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Graham Roberts insists that Mauricio Pochettino still loves Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs opened talks with the Argentine amid their chaotic hunt for a replacement for Jose Mourinho.

They did not manage to lure the Argentine away from PSG at the time and moved onto Antonio Conte, although those talks fell through too.

TalkSPORT now claims that Spurs’ leading candidate is Nuno Espirito Santo, who left Wolves at the end of the season, but they claim that there is still interest within the club in rehiring Pochettino.

Roberts believes that the ex-Southampton boss still holds a real affection for the club he left in 2019, with his family still residing in the area.

Reports amid their first links with Pochettino claimed that he still wanted to return to north London and finally conclude his unfinished business.

And Roberts thinks that he may well be willing to make a return this summer.

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, he said: “His family still live in north London, he loves the club, I think the chairman knows he made a mistake by letting him go.

“We keep our fingers crossed. I think Paris are looking to see who they can bring in first before they sanction anything so we keep our fingers crossed but it’d be really, really good for the club.”

Somerset Sabres took another step closer to relegation to the second division of the NUL when they slumped to another disappointing defeat at Canterbury last weekend

Richard Walsh11-Aug-2002Somerset Sabres took another step closer to relegation to the second division of the NUL when they slumped to another disappointing defeat at Canterbury last weekend.After being put into bat the Kent openers Matthew Fleming and Ed Smith got off to a racing start having taken the score onto 38 from 5 overs before Fleming was out for 31.James Hockley joined Smith and they brought up the half century but three runs later Bulbeck struck again to see the back of Hockley.With the score on 75, Steffan Jones, who missed the championship match at Canterbury, claimed the scalp of dangerman Andrew Symonds cheaply.Smith and Matthew Walker then shared a fourth wicket partnership of 78 until Walker became the first of Keith Dutch’s two wickets when he was caught by Matt Wood for 45. The off spinner struck again shortly afterwards when he caught and bowled wicket-keeper Paul Nixon to make Kent168 for 5.Opener Smith was the next to go when he was caught by Jamie Cox off Steffan Jones for 83, but Mark Ealham stayed until the end of the overs by which time the Spitfires had reached 238 for 6 and he was unbeaten on 44.For the Sabres there were two wickets each for Bulbeck, Dutch and Jones.The Somerset reply got off to a bad start when with the score on 7, Peter Bowler became the first of paceman Martin Saggers three victims.Mike Burns joined Wood, but with the score on 23 the young opener was run out for 14. Two runs later Burns became another of Saggers victims, and then on 33 Cox was also run out.From this point Somerset lost wicket steadily until Ian Blackwell offered some resistance scoring 23 which took him well over an hour to compile.When Blackwell was out Somerset were 88 for 9 and although Simon Francis weighed in with some lusty blows by hitting 27 which included 1×6 and 3×4’s, this merely delayed the inevitable outcome, and the Sabres were eventually all out for 112 to give Kent Spitfires victory by 126 runs.After the match Somerset coach Kevin Shine told me: “This was one of our poorest performances. We made some mistakes when we batted and we had a couple of run outs and our confidence has gone at the moment and now we have to pick ourselves up.”He continued: “We will be getting together as a unit to discuss the situation on Tuesday to try and sort things out. We have got 7 NUL games left, that’s 28 points and 6 championship matches left to avoid relegation, plus we have got the C and G Final, and that’s a lot of cricket still to play.”He concluded: “You don’t suddenly become bad cricketers, I still believe in these guys and I see them hurting after a performance like today. We’re going to get together and get down to the business of sorting things out.”

A hundred from Wavell Hinds has failed to stop Barbadados from winning the 2002-03 Red Stripe Bowl

Staff Reporter02-Sep-2002A hundred from Wavell Hinds has failed to stop Barbadados from winning the 2002-03 Red Stripe Bowl.In the morning, Barbados after being put in by Jamaica reached 241 for eight in their 50 overs. Left-hander Floyd Reifer, who made 86 off 98 balls, opener Kurt Wilkinson, who made a patient 63 off 110 balls, and captain Courtney Browne, who made a hard-hitting 40 off 25 balls, were the men who guided their team to a healthy score.The Barbados cause was greatly helped by some poor Jamaican fielding, the home team dropping as many four catches including that of Reifer when the left-hander was on 28. Another beneficiary was Browne, who was dropped on one and on 16. With the home team’s fielding going to pieces, Barbados capitalised to plunder as many as 115 runs of the last 15 overs.The Jamaican reply got off to the worst possible start with openers Leon Garrick (0) and Chris Gayle (3) being dismissed with their team’s score on eight in the 8th over. Hinds in the company of Marlon Samuels repaired some of the damage by putting on 63 runs in about 18 overs for the third wicket before Samuels was run out for 22. Ricardo Powell and Gareth Breese, who followed, failed, making just 5 and 15 respectively.Hinds and his captain Robert Samuels, though, resuscitated the Jamaican innings with a whirlwind 57 runs partnership in 6.2 overs. But once the elder Samuels was dismissed for quickfire 29 off 21 balls, the home team’s innings fell apart. Hinds went on to make 103 off 141 balls with eight fours before becoming the ninth Jamaican batsman to be dismissed with his team’s score on 207. Five balls and one run later, last man Daren Powell was also dismissed as Barbados sealed a 33-run win with 22 balls to spare. Reifer was named Man of the Match for his 86.

Farhad Moshiri is ‘nervous’ about the reaction of Everton fans to the potential appointment of Rafael Benitez, according to The Mirror.

Club officials apparently held ‘secret talks’ with a representative of the former Liverpool boss at the weekend.

Their aim was to tie up the finer details of an agreement that could well be made official ‘in the coming days’.

Why is Farhad Moshiri ‘nervous’?

Moshiri’s ‘enthusiasm’ was said to be dampened by an angry reaction from some supporters to the possibility of Benitez’s appointment.

Protest banners were even displayed outside Goodison Park, but Benitez’s camp retain a confidence that a deal will be struck in spite of the backlash.

Moshiri has resolved to continue talks, safe in the knowledge that he has the backing of fellow shareholder Alisher Usmanov.

Everton have been working to appoint a new boss since Carlo Ancelotti left to join Real Madrid at the start of the month.

Fan feed The Toffee Blues relayed the Mirror’s claims, and here’s how supporters reacted.

Everton fan backlash against looming Benitez appointment continues

“I often wonder what it would be like if they had took over at Arsenal. 4/10 At running the club so far.”

Credit: @steviemac2010

“Why are they doing this to us?”

Credit: @grantlothian1

“He should be nervous. It’s going to be toxic from the moment Rafa steps foot through the door, and he won’t be given a second’s leeway to settle in. If he doesn’t deliver almost immediately, the fans will turn on him. Not all, but most”

Credit: @EFCNovaScotia

“I genuinely don’t think Moshiri knows how big a reaction and backlash this is going to be from the fans! GP is hostile as is, it will be 100x worse with him in the dugout! Genuinely makes me not want to go to the match anymore.”

Credit: @gregorallan9

“Everton may need to publish how to get season ticket refunds, could save themselves a lot of bother”

Credit: @thepieman13

“If he’s appointed my love and passion for this club has well and truly gone. No ambition to win anything.”

Credit: @EFCJosh7

In other news, Everton have called this Euro 2020’s star agent.

Former Premier League midfielder Carlton Palmer has told The Transfer Tavern in an exclusive interview that he expects Paul Pogba to sign a new contract at Manchester United.

Pogba’s current deal is set to expire next year and he is currently being linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain.

However, according to The Sun, United are ready to make the France international the highest-paid player in England with a new £400,000-a-week contract.

And now Palmer is expecting him to remain at Old Trafford, believing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men will challenge for the title next season.

“I think he’ll stay at Manchester United,” the ex-Leeds United player exclusively told TT.

“They’re going to sign [Jadon] Sancho, they’re going to go big this summer and I think they’re going to be challenging next season. If they get the players in that they’re going for, I think they’re going to be challenging.

“And the one thing is, if you’re going to be challenging for the league title, you can’t be selling one of your best players, Pogba. You really can’t, so I expect to see Pogba renew his contract.”

Pogba has really shown his quality at Euro 2020, winning the Star of the Match award for his display in France’s 1-0 win against Germany.

If that match is anything to go by, United really should be looking to keep the midfielder around, which does seem to be their aim.

MELBOURNE, Nov 1 AAP – Victorian captain Shane Warne boldly declared tonight his side couldn’t lose this Pura Cup cricket match against Tasmania.

Roger Vaughan01-Nov-2002MELBOURNE, Nov 1 AAP – Victorian captain Shane Warne boldly declared tonight his side couldn’t lose this Pura Cup cricket match against Tasmania.Tasmania started its chase of 365 for the outright win well late on day three at the MCG, reaching none for 50.Victoria lost left-arm quick Matthew Inness early in the innings for the next two to three weeks with a hamstring injury.But Warne was confident he and his fellow bowlers, plus the vagaries of the pitch, had the Tigers on the back foot.”I’d much rather be in our situation than their’s. There’s a few little tricks,” he said of the pitch.”It’s probably playing a little bit better than it did at the start of the game, but there are some massive footmarks and there’s some variable bounce for the quicks.”I don’t think Tasmania think they can win. It’s a matter of them saving the game.”If we bowl well, we should win – as simple as that.”Michael Di Venuto ended the day on 32 and fellow opener Jamie Cox was on 15.Inness pulled up sore in his second over and left the field immediately.Warne said the outright win was crucial for Victoria, with himself and as many as three other players lost to national teams in the next few weeks.”All-in-all, I couldn’t be happier. It’s a big game for us – if we win this, we go to the top of the table,” he said.”It will be a good, testing day for everyone tomorrow.”Victoria set up Tasmania’s run chase with a solid 2 (dec)-236 off 56 overs.Opener Jason Arnberger, who top-scored in the first innings with 172no, again starred with an unbeaten 102 and leads the Cup averages with 334 runs so far this season at an average of 167.While Arnberger laboured in the first innings, needing 499 minutes and 391 balls for his score, the corresponding figures in his second dig were 213 and 159.Arnberger and fellow opener Matthew Elliott made light of talk over the last few days about the pitch playing progressively worse.They had little trouble putting on 168 for the first wicket and Elliott also should have had a ton, hitting a square cut down the throat of Michael Dighton at deep point for 80.Tasmania resumed its first innings at 7-146 this morning and looked to be at Victoria’s mercy when the ninth wicket went for 166.But No.11 Shane Jurgensen made a mockery of his side’s plight and his lowly spot in the order.His 45 off 42 balls featured eight boundaries, three of them in a row off Victorian captain Shane Warne, and was the second-highest score of the innings .Jurgensen’s 58-run stand with Damien Wright (31no) took Tasmania past the follow-on and boosted the score to 224.Shane Harwood, yesterday’s hat-trick hero, finished with 5-55.

Patrick Vieira is on the verge of taking over at Crystal Palace and could have up to £80m to spend this summer, according to The Daily Mail.

And, as to be expected, a number of Eagles fans have been reacting to the news on social media.

It looks set to be third time lucky for Steve Parish and the Palace hierarchy when it comes to finding Roy Hodgson’s successor.

The Eagles came close with Nuno Espirito Santo and Lucien Favre, but it seems as if Vieira will be the man through the door at Selhurst Park.

He’ll have a busy few weeks before the start of the new season, with a significant player rebuild required.

The new Palace manager, according to The Daily Mail, is expected to have as much as £80m to spend on new players in the transfer window.

Palace fans react

Both @cpfc_xtra and @CPFCtransfersHQ shared the news on Twitter on Wednesday.

These Palace supporters were stunned at the claim…

“Can’t believe this. Would’ve thought if Favre was offered a kitty of £80m he’d of taken the job”Credit: @smupp1″My god”Credit: @Kevbartleyy”A what?”Credit: @JoelGray_”Where’d we get 80 million”Credit: @Crypto_Horse28″Huh?”Credit: @cpfc_rozay”Must of mistyped that”Credit: @FiachraFurlong

In other news: Many Palace fans buzz at club’s interest in Borussia Dortmund man, find out more here. 

All-rounder Jacques Kallis followed his bowling heroics on day one with an equally accomplished batting performance on day two, steering South Africa into a commanding position against Sri Lanka in the opening Castle Lager/MTN Test at Wanderers on

Charlie Austin09-Nov-2002All-rounder Jacques Kallis followed his bowling heroics on day one with an equally accomplished batting performance on day two, steering South Africa into a commanding position against Sri Lanka in the opening Castle Lager/MTN Test at Wanderers on Saturday.Sri Lanka’s bowlers had fought back during the afternoon after a woeful morning performance, claiming five wickets for 47 runs either side of lunch, but Kallis then wrestled back the initiative with an unbeaten five hour 75.Adding 68 runs with Mark Boucher (38), 80 with skipper Shaun Pollock (38) and then 49 with Andrew Hall (31*), Kallis helped the home side overhaul Sri Lanka’s first innings total of 192 and build a healthy 186 run lead by the close of play.Kallis’s painstaking innings means that the right-hander has not been dismissed in a Test match for 903 minutes, a run that stretches back eight months and includes scores of 61* against Australia, 75* and 139* against Bangladesh in addition to today’s effort.Sri Lanka had the started the day desperate to make early inroads but captain Sanath Jayasuriya was left frustrated as his bowlers – particularly Dilhara Fernando and Ruchira Fernando – bowled waywardly, wasting a rare opportunity to bowl on a well-grassed pitch offering the quick bowlers seam movement.Not only did the bowlers fail to put the ball in the right areas but they conceded a staggering 62 sundries, including an unacceptable 31 no balls, that left them within touching distance of the 71 world record sundries conceded by West Indies against Pakistan at Georgetown in 1987-88.Openers Graeme Smith and Gary Kirsten took full toll with a 133 run stand in just 30.2 overs. Smith was particularly aggressive – even against off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan whom he hit out of the attack with three boundaries in an over – scoring 73 from 92 balls, his second Test fifty.Eventually, Jayasuriya threw the ball to his inexperienced fourth seamer, Hasantha Fernando, in exasperation. The move brought instantaneous success as the medium pacer conjured up a wicket with his second ball in Test cricket as Smith edged to first slip.The wicket brought Martin van Jaarsveld (3) to the crease, who was gifted a surprise chance to state his credentials after Herschelle Gibbs pulled out of the Test minutes before the two captains tossed yesterday. But there was no fairytale for van Jaarsveld as a well-directed inswinger that knocked back his middle stuck.After lunch, Sri Lanka continued their fight back as South Africa lost three wickets in the space of 11 balls: Hasantha Fernando ended Kirsten’s three hour resistance when the left-hander skewed a catch into the gully, Ashwell Prince (3) miscued a hook to be caught at backward square and Neil Mckenzie was trapped lbw first ball by a Chaminda Vaas inswinger.South Africa were 180 for five and Sri Lanka had pulled themselves right back into the game. However, Sri Lanka, not then helped by the enforced removal of Perera from the attack after three warnings for running on the pitch, struggled to make further inroads as Kallis ground on remorselessly.Muttiah Muralitharan eventually snared Boucher down the leg-side on the stroke of tea but the off-spinner was generally played well and with Dilhara Fernando continue to hand out sundries, South Africa’s long batting order frustrated the Sri Lankans till the close.Shaun Pollock was delighted with his side’s performance: “It was a really pleasing day after a flutter in the middle. The depth in our middle order came through again. We have got to be happy with the way we countered Murali. For him to pick up only one for 82 is a feather in our cap.”Ominously for Sri Lanka he wants his batsmen to carry on tomorrow and a forlorn Jayasuriya admitted afterwards that his batsmen needed to do something special in the second innings.”This was a very disappointing day for us after reducing South Africa to 180 for five,” said Jayasuriya. “Unlike South Africa we didn’t put the ball in the right areas. To lose Ruchira from the attack and have Dili concede so many extras was frustrating.””Tomorrow we have to knock them over very quickly and then the batsmen have to occupy the crease for a long time. We need to be positive bit the top five have got to make big scores – we cannot rely on the lower order.”

Namibia batting once again failed miserably as the Boland bowlers demolished the top order, bowling the visitors out for 79 in 31.5 overs, winning by 111 runs and securing a bonus point to go to the top of Pool B, as round four of the Standard Bank

Keith Lane20-Dec-2002Namibia batting once again failed miserably as the Boland bowlers demolished the top order, bowling the visitors out for 79 in 31.5 overs, winning by 111 runs and securing a bonus point to go to the top of Pool B, as round four of the Standard Bank Cup got underway in Paarl.The Namibian batsmen had no answer on a pitch that assisted the bowlers with movement and pace. Stephan Swanepoel stuck to his task and managed to score 18 runs when he was unlucky to be given out caught by Henry Davids diving forward at point. At first glance it appeared to be a brilliant catch, but television replays caused some doubt that the ball might have been scooped off the grass.A 26-run partnership between wicket keeper Melt van Schoor (15) and Gerrie Snyman (15), after Namibia had been 39/6, restored some face for the men from Windhoek, but the damage had already been done in the first 13 overs, ending with the ninth lowest score in South African domestic limited overs matches.Boland did not it have it all their own way in scoring 190/6 in their 45 over allocation. What Namibia lack in the batting department they make up for with their bowling.Man-of-the-match Bjorn Kotze, by far the best bowler in the Namibian team once again bowled well changing his pace and walking away with a series best of 4-40. Lennie Louw was again impressive with his slow left arm orthodox spinners, ending his nine over spell with 1-22. Rudi van Vuuren, who will become the first player to have played in both the rugby and the cricket world cups, also stood out with 0-21 off eight overs.A 40 from captain Con de Lange and a 37 from debutante Chad Baxter that included a 64-run partnership was the highlight of a mediocre batting display from Boland.In Kimberley, Griqualand West nearly let things slip by beating North West by 3 wickets with two balls to spare.North West batting first made an excellent start scoring 101/1 after the first twenty overs. No one however was able to play an anchor role or increase the run rate leaving the visitors on 217/9 when they ran out of overs.Willie Dry (38) and Morne Strydom (51) had got North West off to a good start after which James Henderson slowed things up with 38 off 60 balls. Wickets falling at regular intervals, with Zahir Abrahim ripping the heart out of the Dragons middle order reduced the potentially big total to a fairly easy target.Abrahim ended on 4-42 while Charl Pietersen and Alan Kruger picked up two wickets each.Loots Bosman once again got the hosts off to a good start scoring 50 in 33 balls with eight fours and a six. By the time he left the crease at 67 in the 11th over the required rate was under 4.5 and Griqualand West well on its way to the win.Pieter Koortzen then took over with a classy 61 including six fours and two sixes, both coming off debutante left arm off break bowler Roland Sewani.Man-of-the-match Wendell Bossenger (51*) took his team to the brink of victory when three wickets fell in 11 balls. Abrahim (11*) stuck it out with his captain to see the target reached in 44.4 overs.

Tottenham have potentially been handed a boost in the race to sign Jules Kounde from Sevilla… 

What’s the talk?

According to journalist Dean Jones, as relayed by The Express, Manchester United are not actively pursuing a deal for Spurs target Jules Kounde. Jones has claimed that the centre-back is not at the top of their list, with Raphael Varane and Pau Torres the two main targets for United.

The Express claims that Tottenham and Arsenal are both showing an interest in the French central defender as they look to bolster their squads ahead of next season. Sevilla reportedly want £50m for their star defender this summer.

Nuno needs him

Fabio Paratici has been handed a key boost with this latest update. It means that they may not face competition from Manchester United for his signature, which could improve their chances of being able to sign him.

The Red Devils have Champions League football on offer and Spurs may not have been able to compete with that, as they only qualified for the Europa Conference League.

Nuno Santo needs a new centre-back to bolster his squad following his arrival at the club. Toby Alderweireld reportedly wants to leave the club this summer and Spurs are said to be willing to facilitate his wish if the right offer comes in. They are also open to bids for Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez as Santo prepares to restructure Tottenham’s defence in the coming months.

This means that there could be a gap, or two, for a central defender to come in. Kounde could be an excellent choice to strengthen the side and potentially replace Alderweireld given his performances in Spain. La Liga expert Euan McTear recently described Kounde as “special” and said that he has been improving throughout the season with Sevilla whilst playing in the Champions League.

He told Transfer Tavern:

“He’s only gotten better this season, especially in the Champions League. He’s had some good performances there, too.

“He’s still so young, he’s got energy, great positioning too. All the centre-backs, not just in Spain I think, but if you look around Europe, he’s got to be one of the highest prospects.

“To be playing for France who have countless centre-backs, if he’s able to get himself into that group, then, yeah, he’s pretty special.”

The £73k-per-week beast averaged a superb WhoScored rating of 7.01 in La Liga for Sevilla. Alderweireld, meanwhile, achieved the highest score out of any Tottenham centre-back in the Premier League with 6.86, suggesting that the Frenchman could be an upgrade on Nuno’s current best defensive option.

At the age of 22, Kounde also has plenty of room for growth and could be a key player for Spurs for years to come if they are able to bring him in this summer.

AND in other news, Paratici must avoid error with “brave” £24k-p/w beast, Spurs fans would be gutted…