Haroon Lorgat, 47, comes to the ICC with his most telling qualification being that he somehow managed to maintain some degree of selectorial integrity while operating within the confines and bizarreness of South African cricket’s politically-directed affirmative action policies. Lorgat headed South Africa’s selection panel from 2004 to 2007 when the team did not have the services of the maturing bunch of stars they do now, but their record was still impressive.Lorgat brought stability to selection after the often puzzling reign of Omar Henry, but it was a pity Lorgat and Graeme Smith could never quite hit it off. Their relationship was littered with arguments over whether players should be chosen when not 100% fit, and it all came to a messy head in Cape Town in November 2006 when TV cameras caught their argument at the toss in full and embarrassing technicolour.But Lorgat’s tenure showed that he could juggle both politics and cricketing necessities and that is surely a telling quality when it comes to heading up the ICC. Players called him a ‘liar’, administrators said he was ‘right’, and fans didn’t know what to make of him, which is about as good as you can hope for when your brief is, basically, ‘pick this team but tell them it’s for this reason, them that it’s for the other reason, and the others that it’s none of their business.’But his time as convenor of selectors represents only a small part of his involvement in cricket. Lorgat served on the 2003 World Cup organising committee and was also treasurer of Cricket South Africa, an obvious appointment given his background. He completed his accounting articles with Coopers & Lybrand, before going it alone for eight years. He joined Ernst & Young as a senior partner in 2002 and last year set up Kapela Investments with five other associates.The CSA chief executive, Gerald Majola, goes back a long way with Lorgat: “We made our debut together for Eastern Province. I was dropped straight away because I scored nought and one, but Haroon scored 49.”We played together from childhood, our first tournament together was the Under-19s in Cape Town in 1975. He was a stylish batsman and a good bowler too, more in the Polly mould in that he was containing and would always bowl a good line and length. He was a top-order batsman and medium-pace bowler, one of our best allrounders in fact.”Majola’s backing was similarly effusive for Lorgat’s position as the ICC’s chief executive. “I have no doubt he will make a success of the ICC job, he has very good business acumen and he was Cricket South Africa’s treasurer for a while. He will do a good job because he understands the game and is passionate about it.”Lorgat’s heritage, a South African of Indian descent, is another reason why the ICC seem in a rush to pick him as their new CEO. A thoughtful, level-headed man, Lorgat will be expected to bridge the divide between East and West in cricket’s corridors of power.Currently based in Cape Town, Lorgat was a left-hand batsman and a right-arm seamer who scored 2813 runs and took 191 wickets in 76 first-class matches. He is married with a son and a daughter.
Thursday, April 3, 2008 Start time 1000 (local) 1400 (GMT)
The big picture
A victory in the opening Test in Guyana has given Sri Lanka a golden opportunity to claim their first series win in the Caribbean. A win here would also give them a special record: they will become the first visiting side to complete a clean-sweep in the West Indies. Australia came close five years ago, when they won the first three Tests but a record-breaking chase in the final Test in Antigua snuffed out their hopes of a whitewash.Sri Lanka pulled off a 121-run win in the opening Test in Guyana, with Chaminda Vaas engineering the triumph with a splendid 8 for 109. It was their first Test win in five attempts, giving them a shot at an unprecedented sweep.The fact that a scheduled warm-up game was cancelled, owing to logistical reasons, is unlikely to dampen Sri Lankan spirits. Mahela Jayawardene has urged his side to go for a win while Chris Gayle, his counterpart, has plenty of problems with regard to team selection. It will no doubt be an uphill task but West Indies have a record to defend and plenty of pride to play for. The weather, though, might have the final say.
Form Guide – West Indies
Last five completed matches: LWLLLPlayer to watch: Amit Jaggernauth’s exclusion from the side for the first Test created a lot of controversy but he’s likely to win his Test cap in front of his home crowd. Jaggernauth’s chances were vastly improved with his match-winning performance in the final round Carib Beer Series match against Barbados last weekend. He is the highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 40 wickets at 14.40.
Last five completed matches: WWWDWPlayer to watch: Thilan Thushara offered steady support to the experienced bowling duo of Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan with match figures of 5 for 129 runs from 37.5 overs. One among the long line of left-arm seamers to have played for Sri Lanka, Thushara made his Test debut on Sri Lanka’s previous trip to the Caribbean five years ago. He subsequently faded but grabbed the opportunity in the first Test to stake his claim for a longer tenure.
Team news
West Indies will be without allrounder Ryan Hinds, who has a hamstring strain. It means Sewnarine Chattergoon, now fully recovered from the illness, is set to make his Test debut ahead of Devon Smith. He is likely to open along with Chris Gayle. There could also be a rare sight of two specialist spinners in the West Indian squad with Jaggernauth in line to join left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn in the side. The other option was to pick Fidel Edwards as a third fast bowler to support Daren Powell and Jerome Taylor.Sri Lanka were sweating over the fitness of Prasanna Jayawardene, who missed the final stages of the Guyana Test because of a hamstring injury, but he is set to retain his spot. Ishara Amarasinghe remains an option, instead of Rangana Herath, but it’s difficult to see Sri Lanka making too many changes to the winning side.West Indies (probable XI) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Sewnarine Chattergoon, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Daren Powell, 9 Jerome Taylor, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Amit Jaggernauth.Sri Lanka (probable XI) 1 Michael Vandort, 2 Malinda Warnapura, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), 8 Chaminda Vaas, 9 Thilan Thushara, 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.Umpires: Simon Taufel, Billy Bowden.
Pitch & conditions
Rain could play a part in the way the pitch behaves. Brian Davis, the groundsman, has spoken about a seamer-friendly track but things could be way different if West Indies choose two spinners. “Surely nobody wants all pitches to be built just for batsmen,” he said.Weather: The forecast isn’t too rosy with showers expected on the second, third and fifth days. The opening day could be overcast too.
Stats
If Sri Lanka win this Test, they would be the first visiting team to complete a clean-sweep in the Caribbean.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul is yet to score a hundred at the Queen’s Park Oval.
Quotes
“We want to get accustomed to the conditions in Trinidad. We’ll make sure we do all the hard work and challenge West Indies, and see if we can win this Test series 2-0.” Mahela Jayawardene“I believe that if we can remain positive and focus, we can win the Test. It’s a must win situation for us to square the series. We’ll try and see what Sri Lanka has to offer a second time around both in the batting and bowling, so it is just for us to return to the drawing board, and come up with a plan, and come prepared to play a tough Test.” Chris Gayle
Sussex’s members looked quizzically at one another when Mushtaq Ahmed’s name was not mentioned in the team to face Surrey at Hove. It was later revealed that Mushtaq, Sussex’s whirling legspinner, underwent keyhole surgery on his right knee on Wednesday.”We made the decision very quickly on the Wednesday morning,” Mark Robinson, Sussex’s cricket manager, said. “We were originally hoping that we would just play him in four-day cricket up to the Twenty20 window where he’d then have the operation.”However, on reflection, we felt it wouldn’t be right to compromise our strike bowler by having him playing in discomfort, so, with the amount of unsettled weather around and the fact our club surgeon said he could get him in that day, we felt it was the wisest decision to make. It is a routine operation that many sportsmen have and we are hopeful that Mushy will be back between two and three weeks.”Mushtaq was replaced by Ollie Rayner, the young offspinner, as play finally got underway at Hove after the first day’s washout.
As selectors and medical staff fret over his workload, Josh Hazlewood thinks he is getting better with each successive spell this summer. Even so, he realises that a quick demolition job on West Indies in Hobart is likely to be his best chance of turning out in both the showpiece Melbourne and Sydney Test over the Christmas/New Year holidays.Much extra responsibility fell upon Hazlewood’s broad shoulders when Mitchell Johnson retired after the Perth Test and then Mitchell Starc suffered a foot fracture early in the Adelaide day/night match that followed it. His response was a commanding nine-wicket performance that suggested he thrived on being thrown the ball more expectantly by his captain Steven Smith.However the selection chairman Rod Marsh has stated that it is unlikely Hazlewood will be risked in all six Tests this summer, meaning it will be largely up to the bowler himself to earn the right to play by taking wickets in a swift enough manner to give him the required rest between matches – as was the case two summers ago when Johnson, Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle were retained throughout the 5-0 Ashes sweep due to matches ending quickly.”I definitely wouldn’t want to be rested for either of those last two games and especially not this one, the first against the West Indies,” Hazlewood said. “I hope I can play all of them, depending on how much workload we have. If we can take these 20 wickets as quickly as possible I don’t see why I can’t play all three Tests.”The quicker you get the 20 wickets obviously the easier it is on the body. We had a tough initiation in Brisbane and in Perth on those wickets but we will be patient, it’s something I think we need to work on against the West Indies, build pressure that way and then the wickets will come hopefully.”Marsh has previously been part of a selection panel that angered fast bowlers by withdrawing them from the Test team for preventative reasons. In 2012 both Harris and Starc were left nonplussed to be asked to cool their heels after strong performances in the previous match, the former missing a Trinidad Test after excelling in Barbados and Starc scratched from Boxing Day despite bowling Australia to victory over Sri Lanka in Hobart.”I guess with my history of injuries people are entitled to their opinion but I feel as good as I have through my career,” Hazlewood said. “I think I showed last summer I bowled quite a few overs in the Tests I played and got through the majority of the winter tours as well. I’m feeling better the further I get in my career.”You have got to be honest with the selectors and coach and Smithy. They value the fast bowlers’ opinions on how you feel, as long as you are honest it’s good communication to and fro. They take a lot from how the bowler feels and how the physio sees things.”There is another decent break after this game and then the hardest ones are probably the last two back to back. But I am feeling pretty good at the moment, and hopefully it stays that way.”Australia are in very much a transitional phase due to the aforementioned retirement of Johnson and Harris, plus those of Michael Clarke, Shane Watson and Chris Rogers. But in Hazlewood they appear to have a bowler who can thrive on the extra responsibility on home turf, while also knowing from the experiences of the Caribbean earlier this year how to bowl to a brittle West Indian line-up, who had their own preparation affected by rain on their afternoon training session at Bellerive Oval.”We are obviously going to miss both Mitches, they both bring different things to the bowling attack but I guess it is good that I am the one who Smithy turns to,” Hazlewood said. “Especially in that second innings in Adelaide, that added pressure I enjoy, hopefully it brings the best out of me, if I continue to bowl like that that would be good.”I thought we bowled quite well in the West Indies as a group, Nathan Lyon included. If we can do something like that in these three Tests and build pressure on them, keeping building those dots up, the wickets will come.”
Former South African captain Graeme Smith has shifted the spotlight off the field and onto the management in the aftermath of South Africa’s second successive series defeat. Speaking on television channel Smith explained the responsibility for the recent performances should be shared by several senior personnel, including the coaches.”The players have to take responsibility for their performances, there’s no doubt about that, but the management do too. They haven’t quite come into the equation of late. At the end the day the performances of the Test team for the last year haven’t been good enough, so you have to ask questions of everybody,” Smith said.”How is management getting the best out of them, how are they preparing them, are they directed in the right way, do they need to be firmer, do they need to be softer? I don’t know.”Smith spent a session before the New Year’s Test in the nets with South Africa’s batsmen and was said to be in talks to take on a consulting role for the remainder of the series. But he was also contracted as a commentator for and and those prior commitments were in conflict with a coaching stint which has confined him to being behind the microphone and not in the dressing room which has left South Africa without a batting coach.Since Russell Domingo took over the coaching job in June 2013, he has made use of three former internationals to assist in the batting department. Gary Kirsten, Domingo’s predecessor, had a 50-days-a-year deal with South Africa through 2014 and Mike Hussey was on the support staff during the 2015 World Cup and briefly before the first Test on the tour to India in November. South Africa did not have any other batting experts with the squad for the rest of the India series, which they lost 3-0, or before the England matches.In India, they managed a highest innings total of 214, were shot out for their lowest score since readmission when they were bowled out for 79 in Nagpur and did not boast a single century-stand. When Smith criticised them on air, he was called in to help.His short time with the team did not have too much of an impact on their fortunes. Although South Africa showed more fight at Newlands, racking up 627 for 7 to put pressure back on England, they struggled at the Wanderers where they were dismissed for a paltry 83, their lowest at home. They have gone 12 months without a Test victory since beating West Indies in January 2014 and have conceded the No.1 ranking.With several issues raging in the background – the push towards aggressive transformation, a mid-series change of captain and injuries to key members of the pace pack – the squad appears to be struggling to keep morale up and Smith has sensed that.”Some of the decision-making around the space looks a bit worrisome for me. The team seems a bit flat. Some of the messages coming out in the press conferences don’t seem positive and it’s coming from senior players,” he said. “You’re in a big series and there is a lot of negativity among your senior players. It looks like someone needs to grab the bull by the horns and say, ‘listen guys, let’s wake up and let’s pull our finger out and let’s go and play some Test cricket’.”AB de Villiers has been of particular concern, especially for his pre-match comments ahead of the Wanderers Test, his first as captain. He did not deny reports suggesting he was considering early retirement and admitted he was “searching for answers,” on how to manage his workload. After the Test, he offered some reassurance by committing himself to Test cricket but the mood was still sombre. “I almost feel like all hope is gone,” de Villiers said.That kind of talk is what Smith is urging South Africa to avoid while still encouraging them to pay attention to what is being said in the public domain about their performances. “These are all questions that need to come out of the environment. When you are not performing well, people are going to ask questions and you’ve got to live with it,” he said.Smith is not the only former player to express this opinion. Mark Boucher posted a message on Twitter saying South Africa should go “back to the drawing board,” while Daryll Cullinan encouraged them to embrace, rather than ignore the chorus or criticism coming their way.”There is nothing wrong with criticism as long as it is backed up by facts and has credibility behind it,” Cullian wrote on Facebook. “One of the things that our cricket lacks is the maturity to embrace it, work with it and evaluate its value. This can only come from people who are secure enough in the own opinions and credibility. When they are not, they surround themselves with like-minded people, have a laager [siege] mentality, label the critics as negative who have nothing good to say and only out to breakdown our game.”
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMohammad Hafeez struck a rapid fifty to take Peshawar Zalmi to 182•PCB
West Indies’ Twenty20 captain Darren Sammy held his nerve with the ball, conceding just nine runs off the final over to guide his team Peshawar Zalmi to a thrilling three-run victory against Karachi Kings in Sharjah.After 39 overs of a contest that swung one way and then another, the equation was that Karachi needed 13 runs off six balls; Peshawar needed three wickets to secure the win and go top of the table. Sammy bowled full and wide first ball, and Ravi Bopara, who had almost single-handedly brought Karachi back into the game, whacked a six over the cover-point boundary. Bopara then helped himself to a two next ball. Five needed off four balls, with Karachi holding the edge.Bopara could have sealed a famous win off the next ball, but sent Sammy’s full toss straight down the throat of long on. Peshawar were lifted, and Usama Mir could only manage a single off the fourth delivery. Karachi knew they had to run for anything, and their sneaky attempt at stealing a bye off the fifth ball was unsuccessful, as Mir was run out. That left Mohammad Amir, the new man in, with the unenviable task of hitting four off the last ball. After a huge discussion between Sammy and his captain Shahid Afridi, Sammy ran in to bowl the final ball from around the wicket. His wide yorker was not accurate, but Amir failed to get any bat on it, and the Peshawar players broke into wild celebrations.A close finish was the last thing on everyone’s mind, especially Peshawar’s, when they reduced Karachi to 48 for 5 in a tough chase of 183. However, Bopara inspired a turnaround, blasting five fours and four sixes during a 33-ball 67 which threatened to take the game away from Peshawar. Bopara put up fifty-plus stands with James Vince and Sohail Tanvir, but unfortunately for Karachi, fell right when his team needed him the most.Earlier, Mohammad Hafeez blasted his first fifty of the season to power Peshawar to 182 for 4. Peshawar, opting to bat, began on the front foot, as Hafeez and Tamim Iqbal put up an opening stand of 93, before late blitzes from Sammy and Afridi lifted the team past the 180-run mark. Hafeez slammed seven fours and three sixes during his 59.
Md Sobuj’s three-for crushed Nepal’s middle order, before an unbeaten 70 from Bangladesh opener Zawad Abrar sealed their seven-wicket thumping, with 151 balls to spare. It took Bangladesh to the top of Group B with a healthy net run rate of 1.56.After being put into bat, Nepal got off to a good start, thanks to a 40-run opening stand between Sahil Patel and Niraj Kumar Yadav. Opening bowler Saad Islam made the initial breakthrough, getting Patel for 18. Sobuj then took over with with three wickets in quick succession.First to fall was Niraj – caught behind – while Nischal Kshetri was bowled for a golden duck. Cibrin Shrestha was out caught and bowled as Nepal slipped from 60 for 2 to 61 for 5.Aashish Luhar’s handy 23 and Abhisekh Tiwari’s 30 carried Nepal forward, but a second flurry of wickets ensured the rebuilding effort did not last for long. After a 38-run seventh wicket stand between Tiwari and Luhar, Azizul Hakim and Shahriar Ahmed made short work of the tail – Nepal went from 119 for 6 to 130 all out.The only downside for Bangladesh was the 17 wides they conceded, which formed an extras tally of 23.Abrar was the rock of the chase with his 68-ball 70*, including seven fours and three sixes. The only moments of concern in the innings came in the fourth over, when opener Rifat Beg was bowled for 5, followed by captain Azizul Hakim being run out the very next ball for 1.Abrar and Kalam Siddiki added 92 for 115 balls for the third wicket. By the time Siddiki fell, Bangladesh were ten runs away from victory. Rizan Hossan finished the game with a six.
Canterbury’s Shell Trophy fixture with Central Districts moved gloomilytowards a conclusion at Village Green today.Play was delayed until 4.45pm by heavy overnight rain. The groundsmen had towork hard to get the pitch ready when the rain stopped at 2.00pm.Any hopes of a brighter Cantabrian dawn were dashed by suicidal batting asthe home team’s spirits fell as quickly as the afternoon clouds had risen.They eventually closed on 63/3.Martyn Sigley had previously breezily smashed Chris Martin all round theground to add 29 of the 30 CD runs scored in just 20 minutes after theresumption.Carl Anderson and Stephen Cunis removed the tailenders, but Canterbury werefaced with scoring 246 to make the Stags bat again.Harley James and Jarrod Englefield both went in dull fashion. James droveairily at Gareth West and was caught by Mark Douglas at slip for two.Englefield completed a miserable match by getting run out after being sentback by Robbie Frew.Garry MacDonald, Canterbury’s coach, had a darker and darker demeanour ashis side failed to weather the CD storm. If it wasn’t for three missedchances in the slips before the score had reached 30, Cantabrian tearsmight have flooded the carefully mopped ground.Golden-arm Oram then struck a lightning bolt through Canterbury’s thunderstorm. Stead flashed a cut, and Oram had struck, with Mathew Sinclair takingthe catch at gully.Little rays of sunshine from Michael Papps, fresh from three ducks in a row,batted Canterbury through to the close with Frew. The Darfield-borndraughtsman was also missed when he gloved a hook off Oram. A big lbw shoutfrom the same bowler was a close shave too for Frew, who ended 23 not out.As the light failed Canterbury paddled away across the damp outfield toclose at a dismal 63/3.MacDonald spoke exclusively to CricInfo today at a rainy Village Green inChristchurch, citing staleness as his reason to move on. “I’ve had fouryears now and it’s probably time to do something else. I think it’s good forthe players, after the amount of time I’ve been with them, to have someoneelse. It freshens them and I got to make sure I don’t get stale myself.”Canterbury have won just one competitive game in 10 during 2000/01. Theylie bottom of both the Shell Trophy and Shell Cup.The failure of Canterbury’s young players to “kick on” has been as much as adisappointment as Canterbury’s Black Caps refusal to play domestic cricket.This was highlighted by Mathew Sinclair and Jacob Oram’s appearances forCentral Districts, while Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan pronouncedthemselves unavailable for the ongoing bottom of the table Trophy clash.Canterbury’s second-string top order collapsed to eight for five in thislatest Trophy game, with MacDonald, a former Canterbury player, commenting”we keep losing clumps of wickets. We’ve been losing four at a time, instrong positions as well, which has been putting us on the back foot.””We’ve been off the pace in both competitions. In the Cup our bowling hasbeen very inconsistent. Our batting has been, well, usually we’ve got enoughruns for a Canterbury team to defend. Our fielding and catching has beenaverage. That’s got to go up and the bowling’s got to be tighter.”The positives this season have been few. Promising performances against theZimbabwe tourists now mean little, with the lack of success in domesticcricket the benchmark MacDonald is judged on.Canterbury won the Shell Cup twice in three seasons under MacDonald, buthave finished bottom in the Shell Trophy in each of the last two years,having won it in 1997/98.While MacDonald is hoping to do some specialist spin bowling coaching- “I’ma bit young to retire yet”- there is no word on a successor, whose big hopemust be to have a full complement of internationals at his disposal.Michael Sharpe, successful coach of Canterbury second XI, is a possibilityas a replacement, having served the same apprenticeship as MacDonald and hispredecessor, Dennis Aberhart.Ben Harris, Canterbury selector and brother of Chris, from the localcandidates, has had his name mentioned in connection with the soon to bevacant post too.The seconds won the National Provincial competition under Canterbury Countrymainstay and Canterbury selector, Sharpe. The Rangiora-born formerprovincial seamer was a member of the successful Canterbury team of thenineties. Whether he would take the role, with so much knowledge of itschallenges as well as its high points remains to be seen.
With Thierry Henry looking set to depart Barcelona this summer, it seems strange to see that the MLS is likely to be his next destination surely; the former Arsenal striker could do a lot better?
Prior to his move to the Catalan club, Henry was one of the greatest strikers ever to play in the Premiership. He was a perfect striker and at times watching him in action could be like an art, on his day he could be considered as one of the best players in the world. The way Henry would terrorises defences and show-up players on a regular basis with his dazzling skills was incredible. When Henry left Arsenal he was their all-time top goal scorer with an impressive 226 goals to his name and also had 92 assists.
At Barcelona, Henry has never been able to hold down a starting shirt and has mainly been used as an impact-sub during his time there. It is strange that he wasn’t even able to get in the team when he had a past-his-best Ronaldinho in front of him. This season he found his options even more limited with Pedro and Bojan preferred to the Frenchman. When he has played he hasn’t looked like the same player at Arsenal and you can clearly see that there is something missing to his game, he doesn’t have that slightly arrogant swagger that he had about him whilst playing for the Gunners. He doesn’t run at defenders like he used to and looks more now for the pass rather than to beat a man and it appears that he has lost his confidence from not playing week-in, week-out. With the arrival of David Villa from Valencia, Henry has seen it as a necessity to leave Barcelona.
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However why is such a fine player not being linked with top-clubs, granted he is now 32 but he still has so much to offer. The most high-profile name he has been linked with is West Ham, and without disrespecting the East London club he could do a lot better. Although the MLS is a slowly improving league, Henry would be better off signing for a side in the Championship then going there.
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Although a return to England looks unlikely and so does a move to another Spanish side there is another league where at 32 Henry could still thrive, Serie A. Henry only spent six months in Italy, at Juventus in 1999, where he struggled to adapt to the slow-paced nature of the league and was regularly played out of position. But a return to the Old Lady could be the perfect move for both parties, with Juventus having a poor season and struggling in front of goal, someone with the guile and vision of Henry could be just what they need. As for Henry, well he arguably has ‘unfinished business’ with the club, because he left not being able to show what a great player he is and not winning anything. He was won major honours in the best leagues in Europe except for Italy and it would be another challenge for himself. At Inter and Milan he would face competition for places and so Juve would be the logical choice. He would be one of the ‘main men’ at the club and he would be able to build his confidence back up and hopefully return to his old form.
It is sad to see the favoured destination as the MLS for a player with the calibre of Thierry Henry. A good player doesn’t turn bad overnight and his career is far from over. So when he makes the likely exit from Barcelona he should seriously consider a move to Italy before he commits himself to the stars and stripes of the USA.
Barcelona’s Yaya Toure has been somewhat in the transfer spotlight as of late, after several clubs in the Premier League have shown a keen interest in the Ivorian defensive midfielder this summer.
However, is the 27-year-old really worth all the hype? Or is he in fact the ‘real deal’ like so many claim?
Last season, the 6’ 3’’ midfielder did not feature as regularly in the Barcelona side as he would have hoped for, after the emergence of Sergio Busquets in the first-team.
Intense speculation continues to grow as the player’s future at the Catalan club appears to be coming to an end, prompting the Ivorian international to look for a new club this summer.
Many Premier League sides including the likes of Chelsea, Manchester Cityand Arsenal have expressed their interest in the solid midfielder and for good reason. Toure himself has also stated that he would relish the prospect of playing in England next season, which will no doubt boost the interested clubs confidence in signing the player this summer.
Reports suggest that Barcelona are willing to sell the midfielder during the summer window, but only for the right price. His suitors have valued Toure at an estimated £20 million, although they are reluctant to sell unless a bid of £30-35 million is tabled during the summer window…overrated and overpriced? A resounding yes springs to mind.
Yaya Toure has propelled his status within the game as time has gone by since making his move from Monaco in 2007. However, many fans (along with me) may argue that the player has been receiving a bit too much praise and hype as of late. He’s good, but maybe not as good as people make him out to be. His price-tag appears to be a bit far-fetched in some fans eyes (which includes me), especially when taking into consideration the fact that there are other players in the world who are better in his position (and generally in the midfield area) and for some strange reason they are valued at a lower price (Cesc Fabregas springs to mind).
Toure has a fairly good knowledge of the game and reads it pretty well. The midfielder possesses good agility and physical strength as well as tremendous aerial ability (only because of his height of course)…clearly everything that makes a fine defensive midfielder these days.
His job is to primarily break up attacks, plain and simple. Toure is definitely not one to create a magical moment or thread killer balls, far from it, he lets the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta produce this on the pitch. Yaya rarely pushes up beyond the half way line, the only time he ever does this is, is when his team have earned a free-kick or corner.
Arguably the player does obtain natural ability and has a football brain in his head, However consider this, if the player cannot get into the Barcelona squad as a starter ahead of Sergio Busquets (who is worse than Toure in my opinion), then surely this suggests that Toure has lost something in the past year or so, so why so much hype over him? Many would believe that the player gets such notice because he is signed to Barcelona, and as such, plays with the best footballers in the world week in week out (well when he used to play that is), So, the next question would be, would Yaya draw as much hype as he has been if he weren’t apart of Barcelona? Don’t think so.
Is he really a £30-£35 million player? Debatable, considering the fact that Barcelona want Cesc Fabregas this summer for a similar price. Finally, is Toure really worth all the hype? Again, it’s a contentious issue which really depends on whether you (the fans) believe Yaya is a good player or not.
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Click image below to see a gallery of the Brazilian babes at the World Cup