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Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca says he felt there was no need to bring on Cole Palmer in the Blues' 2-0 Carabao Cup loss to Newcastle on Wednesday.

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Article continues below

Article continues below

• Chelsea knocked out by Newcastle
• Palmer unused substitute
• Maresca says star was not needed

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Blues crashed out of the Carabao Cup at the last-16 stage, losing 2-0 to Newcastle despite beating them at Stamford Bridge a few days earlier. Maresca opted to include Palmer in the squad as a substitute and the 22-year-old did not even get the call to come on with his side trailing by two goals.

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  WHAT MARESCA SAID

  The former Leicester boss explained his decision to leave Palmer out, saying: "Simply because I think Joao [Felix] and Christo [Nkunku] were doing very good. The reason why [we brought him] was in case we needed Cole but Joao and Christo were doing well so there was no need to change."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Palmer's omission is probably deeper than what Maresca explained in his post-match press conference. The Blues are heavily reliant on the young England star and therefore must manage his minutes coming into a busy period. Palmer was also left out of Chelsea's squad for the Conference League and is seemingly being prioritised for Premier League action instead.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA?

  A big match is on the horizon for Maresca's side on Sunday when Chelsea take on Manchester United at Old Trafford. There is no doubting Palmer will be involved in that game as the London team look to break into the Premier League's top four.

Appointment set to be followed by process to confirm new head coach

Matt Roller27-Oct-2021Gloucestershire have appointed Steve Snell, their former wicketkeeper, as the club’s first-ever performance director.Richard Dawson, the club’s long-standing head coach, was appointed as the ECB’s elite performance pathway coach in March, with his assistant Ian Harvey promoted to interim head coach for the 2021 season. The club announced in early August that they would recruit a performance director before appointing a full-time replacement for Dawson, inviting applications from candidates involved in other sports and with backgrounds in talent identification and development. The club captaincy is also vacant after Chris Dent stood down late in the 2021 season.Will Brown, Gloucestershire’s chief executive, said that the calibre of candidates had been “incredibly strong” and revealed the involvement of Michael Klinger, the former club captain, and Mo Bobat, the ECB’s performance director, in the recruitment process, as well as several senior figures at the club.Related

• Gloucs to recruit performance director, eye first Championship title

• Snell joins Somerset coaching team

• Harvey named interim head coach after Dawson departure

Snell, who made 73 first-team appearances for Gloucestershire between 2006 and 2010, has been on Somerset’s coaching staff since 2014, most recently working as the head of their talent pathway. He has played a role in the development of several young players, including recent academy graduates like Tom Banton, Lewis Goldsworthy and Will Smeed.Gloucestershire said that Snell would be “responsible for delivering success on the field by developing a vision and strategy that puts the team in a position to win titles” and reiterated their ambition to win a white-ball trophy within the next two years, as well as a first-ever County Championship by 2025. Gloucestershire will play in Division One next season, belatedly reaping the rewards of their 2019 promotion.”I delighted to be joining a club with ambitious plans and an extremely talented playing squad and staff,” Snell said. “We have an experienced core group of players which will be looking to build on the 2021 season. Will Brown and the board have made some exciting additions to the squad that I’m confident will help to push the club further forward, and that the supporters will continue to enjoy watching and cheering on.”Gloucestershire is a club that’s rich in tradition but is also an organisation that has exciting points of difference. It’s imperative that we respect the tradition and culture of the club but we also develop our ability to innovate, prepare and develop a cricket team that can achieve sustained success on the field.”Brown said: “We want to win trophies and I’m confident that Steve, working alongside our talented playing and coaching squad, will help us to achieve sustainable success. This is an incredibly exciting time to be a part of Gloucestershire Cricket: we’re a club on the up and we’re looking forward to the challenge of playing in Division One of the County Championship next season.”

During the apartheid years, playing on the county circuit was the only taste of big cricket many South Africans got. Circumstances have changed but plenty still make the annual trip north

Firdose Moonda20-Apr-2012Peter Kirsten and John Wright lived in a flat above a butcher’s shop in the early 1980s. Wright did most of the cooking.”He was a very good cook. So he ate New Zealand lamb and I ate South African lamb,” Kirsten says, with a smile in his voice that suggests the one-liner has been repeated for at least 25 years. Of course, the pair actually ate English lamb, and spent their time chatting about sport.”We both came from strong rugby cultures, so there would be a lot of banter about that,” Kirsten remembers. “And we thought about cricket the same way, so it was just good karma.”Their friendship flowered in Derbyshire, where they were both contracted as overseas players. They decided to share a flat on realising how well they got on and that they could cut costs that way. For both, cricket was a job as much as it was a passion, but there was one significant difference. For Wright, county cricket was simply what he did in the New Zealand winter. For Kirsten, it was the highest level of cricket he could play at the time.South Africa’s sporting isolation, which lasted in varying degrees from the 1960s to the 1990s as part of the worldwide movement against apartheid, meant at least two generations of sportspeople were unable to play sport at national level. For South African cricketers, England provided an opportunity to play with and against quality players from other parts of the world, and to make a year-round career in sport, which otherwise would not have been possible.”It gave me a chance to face bowlers like Malcolm Marshall and Wasim Akram – people we’d only ever heard about. That was an unbelievable challenge,” Jimmy Cook, Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1990, who scored over 7500 runs in three seasons at Somerset, says. “When we as a county used to play against international teams, that was like my Test match.”Brian Rose, Director of Cricket at Taunton, who recruited Cook, agreed that for South Africans there was markedly more meaning to their success in county cricket. “I think that’s true because their Test careers were finished before they even began,” he says.Rose took a keen interest in South African players because of his association with the country. He had taught and coached in Cape Town, at South African College Schools (known as SACS), and he first saw Cook in the 1975-76 season, playing at Newlands. People who Rose knew, like Clive Rice and Eddie Barlow, also spoke well of Cook. “Jimmy came highly recommended by everyone I spoke to,” Rose recalls. When Somerset needed an overseas player, Cook was an obvious choice.For Cook, the opportunity to travel to England was a no-brainer. He had stopped playing football, which had occupied him in the winter, four years before Rose called, and had “always wanted to give county cricket a try”. After checking with Rice that the deal was reasonable and the remuneration fair, Cook accepted.Kirsten got his chance in a similar word-of-mouth way. Barlow had a “sort of trial” for a few Western Province players to see who would be interested in playing in England and Kirsten, who came out on top, was put in touch with Derbyshire.Once in England, it was as though as the world had opened up. Both Cook and Kirsten recall learning and seeing more than they ever did at home. Perhaps more importantly for the counties, both enjoyed immense success in unfamiliar conditions. Even today, South African players sometimes struggle to adjust to the movement on English surfaces, but Cook took to it as though he had played there all his life.

“I see county cricket not only as a cricketing experience but a lifestyle one. They come out of school, they must learn to live without mom and dad and grow up a little bit”Jimmy Cook

Cook put it down to good timing, not with the bat but the year he first started in Somerset, 1989. “My home wicket at Taunton was, at the time, the best batting wicket in England and slightly faster than the other wickets,” he says. “It suited me down to the ground. Early on in my stint there, I managed to play some very slow but longer innings and got used to the conditions. Having played at the Wanderers for so many years, where the pitches were very bowler-friendly, I got to Taunton and found that pitches were batsmen-friendly. So I loved batting every day.”Another aspect of county cricket foreigners can be stumped by is the rigorous schedule. For Cook, that was something to be enjoyed. “To certain people, playing every day isn’t ideal, because they want breaks, but I just loved it,” he says.There was nothing about county cricket Cook did not relish. In his time there, he made Somerset a home, and his wife and two young sons spent time with him there as well. “They didn’t go to school because both my wife and I were schoolteachers, so we just got the work from the school. Mom did the work with them in the morning and they came down to the cricket in the afternoon.”Apart from the lifestyle, Cook says the most important thing county cricket did for him was that it allowed him to keep up with trends in the game. He would often bring home ideas on field placements or particular shots to apply in South Africa.The same went for Kirsten, who remembers seeing and copying the reverse sweep in 1979, and credits county cricket with improving his approach to spin bowling. He also talks about playing a version of cricket that he sees as one of the forerunners to 20-overs cricket. “We used to play ten-over cricket when it rained and our limited-overs games were cut short. We were playing that sort of cricket back then, you know,” he said, with a laugh.Cook, Kirsten, Rice, Stephen Jeffries, Barry Richards and Mike Procter all had opportunities to become better players in the top tier of the English game. But players of colour had to settle for lower levels of competition. League cricket was often where they sought out contracts, and many made a great success of it. Dik Abed was one of the most prominent professionals in the Lancashire League, while Omar Henry made a name for himself in the Manchester League.Mike Procter of Gloucestershire•PA PhotosIt was there that he got an offer from a Scottish businessman, who was also involved in cricket. “He read about me in the Manchester and asked me to go and play in Scotland,” Henry says. “I didn’t even know they played cricket in Scotland. When I got to Glasgow and I saw the cricket field with golf courses on either side, I thought, ‘This is not a bad place to be.'”It was an unexpectedly good result from a decision taken on the fly, to play cricket in the United Kingdom. Henry was 24 years old, lived with his parents and did not have many responsibilities when he took the plunge. “I gave myself three years, where I thought I could live hand to mouth and try to play overseas. It was just my luck that I made it,” he says. “I also saw myself as a bit of a pioneer for other players of colour who did not always have the same opportunities.”Henry was one of very few non-white cricketers who attracted the attentions of a major county, largely because of the lack of exposure players of colour had. South African Cricket Board (non-white) matches were rarely covered overseas. Kirsten thinks that if they were, many more South Africans would have made careers in England. “County scouts were often unaware of the potential of black players,” Kirsten says. “It’s unfortunate because many of those guys would have done very well there.”Since readmission, the South African connection to county cricket has expanded to include all players. Hashim Amla played for Nottinghamshire, Ashwell Prince for Lancashire, Alviro Petersen is currently with Essex, and Vernon Philander represents Somerset, having been handpicked by Rose to join them.Rose has maintained his links with South Africa. Cook coached there for six years and was in charge of youth development, until the role required a full-time employee, which Cook could not commit too. Cook also introduced Graeme Smith, who he coached as a schoolboy, to Somerset. The South African captain led the county to the T20 title in 2005.Cook regularly organises for boys who have just finished school to play league cricket in England, and says he would recommend it as a must-do experience for budding professionals. “If anyone got an opportunity, I’d tell them to jump at it,” he says. “I see it not only as a cricketing experience but a lifestyle one. They come out of school, they must learn to live without mom and dad and grow up a little bit.”Henry agrees, saying although the cricket education is important, it’s the bigger picture that matters more. “What was possibly more important than cricket is that I grew up as a human being.”Money may speak louder than this mantra, though. With leagues such as the IPL contracting players for significant chunks of time, cricketers dedicating time to play on the county circuit is becoming less common. Rose admits that counties sometimes struggle to secure overseas players. “It is much more difficult. The Future Tours Programme is a nightmare for domestic cricket,” he says, although he has found a positive for the local game. “It allows for the development of local young players, which could prove a great benefit for English cricket in the long term.”

Arne Slot strolled into Kirkby with a grin plastered across his face. The Liverpool boss was at ease, carrying all the weight of a man enjoying the rolling blue harbourside of Rotterdam, a sight he has seen many times during his illustrious tenure as Feyenoord's head coach.

For Liverpool and its myriad supporters, this signalled the beginning of a new era, life after Jurgen Klopp quickly unfolding after several weeks of relative silence. Now, the work truly begins for Anfield, seeking to build on the promise of the 2023/24 campaign and muster together a squad fit to inspire a successful new chapter.

While Liverpool has an embarrassment of quality at its disposal, several pressing concerns need to be addressed in the market, so Slot's admission that he has been in regular transfer-discussing contact with sporting director Richard Hughes over the past few weeks bodes well.

Signing a centre-back seems to be Liverpool's priority but it has also been made clear that a top-level wide forward is being sought.

Liverpool transfer news

Mohamed Salah looks set to stay on Merseyside for the first year of Slot's tenure, though with the 32-year-old Egyptian out of contract in 12 months, Liverpool clearly need some new blood on the right flank.

And so, as per Football Transfers, Liverpool have joined the congested race for Crystal Palace sensation Michael Olise. The new-look Reds are trying to do business under the radar this summer but have shortlisted Olise along with PSV Eindhoven's Johan Bakayoko.

Olise signed a new deal at Selhurst Park following advances from Chelsea one year ago, with the £60m release clause in need of being met to facilitate his sale.

Chelsea, Manchester United, Newcastle United and Bayern Munich are also fighting for the Premier League phenom's signature but FSG will know that accelerating their interest could sway the odds in Anfield's favour.

Why Liverpool are interested in Michael Olise

Olise's statistics across the 2023/24 campaign present something of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the Eagles phenom is injury-prone and as such featured only 19 times in the Premier League last season, starting 14 matches.

On the other, he's one of the most exhilarating, devastating forwards in Europe. Olise scored ten goals and added six assists during his short time on the field and has since stirred English football into a frenzy, with talent scout Jacek Kulig hailing him as "one of the EPL's best players" when fit and firing.

He was great during the 2022/23 term, scoring only two league goals across 37 outings but racking up 11 assists. He was incredible last season, fostering, honing and sharpening every facet of his jewelled skill set.

One of the most impressive parts of Olise's development is he hasn't actually mushroomed across every angle of his game; plainly, his combativeness, creativity and ball-carrying skill remain relatively similar, just polished and taken to another level.

This, indeed, speaks highly of Olise's performance level. Transferring to Liverpool, the aspiring France international would offer a dynamic and far-reaching style that would make a real impact on Slot's team – after all, pundit Micah Richards has claimed "he's going to become a superstar", dubbing him a "world-class" talent.

He's also of a profile that Liverpool have sought after for some time now. Sure, Jude Bellingham slipped through FSG's fingers, Jamal Musiala remains a long-term target, but Anfield could wield a player of such acumen and playing style by agreeing a deal with Crystal Palace.

A Musiala & Bellingham hybrid

Musiala and Bellingham are probably best regarded as attacking midfielders, playing off the centre-forward to score goals and post assists. Generally just influencing play with string-pulling performances.

Both, however, are not confined to one role, and neither is Olise, who is usually found on the right wing but is versatile and proven centrally and on the alternate flank. Interestingly enough, they're both 'similar players' to the French star, as per FBref.

The key point here, though, is that the 22-year-old boasts a skill set that Liverpool have already scouted fiercely, perused over in the form of scouting reports on Bellingham and Musiala. Slot might be a new face in the dugout but he will need a Salah successor all the same, and Olise could be the man.

Look at the table above. Olise holds his own and then some against two of football's pre-eminent current offensive midfielders, proving himself to be sharper in his playmaking and more energetic in his ball-recovering.

Sure, Musiala might edge him in dribbling – Ballon d’Or and World Cup winner Lothar Matthaus has said "he can be the Messi of the future". And yes, Jude Bellingham is the most valuable player in world football right now, as per CIES Football Observatory, but Olise is proving that he can go punch-to-punch with two of the game's burgeoning juggernauts.

Liverpool simply have to get him on the books. FSG's CEO of Football Michael Edwards is going to want to see Liverpool get bang for their buck in the transfer market over the coming months. Look no further, Mike, for here is a player destined for greatness. Bring him in.

Diaz sold, £216m spent: What Arne Slot's dream Liverpool XI could be

Anfield could boast quite the team come the end of the transfer window.

By
Angus Sinclair

Jun 16, 2024

A chance move away from his hometown in South Africa unlocked a door he never knew existed

Shashank Kishore10-Sep-2025When Martin Coetzee was let go by his provincial team in South Africa in 2019, he felt like it was curtains on his cricket career.He had hovered on the fringes of the first-class set-up for years without really breaking in. As he contemplated what next – “the thought of moving to another provincial team, or quit cricket altogether and explore another path, like coaching” – the Covid-19 pandemic struck.He was 29, and time was ticking.Then came the move to Hong Kong, far from a cricketing decision. His wife, Lindy, a teacher, had just landed a job at a private school, and the couple decided to take the plunge into the unknown.Related

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Just prior to leaving South Africa, though, Coetzee was told casually by his wife’s school principal, “Don’t forget to pack your cricket bags.” The principal happened to be a former New Zealand first-class cricketer, Ben Hart.”It seemed an odd comment at the time,” Coetzee laughs at the memory. The 36-year-old top-order batter is now in Dubai, part of Hong Kong’s squad at the Asia Cup. “I thought at best this may be a way to play recreationally, get to know a few people at the cricket club, it will help with keeping myself in shape. Nothing more.”When they landed, Hong Kong wasn’t the buzzing global hub he had imagined it to be. Covid restrictions had made the city unrecognisable. “Restaurants were shuttered, masks were compulsory, and residents had to line up for regular blood tests,” Coetzee says.But amid all that, Coetzee found comfort in the fact that he could get outdoors for a few hours. And that outdoor place happened to be the Hong Kong Cricket Club.”I turned up there with no expectations honestly, it was just to get outdoors, rather than being locked in,” he says.

“I thought at best this may be a way to play recreationally, get to know a few people at the cricket club, it will help with keeping myself in shape. Nothing more”

Over time, Coetzee discovered the city’s cricket culture was far more organised and ambitious than he had imagined. He saw talented players fiercely compete, and was explained the pathways into club cricket and possibly international cricket if he stayed the course.”That got me dreaming,” he says. “Suddenly, a three-year qualification criteria didn’t seem to matter, I thought let me start playing and put myself up there. Yes, the wait was long, at times frustrating, but in that period, I played a lot of club cricket, made a lot of friends and enjoyed competing. It got me hooked.”It’s only then I thought of all the things I take for granted back home. In South Africa, you tend to take some things for granted – outdoor nets, fields, space,” he explains. “In Hong Kong, the biggest challenge is facilities. Say, just leading up to our prep tour here, all we had were indoor nets. No grass. It makes you appreciate what you had growing up. But it also makes you work harder.”By the time Coetzee’s qualification period ended, he went on to become one of Hong Kong’s key batters and a regular fixture in the national squad. When not playing, he is a professional coach at the club he represents.”It still surprises me how much Hong Kong has given me,” he says. “You won’t believe it, but there’s a rivalry that is always packed,” he says. “Kowloon Cricket Club and Hong Kong Cricket Club – mate, it’s fiercely competitive as well. The talent is immense.Hong Kong are playing their fifth Asia Cup•Asian Cricket Council”My own team-mates – Nizakat Khan, Anshuman Rath, Kalhan Challu – these guys are all so dedicated. It makes you feel good to be playing with a group that’s as enthusiastic and keen to show what they’re capable of. From day one, Hong Kong cricket felt like a family.The “family” has recently had to channel the disappointment of not qualifying for the 2026 T20 World Cup – their chances at the Asian qualifiers were scuppered by the weather.”Yeah, that still hurts,” Coetzee says. “We were having dinner last night, watching the tennis [US Open final] and one of the UAE lads just mentioned it as a joke and it actually still stung a little bit.”We are very disappointed with that, but with the new coach [Kaushal Silva] and the whole new group and vibe we have got going, we try not to think about that too much, and we are excited about everything that’s ahead. The next week or so is a good example. There’s always the next one to qualify for.”The game has also taken him places – Nepal, Oman, and the UAE – he never imagined visiting when he was lying on a South African rugby field with a broken leg, convinced his sporting life was over. That injury when he was 17 had driven him back to cricket, but the end of his Lions contract had almost pushed him out for good. Yet here he is, living a second chance, wearing new colours, and having a new perspective at 36.”We love the city so much,” Coetzee says. “We’re based just outside the hustle and bustle, in Green Pulse Bay. We can see ourselves living here for quite a while. The cricket crowd is growing, the local kids have so much talent, and the passion is unbelievable.”I never thought I’d find this in Hong Kong. But now I know exactly why Ben told me to pack that cricket bag.”

Allrounder admits he was in “a real dark place” before succesful surgery on injured finger

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Oct-2021Ben Stokes will return to cricket after a four-and-a-half month break in the first Test of the 2021-22 Ashes, in a major boost to England’s hopes of winning in Australia for the first time in 11 years.Stokes has not played any competitive cricket since July 26, when he played through injury for Northern Superchargers in the Hundred. He missed England’s series against India, pulling out of the squad days before the first Test citing a need to focus on his mental wellbeing, and was not considered for selection for the T20 World Cup.But after undergoing further surgery on his left index finger – which he broke during the IPL in April and did not fully recover after he first went under the knife – he has returned to low-level training in recent weeks which will ramp up ahead of England’s departure to Australia on November 4.Related

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“I had a break to prioritise my mental wellbeing and I got my finger sorted,” Stokes said. “I am looking forward to seeing my mates and being on the field with them. I’m ready for Australia.”Writing in his newspaper column, Stokes revealed that he had been “in a real dark place” after struggling with injury and the demands of bubble life. But the removal of scar tissue from his finger enabled a swift return to training and encouraged him to make himself available for Australia.”I feel much better about everything from my finger to my mental well-being,” he said in the . “I know I can focus once again on playing my best cricket Down Under this winter.”I probably didn’t realise just how much of an issue the finger was causing me until I got it sorted the second time around. But I had also been struggling with bubble life and events off the field. I don’t want anyone to feel the way I did, because I wasn’t in a good place and I’m not afraid to admit it.Ben Stokes will now be part of the Ashes tour•Getty Images

“I was in a real dark place and having some difficult thoughts. I was always one of those people who wouldn’t talk about how they are feeling and just keep it internal and crack on. I now realise talking is such a powerful thing and it has completely changed me. Talking to my wife, talking to close friends like Rooty, it has really helped as too the professionals I have worked with.”Stokes last played for England in the ODI series against Pakistan in July, when he returned to captain the team at short notice after Eoin Morgan and the rest of the squad were forced into isolation by a number of Covid-19 positives. He batted twice and bowled a handful of overs, as England won the series 3-0, but only played twice in the Hundred thereafter before stepping away from the game indefinitely.England announced their Ashes squad earlier this month, with Stokes absent and Chris Silverwood, the head coach, stressing that no timeframe would be put on a comeback. Stokes posted a picture of him gripping a bat handle on social media a day later, followed by video of his first hit in the nets since surgery. Last week he tweeted footage of himself bowling.