfect boyfriend, with his misdemeanours in a hotel room generously forgiven.
Yulia Arshavin – So you’re just going to have to take my word for it when I say that Mr and Mrs Arshavin are truly the Dharma and Greg of The footballer and their Wags world. Andrei plays the Greg role, all straight laced and old fashioned conservatism, he is on record as saying that all women should be banned from driving “because they are too dangerous.” (As opposed, presumably, to professional footballers, whose collective road safety record is unblemished.) Yulie is Dharma: baggy clothing and sass, she thinks that the English are “too reserved.” She also thinks the country is “dull,” and the food “sub-standard” (in fairness, when I first read that quote I assumed she was talking about a ham and turkey six incher, all the salad and on traditional Italian white- so she might have a point on the issue of our unimaginative pallets.)
Baroness Caroline Luel-Brockdorff – It is normally the case with the modern day wag that they are only attached to the modern day footballer for their money, however Baroness Caroline (Nicklas Bendtner latest squeeze) doesn’t need the Arsenal star’s money given she has just received a divorce settlement of £400m.
Following the breakdown of her marriage Nicklas Bendtner entered the fray- displaying, it should be noted, significantly more urgency than he’s hitherto yet to display chasing down a loose ball in an Arsenal shirt- and is spotted walking and playing football in Hyde park with and her children. All very sweet, but also a useful training exercise for Bendtner: Brockdorff’s children, at sixand three, work out at roughly the same average age as the Arsenal team Bendtner will soon be again a part of, competing in the Carling Cup. And, with the ever expanding Champions’ League, it’s probably useful for him to get used to names like Luel-Brockdorff, which, give or take an ‘AK’ of ‘FC’ prefix, sounds exactly like something you expect to come across on a Tuesday night ITV2 highlights package propping up the rest of Group G.
Melanie Slade – Mel met Theo in a Southampton shopping centre in early 2006, Theo briefly becoming the most famous patron of the West Quay mall until his record was snatched from him from Trinny and Susannah (who filmed a specialepisode of their ‘Undressed’ show there in 2007). Third place isn’t bad, though, a message we can imagine has been reiterated to Walcott several times by his Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, particularly since it now removes the need to qualify for the group stages via the unseeded preliminary rounds.
This was not an altogether atypical venue for the youth of 2006 to spend their Saturdays, even when the youth of 2006 were regarded among the nation’s brightest young football stars. Indeed many have suggested that spending languid days supping slushies and fiddling with the brightness settings on his mobile phone in the food court is, give or take an Umbro provided sports jacket and a six time award winning overspill car park (including three prestigious Safe Car Park gongs), an exact precursor to his World Cup experience.
Holly Jay – long term girlfriend of Arsenal’s Mark Randall, got her “big break,” according to justarsenal.com, when she featured in Zoo magazine’s ‘Gimmie a job’ feature. “She certainly has the qualifications to go far in her chosen career,” say the website. “And we don’t mean her 10 GCSEs,” they go on to further clarify.
REMEMBER – Just click on the individual images of beauties to upload their galleries, so you can get a look of them in greater detail!
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So who do you think deserves to be Arsenal’s representative in our search for the greatest Premier League WAG?
Luis Fabiano has said that he wants a move to Manchester United or AC Milan. The Sevilla striker who is currently at the World Cup with Brazil feels the time is right to move on and join a big club.
The 29-year-old has been one of Europe’s most sought after strikers for some time now and would be a good signing for most clubs, but the question is would he be the right fit for Man United and is he even needed?
Currently United currently posses an abundance of attacking talent in Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen, Mame Biram Diouf, Federico Macheda, Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez. Rooney’s future is safe at the club without question; Berbatov has been linked with moves away after two un-prolific seasons at Old Trafford. Owen is very injury-prone and the rest are young and un-tested so a number of them could be sent out on loan. Therefore there would be space for Fabiano in the team but you feel that probably either Michael Owen or Berbatov might have to leave the club on a permanent basis.
As to what he can bring to United’s forward line Fabiano is a good finisher and if it wasn’t for a debateable handball has scored arguably the best goal at the World Cup so far; he is a strong forward as well capable of leading the line and is also very good with his head. Despite these attributes opinion seems to be divided amongst United fans as to whether they want him at the club, some want Berbatov to leave and for him to come in as his replacement. They believe that Fabiano can work upfront with Rooney similar to how Louis Saha formed a good partnership with him. However others are not to keen because he is set to turn 30 this year and they are wary of his temperament and sometimes lazy attitude.
Judging by the forums some fans would seem to prefer Luis Suarez arriving at the club after an impressive World Cup for Uruguay so far; however his price-tag will surely be very inflated and as Fabiano only has one-year remaining on his contract with Sevilla he could prove to be the cheaper option.
At times Fabiano has flattered to deceive, especially early on in his career, however his overall goal-scoring record for Brazil is very good with 27 goals in 40 games and for Sevilla he has done well scoring 94 goals in 190 games in the past few seasons.
Despite some uncertainties over Fabiano he has proved himself capable of scoring goals and as long as he curbs his temperament he could be a very good player for Manchester United. They will be reluctant to overpay for his services though and if they can land him for around £15m then they can see it as a good a bit of business. Luis Fabiano is definitely a player who can make the difference and a partnership with Wayne Rooney could be lethal.
Do you think Luis Fabiano would be a good signing?
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Click on image below to see the BRAZILIAN babes at the World Cup
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
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