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QPR are reportedly interested in a deal to sign Manchester City youngster Tommy Doyle on loan for the 2021/22 campaign, according to Football League World.

What’s the story?

Doyle has been with Manchester City since 2009 and has gone on to make seven first team appearances for the club over the years, catching the eye with some strong performances for their academy teams.

He is yet to be sent out on loan in his career yet, but it appears as though Pep Guardiola is keen to find him regular minutes as he looks to further Doyle’s development at the earliest of opportunities.

The midfielder isn’t short of offers either, with QPR set to rival the likes of West Brom, Sheffield United and Fulham in the race to strike an agreement with Manchester City on a temporary basis for Doyle’s services, whilst six other Championship clubs are also keen on signing the 19-year-old.

High praise from former Manchester City scout

QPR finished ninth in the Championship last season and the club’s supporters have every reason to be in a confident mood heading into the 2021/22 campaign after such a strong finish to last term under the watchful eye of Mark Warburton.

The R’s have already added to their squad over the summer, with Charlie Austin’s permanent return among the arrivals at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium, but they’re seemingly keen to continue adding depth to their squad ahead of the new season, with Doyle among their targets at the moment.

You would imagine that he’ll be keen to make a name for himself in senior football in the near future as he looks to force his way into the Manchester City senior squad on a regular basis further down the line.

Therefore, this could play into QPR’s plans as they would be getting a player who ought to be hungry to prove himself at senior level; and with some of the creative talent that Warburton already has in his squad, it could prove to be a recipe for success for the R’s.

Former Manchester City scout Greg Walsh labelled Doyle ‘phenomenal’ last year in an interview with HITC, saying: “He’s one of the best of his age in Europe. He’s phenomenal.”

Doyle has already been called upon by Guardiola for Manchester City’s first team, which shows that he’s highly rated by the Premier League champions, and QPR fans should be buzzing to see their club being linked with a player of that potential, especially if they can fend off such widespread interest in him.

In other news: Transfer update emerges on “hungry” £450k-rated QPR flop, Warburton must be ruthless

Sidharth Monga rewinds the Plays of the Day from the match between Pakistan and Bangladesh in Karachi

Sidharth Monga in Karachi24-Jun-2008
A ride for two: Zain Abbas and Younis Khan are stretchered off © AFP
Why Shoaib Malik shouldn’t open
The last time he opened Pakistan’s innings was in Gwalior, against India on November 15, 2007. Salman Butt took first strike then and was out lbw second ball to RP Singh for a sifar (zero). Seven months later, Malik walked out once again with Butt. Malik’s partner lasted three balls this time, out edging Afzaal Haider – for a sifar. The captain might want to give up opening aspirations for the sake of a young teammate.Left-armed compliment
Pakistan’s troubles against left-arm spinners are well-documented. From Vinoo Mankad to Ray Bright to Maninder Singh to Phil Edmonds to Nick Cook to Ashley Giles to Mohammad Rafique to Monty Panesar, Pakistan have always seemed to bat for the cause of the most unglamorous variety of spinners.With that in mind, Hong Kong went with a smart strategy: packing their side with left-arm spinners, much like the Bangladesh side of not so long ago. Nadeem Ahmed, Najeeb Amar and Munir Dar gave away 120 runs in 27 overs, and Nadeem accounted for the wickets of Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi.Dodgy decision of the day
Nadeem, playing his second ODI, had everything going for him and looked good for a five-for when he finished his seventh over, his figures at the stage reading 7-1-33-4. But he was taken off at the end of the 28th over with Pakistan’s score at 158 for 6, and brought back in the 43rd over. Sohail Tanvir and Fawad Alam had settled in by then, and got stuck into Nadeem in his ninth over, which went for 12 runs. Nadeem didn’t get to bowl his 10th. Had he taken a fifth wicket, he would have become the first Hong Kong bowler to do so; in any case his 9-1-51-4 were the best bowling figures for Hong Kong.Baptism by fire
This was the first international match – and the second first-class match – for Hong Kong’s Irfan Ahmed, 18. And he got in the way of a intent to get off the blocks. Iftikhar Anjum got his first ball of the match to nip in sharply, beat Irfan’s defenses, and end his innings in exactly one delivery. The bat had come down at an angle, and Anjum made sure Irfan would have enough time to ponder over the backswing.Stretcher for two
In the 28th over of Hong Kong’s innings, Zain Abbas tried to crack Shahid Afridi through the covers and caught a helmetless Younis Khan smack on the head. The ball rebounded and went into the covers. Zain, himself cramping and batting with a runner, had taken down a player.A stretcher was called for – it wasn’t clear whether for Zain or Younis – and Umar Gul, fielding at the boundary, hitched himself a ride to the centre. Both Younis and Zain decided to go off, and shared the ride out. Younis, though, came back after a few overs to bowl, and managed to take a wicket too.

Manchester United have been linked with a move for Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves as the transfer window starts to take shape.

What’s the story?

According to talkSPORT, the Red Devils are winning the race for the 24-year-old’s signature this summer, with fellow Premier League side Arsenal also credited with an interest.

Reporter Alex Crook claims United are in pole position to sign Neves and that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants the Portugal international at Old Trafford next season whether Paul Pogba remains at the club or not.

“Neves is another player Mikel Arteta has been monitoring very closely, but the trail seems to have gone cold there over a move to Arsenal,” Crook told talkSPORT host Jim White.

“Wolves have their price tag, £35m, and they’re willing to do business to try and generate some funds for their new manager Bruno Lage. Liverpool were mentioned to me, but there’s definite interest from Manchester United.

“Ruben Neves is a Portuguese teammate of Bruno Fernandes, and he is actively trying to push Neves towards Old Trafford. They do want another midfielder regardless of Paul Pogba’s future at the club.”

Fans should be concerned

At just 18, Neves became the youngest player to ever captain a Champions League game when he led out Porto against Maccabi Tel Aviv, but he’s arguably struggled to live up to his early promise.

Despite helping Wolves to the Championship title in 2017/18 and to two consecutive seventh-place finishes in the top-flight standings, the technically gifted maestro has failed to show the required quality needed at United.

Solskjaer’s current options in the holding midfielder role are Brazil international Fred and Scotland’s Scott McTominay. Although both have their critics, the duo have been dependable performers in recent years, and their underlying numbers are favourable compared to Neves’.

While the Wolves midfielder recorded a pass accuracy of 84.3% in 2020/21, McTominay achieved 87.3% and Fred 88.2%.

The former Porto man also lagged behind the United duo in terms of interceptions, managing only 1.55 per 90 compared to Fred’s 1.77 and McTominay’s 2.15.

Although Neves bettered McTominay in terms of tackles, winning 3.03 per 90 compared to the Scotland internationals 2.03, Fred once again bettered them both with 3.31.

The same scenario occurred in terms of shot-creating actions per 90, with Fred managing 2.52, Neves 2.09 and McTominay 1.4.

Therefore, the United supporters should be concerned about this latest transfer revelation. If Solskjaer wants to end the club’s longest trophy drought in over 30 years and return the Red Devils to the summit of English football, then quality additions will be needed ahead of the upcoming campaign.

Neves is no better than the options already available to him.

And, in other news…Imagine him & Fernandes: Ole must unleash “perfect” £27m-rated Man Utd star next term 

The preview of the warm-up tour game between Sri Lanka Board’s XI and India, Colombo

Cricinfo staff17-Jul-2008Match factsFriday July 18 – Sunday July 20, 2008
Start time 10.30am (05.00GMT)
Sachin Tendulkar gets a chance to test his match fitness © AFP
Big PictureAfter three hectic months of Twenty20 and one-dayers, this is India’s only warm-up game before the Tests against Sri Lanka. It is also the only chance for several of India’s players who have had an enforced break from cricket – Sachin Tendulkar (groin injury), Zaheer Khan (ankle injury), Harbhajan Singh (disciplinary ban), and VVS Laxman (fractured wrist) – to get some match practice under their belts. That means India might want to opt for the same XI they have in mind for next week’s Test.Captain Anil Kumble has been stressing that the Test outfit has been performing consistently over the past year and will be keen to redress India’s poor record in Sri Lanka, where they haven’t won a series in 15 years.For the home side, the match will be a chance for Upul Tharanga, who has been out of the Test side since last December, to make his case. Chamara Kapugedera has become a regular starter in Sri Lanka’s one-day unit and will be trying to use this game to stake his claim for a Test spot. At least two other members of the team – fast bowler Dilhara Fernando and batsman Chamara Silva – are also likely to feature in the Test series.One to watchNearly twenty years on the international circuit have taken their toll on Sachin Tendulkar, and he has been struggling with a groin injury for the past few months. The only cricket he has played after the Indian Premier League is a few leisurely games with Lashings. This match will give a better indication of whether he’s fit enough to return to the rigours of Test cricket next week. He’s within touching distance of Brian Lara’s record Test aggregate and will want to use this game to get into the groove.Team newsGautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag get a chance on this tour to translate their opening form in the limited-overs versions of the game to Tests. The experienced middle-order picks itself while the absence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni leaves Dinesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel vying for the wicketkeeper’s spot. Zaheer Khan will reclaim his place as the pace spearhead with Ishant Sharma likely to be his sidekick. India’s spin threat will come from the old firm of Kumble and Harbhajan.India (probable) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Sourav Ganguly, 6 VVS Laxman, 7 Dinesh Karthik/Parthiv Patel (wk), 8 Anil Kumble (capt), 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ishant SharmaSri Lanka Board XI squad Mahela Udawatte, Upul Tharanga, Jehan Mubarak (capt), Chamara Kapugedera, Chamara Silva, Thilina Kandamby, Kaushal Silva (wk), Chanaka Welegedera, Sujeewa Silva, Dammika Prasad, Rangana Herath, Dilhara FernandoQuotes”We have Zaheer Khan back in the team with his experience of bowling in subcontinental conditions, Ishant Sharma who has really progressed well as a seamer, and Harbhajan Singh is back as well.”
Anil Kumble talks up his bowling attack

Sri Lanka couldn’t get Virender Sehwag out, but Ajantha Mendis found a wayaround him, helping Sri Lanka dismiss the others cheaply before HarbhajanSingh enacted a similar turnaround to restore the balance

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga01-Aug-2008
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Harbhajan Singh’s four wickets in the final session helped India fight back © AFP
Sri Lanka couldn’t get Virender Sehwag out, but Ajantha Mendis found a way around him, dismissing most of the others cheaply, before Harbhajan Singh enacted a similar turnaround to restore the balance at the end of day two in Galle.It was an eventful three sessions: Sehwag was imperious as he scored his fifth double-century even as he lost partners at the other end; Malinda Warnapura and Kumar Sangakkara threatened to run away with the match, but Harbhajan pulled Sri Lanka back with a four-wicket burst in the final session.Sri Lanka dismissed the last six Indian batsmen for 51 runs; India repliedby taking four of their batsmen for 55. WhenSangakkara and Warnapura were going hell for leather, it seemed they wouldtake Sri Lanka’s second innings out of the equation, but then Harbhajan cameup with one of his best spells in recent times.Warnapura, especially, showed he had learned a lesson or two from Sehwag. Hesaw his opening partner, Michael Vandort, get out in the first over, andthen played at and missed a few times against Zaheer. But all along he keptpunishing even the smallest errors of length. Zaheer’s fourth over was themost expensive of the series: Warnapura took four successive boundaries toreach 24 off 18 balls.The Indian bowlers looked helpless in the face of Sangakkara’s determination to set right a minor dip in his form. Sri Lanka raced to 50 in 8.5 overs, and by the time spin was introduced Sri Lanka had scored 60 for 1 in 11 overs. Anil Kumble and Harbhajan brought in some control, but their fortunes were not changing just as yet: just before tea, Dinesh Karthik made a mess of a regulation stumping chance off Harbhajan when he couldn’t even collect the ball with Sangakkara way down the wicket.When India came back from tea, they continued with the pressure tactics, and Warnapura yielded, giving Gautam Gambhir a difficult low catch at short cover. The ten overs preceding that dismissal had yielded 15 runs. Harbhajan took heart from that wicket and got a leading edge from Sangakkara, which he caught himself, just in case. Two new batsmen were in, and Kumble and Harbhajan were finally being treated with the sort of respect they have been used to.Harbhajan went round the stumps and trapped Thilan Samaraweera with aslider. In the same over, he got Tillakaratne Dilshan with one that bounced and turned in sharply.In thefinal overs Harbhajan twice came close to getting his fifth: first he beatMahela Jayawardene with a sharp offbreak from round the stumps; thefield umpire thought it would have gone down the leg side, and the reviewsaid no different. Prasanna Jayawardene offered Gambhir a sharp chance atforward short leg, but Gambhir couldn’t cap the good day he had had in thefield with another catch.Smart Stats Sehwag’s was the 42nd instance, but only the second by an Indian, of a batsman carrying his bat in Tests. Sunil Gavaskar had done it in 1983 against Pakistan, scoring 127 out of 286.Sehwag scored 61.09% of India’s total, which is 11th in the all-time list and the third-highest for India in a completed innings. Only VVS Laxman (167 out of 261 against Australia in 2000) and Mohinder Amarnath (60 out of 97 against West Indies in 1976) have scored a higher percentage. Sehwag’s last 11 Test hundreds have all been 150-plus scores. His strike rate in those 15 innings is 78.41, only marginally higher than his career strike rate of 77.05 Sehwag scored 73 against Vaas and Kulasekara at a run a ball. Against Mendis he scored 70 from 77, while Murali kept him down to 58 from 81. Sehwag and Laxman put together a century partnership for the first time in Tests. In 15 innings they have scored only 430 runs at an average partnership of 28.66.The collapse that Sri Lanka faced paled in comparison with the two India hadendured. India went from 167 for 0 to 178 for 4, and then from 278 for 5 to 327all out, and both collapses were triggered by Mendis, who was facing thefirst big test of his short career. Sehwag read him and went after him,taking 70 runs off the 77 deliveries he faced from him. But that failed tointimidate Mendis, who stayed accurate, made the batsmen play almost everyball, and earned his first five-for in Tests.After the wicket of VVS Laxman, who took his overnight stand of 36 with Sehwag to 100 before hitting a long hop from Mendis straight to midwicket, Mendis began to toy with the tail. Karthik seemed in no mental shape to play high-quality spin bowling; his lack of confidence showed when he didn’t ask for the review after he was eventually given out: replays indicated the topspinner from Mendis would just have brushed off stump.Mendis then repeated the now-famous carrom ball that got Rahul Dravid in thefirst Test to Harbhajan Singh: it broke away at a rapid pace and took thetop of off.The story of the day, though, remained Sehwag, who scored 61.09% of India’s runs. This was the 11th consecutive hundred he had converted into a 150-plus score. He also became the second Indian to carry his bat through, and passed 5000 Test runs.It is a shame that some of Sehwag’s best innings have come when histeam-mates have been struggling for form. Only two of his 15 centuries – allscored at a maddening pace – have resulted in victories for India. Aftermany a quick Sehwag hundred, the other batsmen have either folded or slowedthe pace down so much as to deprive the bowlers of sufficient time in whichto force a result. Something similar seemed on the cards here, but thedifference this time was that Sehwag was around for the duration to makeamends for the collapses.Muttiah Muralitharan, surprisingly ineffective in the innings, began bowlingwith an in-and-out field. Sehwag smartly resorted to opening the face of his batand finding twos. Mendis, back for a new spell, was welcomed with a six; theoff stump at the non-striker’s end prevented another certain boundary in thesame over.As the wickets fell, Murali at the other end started to rip his doosras, ending Anil Kumble’s resolute innings, and Zaheer Khan’s brief one. When Zaheer, the No. 10, launched into an irresponsible sweep off Murali, Sehwag was on 195. At 199, with just two overs to lunch, Sehwag refused the single twice, preferring to shield Ishant Sharma rather than get to the mark. Off the last ball of the over, he then nonchalantly flicked to deep square leg for a single.The rest of his team owed him an apology for the lack of support – 307 oftheir 326 runs were scored by three batsmen – and Harbhajan went some waytowards doing so. Whether it was enough remained to be seen.

Many Glasgow Rangers fans were far from happy with a Twitter headline with regards to a story involving Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton.

On the pitch, Barton is best known for his time in the Premier League with the likes of Manchester City, Newcastle United, QPR and Burnley. However, both he and many Rangers fans would probably like to forget his spell in Scotland, as he made just eight appearances for the 55-time Scottish champions (Transfermarkt).

In all fairness, his time at Ibrox was mainly forgettable, having had his contract terminated early following a training ground altercation and an investigation from the Scottish FA over alleged breaches of gambling rules (BBC).

Barton is once again in the news for the wrong reasons, with him now having been charged with assault, and the STV have decided to go with a questionable headline – they have decided to describe Barton as a “former Rangers midfielder”. Even if he did briefly play in Scotland, there are surely more relevant ways to describe him.

The headline, which was shared on Twitter by STV, attracted plenty of attention from furious Gers supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on how the story was presented.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the Barton headline

“Absolutely appalling considering the guy played literally half a season for us and has had at least 2 other clubs since leaving us. Why am I not surprised”

Credit: @james12hendry

“GET A GRIP WITH YOUR GUTTERPRESS REPORTING!! Former Rangers player?? 5 years since he made 5 appearances for @RangersFC”

Credit: @LawTRICIA

“This is a bit laughable considering he’s the current manager of Bristol Rovers. Anything to paint Rangers in a negative light though eh”

Credit: @garryhood1872

“Very poor journalism”

Credit: @lothianguy

“bet it felt great after typing that. Muppets.”

Credit: @GlasgowIsBlue72

“Amateur journalism at its best!”

Credit: @hariborfc

In other news, Rangers are set to sell this “faultless” ace.

A number of Derby County supporters have been bemoaning a fresh story surrounding manager Wayne Rooney, following a training ground tackle.

The Rams are preparing for another season in the Championship, but it’s fair to say that it’s a tumultuous time at the club currently.

Derby currently have a transfer embargo that means they can only sign free agents or players on loan, which is unlikely to aid their hopes of improving on last season’s performance.

On top of that, Rooney has found himself in the headlines for the wrong reasons, with a new story now emerging regarding the Rams boss.

According to The Telegraph‘s John Percy on Twitter, it was Rooney’s tackle on Jason Knight in training that led to the midfielder being sidelined for 12 weeks with an ankle injury.

Derby fans fume at Rooney story

These Derby fans took to Twitter to provide their angry thoughts on the situation.

“Get Amazon Prime on the phone ASAP, we need the cash”

Credit: @rosehatton_

“I cannot stress how much I miss having a normal, boring football club. This isn’t fun anymore”

Credit: @RyanHills27

“I’m lost for words”

Credit: @brearley_daniel

“Our manager, one member of staff, has made the national news twice in two days, for two separate incidents. Why are we like this?”

Credit: @Ewan_Valentine

“Anyone else think Mel is about to drop the bomb on Rooney kicking off another 18 months of tribunals which we’ll lose? You just know its coming”

Credit: @cspaceram

“It’s being reported that Knight being out for 2 months is because of a 50/50 challenge in training with Rooney. This club never stops”

Credit: @DcfcHub

In other news, Derby have been dealt a transfer blow regarding one player. Find out who it is here.

Yorkshire finished the Roses match well on top, with Lancashire having to fight hard to avoid defeat, but it is inevitable that they will have a couple of regrets and ‘what if’ questions.

John Ward at Old Trafford15-Aug-2008
ScorecardYorkshire finished the Roses match well on top, with Lancashire having to fight hard to avoid defeat, but it is inevitable that they will have a couple of regrets and ‘what if’ questions. A delayed declaration, unwarranted trust in the weather forecast, and their lack of a good second spinner: all were factors that reduced their chances of victory, but in the end the loss of almost a day and a half to rain may have been too much for them anyway.Yorkshire began the day on 234, three runs ahead of Lancashire, but crucially with eight wickets in hand. Their preferred scenario would have been to run up a total of 400 as quickly as possible, declare, and then bowl out Lancashire a second time for an outright victory. In the event, the runs took a little longer than they would have liked. Jacques Rudolph began with some aggressive strokes and raced into the twenties, but then he and Andrew Gale became rather tied down by persistent bowling.Gayle finally lost his wicket for 136, driving a catch to wide long-on; almost immediately afterwards Adam Lyth (1) called for a risky single to backward point, only to be sent back and run out. Rudolph’s 50 came off 72 balls and he eventually fell for 54, getting in a tangle over a ball from the occasional leg-spinner Faf du Plessis that reared out of the footmarks, and popping a catch to the keeper.Tim Bresnan was promoted, presumably in the hope of quick runs, and if so was a partial success. Yorkshire at lunch had earned another batting point, on 355 for 6, but the declaration that many expected did not materialize. Rain was not considered likely, and a declaration at that point would give them a lead of only 119 runs and Lancashire two sessions during which they would surely exceed that total if they survived, so it did make sense for Yorkshire to seek full batting points – if the weather forecast proved correct. The major problem was that it took a little too long to reach that 400, which was attained almost 40 minutes after lunch, with Bresnan scoring 47 not out.du Plessis finished with 3 for 61, while Cork’s 1 for 26, surprisingly under-bowled for just 12 overs, was also presentable, but the others would not have pleased their owners. Keedy took 1 for 142 off 48.5 overs, and deserved better, troubling the batsmen at times, but just seemed to lack that little extra something that the great English spinners of the past had.Lancashire went in again with a deficit of 169 runs, and a minimum of 51 overs to survive. Matthew Hoggard for one was fired up; in his first over Iain Sutcliffe nudged a four but was then caught at the wicket from a ball that bounced and moved away. Paul Horton did not look comfortable and earned two fortunate boundaries, but he hung on, while Stuart Law (4) departed, being easily caught at mid-on off a stroke that was half hook, half pull against Bresnan.It was a spinner’s pitch, but it was still startling to see occasional leg-spinner Rudolph coming on for the ninth over. Adil Rashid came on at the other end, a more orthodox move, and he immediately bamboozled and bowled du Plessis with a well-flighted googly – they don’t get many of those in South Africa. Lancashire were now in trouble at 29 for 3.Horton played a fine rearguard innings while keeping the score moving, reaching 50 off 83 balls, and the much-maligned Lou Vincent, though virtually strokeless (3 off 38 balls at tea) hung in there with him. Adam Lyth also bowled, but Yorkshire, who had omitted David Wainwright, now felt the loss of a genuine second spinner to partner Rashid. Darren Gough cut down his pace and run to have a try with cutters, and he rang his bowling changes, but the two refused to yield. Within living memory, bowlers such as Johnny Wardle, Bob Appleyard and Ray Illingworth would surely have completed the job, but times have changed and English counties do not produce spin bowlers like they used to.At five o’clock, the unexpected happened – the clouds loomed and the players left the field for bad light. Fifteen minutes later, with light still poor but only a light smattering of rain, the game was officially abandoned as a draw, and Yorkshire were left to regret what might have been. Rashid finished with figures of 1 for 16 off 16 overs, but he too must surely have regretted not being part of what is virtually an extinct species in the cricket world outside Asia – a set of ‘spin twins’.