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The batsman Adrian Shankar has been released by Worcestershire after barely two weeks with the club and there is more to the departure than a simple change of mind

George Dobell26-May-2011Worcestershire have released batsman Adrian Shankar after barely two weeks with the club – and passed his registration documents to the police after it emerged there was more to the departure than a simple change of mind.The background of Shankar, who represented Worcestershire in the CB40 and County Championship last week, and whose deal was terminated without further comment on Thursday, has started to unravel. It has emerged he is actually three years older than he told the county and talked his way into a two-year contract through a mixture of bluff and bravado.Worcestershire only signed Shankar on May 10. In the press release that announced this, the club stated that Shankar was 26 years old and had just returned from a prolific winter in Sri Lanka. It also stated that he was in demand from several other counties.None of it is true. Shankar is actually 29 and, while he may have played some cricket in Sri Lanka, it was not at first-class or an equivalent level.”Adrian Shankar was signed by Worcestershire CCC on the 10th May after agreeing terms,” said the club in a subsequent statement. “It quickly became evident that documents provided in order to satisfy the club’s obligations to the England and Wales Cricket Board were unacceptable. This documentation has now been passed to West Mercia Police for investigation and no further comment will be made by the club while the investigation is taking place.”Shankar left Bedford School (he played in the same team as Alastair Cook) after his A Levels in 2000, made his second XI debut in 1999 (for Nottinghamshire) and his first-class debut in 2002. He’s subsequently played second XI cricket for Sussex, Worcestershire, Lancashire and Middlesex.Were the details he gave Worcestershire correct, it would have meant he made his second team debut aged just 14. But when Shankar registered at Cambridge and Bedford, he gave his date of birth as May 1982. Only much later did it change to May 1985.It seems he produced identification proving that he was born in 1985, but he has explained his past by suggesting he might have been the youngest Cambridge University captain in history. Until yesterday, even the Cambridge University Cricket website (www.cucc.net) carried that version of events. Meanwhile, a little research proved that several of the players he was supposed to have played against in Sri Lanka were actually playing elsewhere on the same days.Shankar has also said that his career progression has been held-up by an 18-month bout of glandular fever, that he played tennis to national standard as a junior and that he was in the Arsenal academy at the start of Arsene Wenger’s tenure.On the field Shankar is, at best, an ordinary player. After a decade in the game, he had a first-class average of just 19 and has passed 50 only once in 21 innings. He made 143 in the Varsity Match of 2002 (as a 17-year-old, if you believe his version of events) but, as Chris Scott, the Cambridge UCCE coach, said: “The bowling was unbelievably bad. He was a poor player and there’s no way I would have recommended him.”Oddly, however, when Shankar signed for Lancashire, the Cambridge coach was quoted in a press release referring to him as one of the finest young players the side had seen since John Crawley. “I phoned Lancashire and made it clear that I’d never said anything of the sort,” Scott said. “No-one at Worcestershire or Lancashire asked my opinion before they signed him.” Instead of smelling a rat, however, Lancashire simply removed the offending paragraph.Does any of this matter? Is it just an example of a determined man refusing to give up on his dream?Perhaps. But Shankar was also taking another man’s place in the Worcestershire team. And, by claiming to be 26, Shankar slipped in under the threshold to qualify for the young player incentives handed out by the ECB to first-class counties. He therefore gave himself an unfair advantage in the fight for a place in the Worcestershire team. His swift release was no surprise.The episode also raises questions about Worcestershire. It seems incredible that no-one at the club thought to check Shankar’s story. Five minutes spent on the web would have been enough to raise suspicions; ten minutes on the phone would have confirmed them.Instead, however, Worcestershire contented themselves with a photocopy of a passport and took Shankar’s word for his former achievements. They even threw Shankar straight into their first team – as an opening batsman – without even taking a look at him in a Second XI game (though he did play for their second team in 2003). He was out for a third-ball duck against Middlesex and, batting in the middle-order in the Championship against Durham, was unbeaten on 10 when injury ended his innings.

ECB says all 18 first-class counties have agreed to play in the same red-ball and white-ball competitions

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jul-2020First-class counties in the UK will compete for the Bob Willis Trophy in a four-day competition as part of a shortened 2020 domestic season, the ECB has confirmed.The ECB said on Friday that all 18 first-class counties had agreed to play in the same competitive red- and white-ball competitions, following a delayed start to the season due to the Covid-19 pandemic.As reported by ESPNcricinfo in May, the four-day competition will feature three regional groups of six teams who will each contest five first-class games with a five-day final expected to be played at Lord’s. The winner will claim the Bob Willis trophy, named after the former England captain who died in December. A shortened Vitality Blast competition will begin on August 27.ALSO READ: County Championship could include Lord’s final with hopes for August startNeil Snowball, ECB managing director of county cricket, said in a statement on Friday that the counties had “been united with a common goal to get back to our core function of playing cricket”.”The commitment of the chairs and chief executives of the first-class counties to work together to achieve that ambition has been resolute and we will remain in close discussion as we continue to assess risk factors that need to be mitigated in order to ensure the safety and welfare of their players, coaches and staff,” Snowball said.”We are all delighted that agreement has been reached across the game and we are now in a position to look forward to and prepare for a new men’s domestic season starting on 1 August.”ESPNcricinfo understands that the counties voted by a narrow margin to play first-class and T20 cricket in the abbreviated season while some, including Hampshire, held safety concerns about hotel stays and voted to start the season with a 50-over competition and not play first-class cricket in 2020.Venues would contact ticket holders for men’s domestic matches and first-class county members to inform them of the options available to them after a new fixture schedule has been announced, the ECB said.

Shahid Afridi and the PCB may have reached a kind of compromise, but the issue of Afridi’s international future is still shrouded in doubt

Osman Samiuddin16-Jun-2011Shahid Afridi and the PCB may have reached a kind of compromise which sees both sides get what they want, but the issue of Afridi’s international future remains shrouded in doubt still. After being removed as ODI captain, Afridi ‘retired’ from the international game, though he made it clear that it was a decision made in protest and a ‘conditional’ one; several times he said he would not play again under the current administration, but would reconsider if and when there was a change.Under the compromise reached between Afridi and PCB chairman Ijaz Butt earlier this week, the former withdrew his petition against the board in the Sindh High Court and will face a board disciplinary committee hearing later on Thursday in Lahore. In return, he is expected to be granted the No-Objection Certificate (NOC) that allows him to play for Hampshire in the ongoing Friends Life t20 and later for one of the franchises in the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL).Increasingly as the dispute has escalated, Afridi has focused purely on being allowed to play for Hampshire and made little mention of his Pakistan future. Butt told ESPNcricinfo that Afridi’s retirement “was not mentioned at all” during their meeting. “As far as the board is concerned he is still retired,” Butt said.A report in the leading Urdu daily on Thursday suggests further that Afridi has not thought about his international future. At a function to mark the re-launch of the group’s sports channel two nights ago – the channel has been off-air for nearly two months – the report quoted Afridi telling the audience that “the NOC was my right and nobody could stop him from getting it.” When asked about his international future, Afridi gave no reply.Further, the newspaper cited sources close to Afridi as saying at the same event that he has no immediate plans for a return and is only concentrating on the T20 events in England and Sri Lanka.What has confused the issue, however, is a statement allegedly released by Afridi late on Wednesday night, in which he seems to suggest he still has an international future. “I have always served Pakistan and played cricket for my country and its people and the overwhelming love, honour and respect I have received in return is my biggest asset,” part of the statement reads. “I have all the zeal and energy to play cricket for the nation for many years to come. I will be appearing before the disciplinary committee tomorrow, inshallah.”The statement has come from a close advisor of Afridi, but other sources insist that it does not convey the authentic sentiments of Afridi and that he has not owned up to it.Afridi’s desire for international cricket has come under scrutiny several times in the past. In 2006 he retired briefly from Test cricket – after his most successful phase in the format incidentally – to concentrate on the limited overs game. He took back that decision, however, soon after and even returned to play one Test – as captain no less – last summer in England. Immediately after leading Pakistan to a loss at Lord’s against Australia, he resigned as captain and retired from the format again.

His resignation comes less than five months into his two-year contract with the BCB

Mohammad Isam17-Dec-2019The BCB has accepted Charl Langeveldt’s resignation as the Bangladesh bowling coach after he emailed the board explaining that he has an offer from Cricket South Africa. Akram Khan, the BCB’s cricket operations committee chairman, confirmed Langeveldt’s departure less than five months into his two-year contract.”Langeveldt said he has offer to work in South Africa’s senior side, which is why he requested the BCB to let him go,” Akram told the Bengali daily on Tuesday. “We have decided to release him.”Langeveldt’s link with a role in the South Africa team is part of an overhaul in their coaching setup, which saw Mark Boucher named head coach recently.Langeveldt, who was appointed by the BCB on July 27, came in as part of a similar overhaul in the Bangladesh coaching staff. He replaced Courtney Walsh, while Russell Domingo took over as head coach in place of Steve Rhodes. Daniel Vettori later joined as spin-bowling consultant, replacing Sunil Joshi.With Bangladesh touring Pakistan next month, the BCB has exactly a month to replace Langeveldt although Champaka Ramanayake, the BCB academy’s bowling coach, could take over on a temporary basis as he has done in the past.

Zimbabwe’s goal during the upcoming World Cup is “to make sure we play as well as we can

Firdose Moonda in Chennai10-Feb-2011Zimbabwe’s goal during the upcoming World Cup is “to make sure we play as well as we can.” That’s the mantra coach Alan Butcher brought with him to the team’s arrival press conference in Chennai. “We haven’t set any targets regarding the quarter-finals,” he said.For a team that has only twice progressed out of the group stages and has won just eight of 46 World Cup matches, that ambition seems to fit just right. Zimbabwe are among the stronger of the minnow teams but will have to beat at least one of the big names as well as earn convincing victories over Kenya and Canada if they hope to progress. For them, the results are not as important as the method. “If we can play five out of six games to our plans and to our targets, it will represent a good step forward for our team,” Butcher said.Butcher brings with him a team whose last notable World Cup achievement came in 1999, when Zimbabwe beat India and South Africa to advance to the Super Six stage of the tournament. The team that took to the field then formed what was considered the old guard of Zimbabwean cricket, with the likes of the Flower brothers, Alistair Campbell, Heath Streak and Henry Olonga. Those glory days, just like the Springsteen song says, have passed them by in the wink of a young girl’s eye.Now there’s a team of young hopefuls, the Chris Mpofus and Charles Coventrys of the country who have big talent and big hearts but a lot to learn. “We’ve got some way to go to say that we are back at that level (of 1999) but there is every reason to think that that can happen in the future,” Butcher said. This World Cup is more about planning for that future than anything else.”Zimbabwean cricket is in the process of a turnaround,” Butcher said. “They have gone through a period of poor results and difficult times for the players. At the moment, everyone is working very hard not only in this squad but in the first-class system to improve themselves.” Since voluntarily withdrawing from Test cricket, Zimbabwe have pumped resources into their limited-overs formats, which has included a sponsored twenty-over franchise competition that has attracted the likes of Andrew Hall, Lance Klusener and Brian Lara.”He (Lara) helped us a lot and shared some of his experience with us while he was working with us as a batting consultant,” Elton Chigumbura, the Zimbabwe captain, said. “The guys are ready to express themselves during this World Cup, show how they can play and win a couple of games.” Zimbabwe have every reason to be positive because it was just last June that they qualified for their first tri-series final in 10 years, albeit against second string Indian and Sri Lankan sides.It’s the preparation in and against teams for the subcontinent that will serve Zimbabwe best in this tournament. In December, they played against Bangladesh in a five match ODI series, and in the last two years have played in Dhaka and Chittagong 10 times. “There are players with experience of the conditions from when we played in Bangladesh,” Butcher said. “We’ve been playing and practicing in Dubai as well, where they’ve tried to simulate Indian wickets.”Zimbabwe also have a strong arsenal of spinners to make up for their lack of firepower in the fast bowling department, which could serve them well in the subcontinent. “The balance of our attack will be favoured by the conditions here. There’s a fair chance we will go with more than a couple of spinners which puts us at less of a disadvantage.” Butcher said.The search for the next Zimbabwean quick or the next batsman in the Andy Flower mould is still on, but Butcher is convinced that the 15 men he has to work with now will be the start of a permanent turnaround in the fortunes of the team that has for so long been the little brother of African cricket. He hopes the World Cup can help them to illustrate that point. “Zimbabwe cricket is on the up and hopefully we can prove that in the next six weeks.”

“We will rather make sacrifices today and survive tomorrow,” says Zimbabwe Cricket chairman

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jan-2020Even as they pushed for a first ever Test win against Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe’s cricketers did so knowing their salaries would be cut after the two-Test series. Zimbabwe had been defeated in the first Test by 10 wickets, though they fought well in the first half of the match.Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani said “it can’t be business as usual” given the financial crunch the team faced, and indicated that this was being done to ensure better long-term financial health.”It’s an on-going process,” Mukuhlani was quoted as saying by Associated Press. “But yes, we will have to cut back. It can’t be business as usual.”Obviously it’s a bit of a touchy subject. But I will assume that everyone will accept it. We will rather make sacrifices today and survive tomorrow. It’s bring and take, a bargaining process.”Zimbabwe have faced monetary troubles for several years. On occasions, these have led to players threatening strikes, while more regularly, several promising cricketers have left Zimbabwe to carve out cricket careers elsewhere.Last year, the ICC had banned all Zimbabwe teams from participating in any international competitions citing government interference in running the national board. During the ban period, the ICC had also stopped all funds to Zimbabwe Cricket. The government had fired the board amid allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement, sparking the ban. The cricket board was later reinstated and the ICC lifted its ban in October 2019.However, the ban stopped Zimbabwe from playing in the qualifiers for the T20 World Cup that will be held this year in Australia.ALSO READ: ‘The smaller teams want to play more, but they can’t because the cash is not there’ – Alistair CampbellFormer Zimbabwe captain Alistair Campbell had recently told ESPNcricinfo in an interview that playing the Test series against Sri Lanka would leave a big hole in the budget for Zimbabwe Cricket.”That’s going to make a big hole in the budget,” Campbell had said. “But it’s a sort of catch-22 isn’t it? You know that you’re making a loss, and it might impact some of your further tours, but you’re eager to play Test cricket. These opportunities don’t arise [often], so you can’t cancel it. You have to go ahead and try to make a plan.”Zimbabwe were allotted a grant of USD 94 million from the ICC for an eight-year period from 2017. But Mukuhlani, who is part of the ICC board as a representative of a Test-playing nation, said there has been reduced financial help from the ICC in other areas for many countries and that’s exacerbated the problems in Zimbabwe.

After Australia’s quicks blew New Zealand away in Nagpur, their coach had said the top order needed to bat for 35 overs, but against Sri Lanka, the entire line-up was gone by then; this time to spin

Nagraj Gollapudi at the Wankhede Stadium18-Mar-2011New Zealand may wonder how far they have progressed after the seven-wicket defeat against Australia three weeks ago. Then, as now, their batsmen failed to build partnerships. Then, as now, New Zealand collapsed without putting up a fight. The only difference: back then they were tried by pace, while today the noose was tightened by the spinners. Just replace Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait and Brett Lee with Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis and Lasith Malinga.So have New Zealand become such an easy picking? Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka captain, was confident that New Zealand never liked the variety in his bowling attack. And it was not a recent allergy they had developed. “We kind of understand that they find the variation in our bowling attack a bit troublesome,” Sangakkara said after the 112-run victory. “They find Mendis, Malinga and Murali quite difficult, so we try to maximise on that particular fact.”The only time New Zealand’s batsmen showed some promise was when Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor were steadily beginning to rebuild the innings after the early loss of the openers. Ryder was timing the ball well, while Taylor showed the same spirit visible during his match-winning century against Pakistan. But it was not an easy pitch – it was taking sufficient turn, and coupled with a good bounce, it was a shot in the arm for the spinners. Also the dew made the ball skid. Patience was New Zealand’s life vest. Sadly their batsmen left too many loose ends and lost their way pretty quickly.After the demoralising loss to Australia, John Wright, the New Zealand coach, had imposed a condition that it was mandatory the top order lasted for at least 35 overs. The other rider was that not more than three wickets could be lost. On Friday, the New Zealand innings folded in exactly 35 overs. “We just did not get there,” Taylor, New Zealand’s stand-in captain for the game, said. “We put plans in place to try to achieve them and today we did not do it.”Jesse Ryder timed the ball well before he edged one from Ajantha Mendis•Getty Images

It would be harsh to single out Taylor because he was only filling in for the injured Daniel Vettori, who has been sidelined by a knee injury. Also, the absence of Kyle Mills, a frontline bowler, has not helped matters. New Zealand’s problems were aggravated when Hamish Bennett, Mill’s replacement, was forced to leave the field midway into his fifth over after he picked up a calf strain.Taylor felt that Bennett’s absence in the crucial middle overs allowed Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene to establish themselves and lay a good foundation. “In losing Hamish Bennett, we lost a little bit of firepower during the middle stages. But the way we came back to restrict them to 260 with a bowler down was not too bad. But we just kept losing wickets. At the end we were up with the rate but when you keep losing wicket 260 becomes a big target.”The loss will not hurt New Zealand’s cause much as they have already booked a quarter-finals’ berth. Even if it is not yet clear who their opponent will be, Taylor felt that it was important for the players to regroup fast and start from a new page. “The confidence would have taken a dent. But we have played some good cricket over the last little while. We have got to think positively. In the next couple of days we will know who our opponents are and then plan accordingly. The break allows us to recover from the injury toll.”

Kevin Pietersen has always prided himself on being the man for the big occasion, but in his estimation, nothing that he’s experienced in his career to date can rival the prospect of playing in a potential Ashes decider in front of nearly 100,000 spectator

Andrew Miller in Melbourne22-Dec-2010Kevin Pietersen has always prided himself on being the man for the big occasion, but in his estimation, nothing that he’s experienced in his career to date can rival the prospect of playing in a potential Ashes decider in front of nearly 100,000 spectators at the MCG on Boxing Day. With the series perfectly poised after Australia’s emphatic victory in Perth last week, and expectation levels in both countries at fever pitch, the grandest stage awaits for a player who loves nothing better than to be right at the centre of attention.In 2005, Pietersen played the defining knock of the series, and of his life, as he hauled England out of a final-day tail-spin with a brilliant, counter-attacking 158, to ensure a draw and secure the return of the Ashes for the first time in 16 years. Going into last week’s WACA Test, he looked in the right form and frame of mind to administer a similar coup de grace, having put the Adelaide Test way out of Australia’s reach with a career-best 227, but in the event he was scythed down on a lively deck for scores of 0 and 3. That experience, however, has not dented his desire to be right in the thick of the action.”Leading 2-1 in ’05 going into an Oval Test was pretty big, but this is huge,” said Pietersen. “Having won a Test, lost a Test, two to play, and one to win to take the Ashes home is an incredible opportunity for the team. I don’t know what ticket sales are like but it could be potentially around 400,000 people watching the five days. That is so exciting.”I’ve played a little bit, and I get goosebumps thinking about it,” he added. “Everyone in the team including the management and the Australians are really looking forward to what should be a great week’s cricket if the sun shines. Any day of Test cricket is amazing, but if you get 100,000 watching you on a particular day, you’re pretty pleased.”It’s a sentiment shared by the only Victorian in the Australian squad, Peter Siddle, who is desperate to make the cut for this match, despite being the likeliest seamer to miss out should the selectors opt to play the debutant spinner, Michael Beer. “Any Boxing Day Test is going to be big but an Ashes series just makes everything a lot more exciting,” said Siddle.”All this talk about the big crowd, you can’t stop to think about it,” he added. “There were 60-70,000 for South Africa [in 2008-09], they are predicting another 20,000 on top of that. It’s a big increase and you want to be a part of it and hear the roar. All the boys are looking forward to it and hopefully it does turn out to be a record.”The Melbourne curator, Cameron Hodgkins, has already set about preparing the grassier of the two MCG strips that had been earmarked for this Test, which implies that another all-seam attack might not be the worst idea for Australia, especially given that they’ve got Steve Smith’s legspin waiting in reserve. But whatever happens, Pietersen is confident that England will be better prepared for the challenge that awaits them, particularly from Mitchell Johnson whom, he admitted, had bowled an exceptional spell of inswing bowling that exposed a few unprepared techniques.”He took us by surprise for sure,” said Pietersen. “He bowled well, really, really well and had a good game of cricket, and we’re going to have to prepare ourselves for that swinging ball. We knew he could swing it, but we didn’t realise he would swing it that much. He did some really good work in the week off he had, but we will be a lot better prepared for it here in Melbourne so we will play him a lot better.”As for the row over the choice of wickets, Pietersen said he had no issue with Australia choosing a livelier deck. “Of course they are going to do it,” he said. “They’ve just had success in Perth on a bouncy wicket, but we’ve had success around the world on bouncy wickets. We lost that Test within half an hour, 5 for 20, that’s where we lost it. Full swinging balls knocked over our top order. We didn’t lose it to a bouncy wicket. We lost it to balls that swung that we didn’t prepare ourselves properly for. We will be prepared fully for everything come Saturday morning so I don’t think the wicket will play any different part.”An added aspect of the Perth contest was the renewed chirpiness of Australia’s cricketers, after a subdued performance in the one-sided match at Adelaide. From the moment Mitchell Johnson started trading verbals with James Anderson during his half-century on the first day, the tensions between the teams were cranked up an extra notch, and it was Australia who came out on top in every respect. Right at the heart of it all was Siddle, whose confrontation with Matt Prior on the second evening was especially fiery, and who admitted he’s at his best when let off the leash a little bit.”It’s part of my game anyway,and I think that’s when I’m at my best,” said Siddle. “That’s how Ricky goes about it with me, he knows that if he can get me up and firing and at my best, I can get the rest of the boys going. Sometimes it comes off, sometimes it doesn’t, but in this case it has and no doubt down the track it won’t. But hopefully we can keep it going down the series and we can keep on top of them.”It was a bit different from Adelaide,” he added. “When you’re 1 for 500 [sic] the sledging isn’t going to look as obvious, you’re not going to have much to say, and you’re not going to be out there as much. But both teams are going hard at it, it’s good fun out there. They’re at us, we’re at them, and it makes it lively out there. And no doubt the spectators like to see it.”Pietersen, however, played down Australia’s fighting talk, and suggested that things had been rather more intimidating in past series. “I’ve played against Australia in I don’t know how many Test matches, and believe me, the first time I played and the second time I came out here, with the likes of Warne, McGrath etc, there were some pretty big verbal contests. I haven’t seen or heard anything different from what’s happened in the first two Tests, let alone last year in England. There are not really any big chirpers or sledgers.”It’s England v Australia, an Ashes series,” he added. “Blokes get the red mist occasionally and you’re allowed to do that, things happen. You’re playing for that little urn and it’s historic, it’s huge. But there’s nothing that’s been overboard, and if things go overboard match referees deal with stuff like that and there’s been nothing like that. There’s not been anything close to it.”Either way, Pietersen is determined to move beyond the Perth experience, and concentrate solely on the challenge that awaits in Melbourne. “You can’t live in the past or think about things in the past,” he said. “You have to focus your attention on what’s to come and that’s what all the team are doing. We took momentum into Perth and we got hammered, so we’re not thinking about things that have happened.”The key to us being successful on this Ashes trip would just be to forget about last week,” he added. “Learn from the mistakes we made, but just forget about last week. The open and honest meeting we had the evening the game finished was a very good meeting. We have left that and it’s time to look forward now. We’ve got to learn from the mistakes we made and we’ll be better prepared come Sunday.”

Dean Windass has exclusively told Football FanCast that he doesn’t think Tottenham will beat Manchester City in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, even if Harry Kane plays.

Spurs go in search of their first major trophy since winning the same competition in 2008 when they face the seven-times winners and three-times defending champions at Wembley.

But Tottenham’s chances of ending their 13-year trophy drought could rest on the fitness of their star man Kane.

The England striker has been in scintillating form throughout the season, but hobbled off against Everton on Friday with his latest ankle problem, and faces a race against time to be fit.

But Windass believes that with Manchester City out for revenge following their FA Cup exit last weekend, it’ll be too big of a task to beat Pep Guardiola’s men, who haven’t lost in the League Cup for more than four years.

“I don’t think they’ve got any chance of beating City even if Harry Kane is fit,” Windass told Football FanCast.

“Ryan Mason has got to get everybody on board. But it’s going to be a tough game against Man City, especially after them getting beaten in the semi-finals, so they’ll be wounded. 

But with Jose Mourinho no longer in charge, and the squad on a clean slate, Windass made no secret as to who should be their front-three moving forward.

He added:

“I would like to see Gareth Bale get a number of games from now until the end of the season with Son and Kane upfront.

“You’ve got more chance of winning football matches with them three upfront than with them not in the team.”

Some Liverpool fans have been reacting to the news that the Reds have lost a significant amount of money in the past year, with lots of negativity on show.

It has been an extremely tough year around the world, with the virus affecting day-to-day life to a level rarely seen in modern history.

Football, like nearly every other industry, has taken a major financial hit in that time, with fans largely not allowed inside stadiums and clubs losing huge amounts of matchday revenue.

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Liverpool have struggled both on and off the pitch since clinching their maiden Premier League title, missing having supporters inside Anfield and seeing the defence of their crown fizzle out in miserable fashion.

On Tuesday, the club announced their financial results over the past 12 months, with The Athletic’s James Pearce confirming a pre-tax loss of £46million.

Liverpool fans frustrated by £46m losses

It is no great surprise, considering the impact the virus has had, but that hasn’t stopped a number of Liverpool supporters voicing their frustration.

Here are some of the best reactions on Twitter.

“30 year old Thiago for £25m and £200k p/w, someone who is good at the economics please help me budget this. My football club is dying”

Credit: @NoSwearingHere7

“We are not signing anyone this summer lads”

Credit: @Gbemiga_A

“This is just letting everyone know we’re not signing a single player this summer”

Credit: @rinangelz

“Lost £46m already and that’s only 3 months of the pandemic”

Credit: @archielfc

“There goes our summer budget”

Credit: @RebelYelliex

“Well the success was fun for 3 years. No chance FSG will dip into their own pocket and fund anything this summer”

Credit: @JamieRamsey_

In other news, some Liverpool fans are desperate for the Reds to sign one exciting attacker this summer. Find out who it is here.