I don't think people understand the vital difference between a well-rehearsed (and physical) team vs a collection of individuals with no real understanding - new players, makeshift centre-backs, other players out of position. Make do an mend when missing a ton of quality = v.hard

Marseille’s Morgan Sanson is the latest rumoured Villa signing, with a number of respected outlets reporting the signing today, but what can the midfielder bring to Villa Park, and where would he fit into the side?

Sanson began his career with an excellent reputation and with a lot of expectation – earning10 caps for the French Under-21 side. A serious injury to his cruciate ligament, however, set the midfielder back somewhat. Since 2016, however, Sanson has stayed relatively injury free.

As a player, Sanson is a very active player. His statistical profile, compared to Ligue Un central midfielders this season, shows a healthy number of both defensive and attacking actions, a significant creative output, the will to enter the box, and a lot of ball carrying.

The big question around Sanson is that of who he would replace in our midfield. Whether it would be in preparation for Douglas Luiz to return to Man City, to compete for place with John McGinn, or to replace Ross Barkley if his deal did not become a permanent one?

Stylistically, John McGinn makes the most sense. Looking at Sanson’s profile again, this time with McGinn’s, the similarities are clear. Both players are ball-carrying, box-to-box midfielders whose passing isn’t a strength. Both can score, create, and love to enter the box.

INSPIRING JOURNEY OF TIM PAINE

- Debut in 2010 with Smith, scored 104 in 2 tests.
- Included in BGT. Third highest run-scorer for Australia with 183 runs in the series.
- Broke his right index finger batting in the Australian Cricketers Association All-Stars T20 match.

- Done Surgery. Broke his finger again. Surgery again.
- Made a comeback in Australia's domestic circuit but never managed to deliver as a batsman.
- In 2017, he made up his mind to retire from FC cricket.
But, life always has something more in the bag than what you expect.

- Tasmania knocked on his door with a lifeline. They extended Paine's contract but he was not their first choice WK.
- Did not play the first two matches of the 2017-18 Sheffield Shield.
- But, When he was finally selected, he made the most of the opportunity.

- Picked to play in the warm-up matches before the 2017-18 Ashes. Scored 52 vs England.
*Biggest Turnaround*
- Paine was selected as a WK for the 2017/18 Ashes at home. 
- Answering his critics and the people who doubted his selection, he delivered both with bat & gloves.

- Paine averaged 48 and made 26 dismissals behind the wickets (25 catches and 1 stumping) in 2017-18 Ashes.
- Ball Tampering incident. Australia was going through a rough phase. Paine was asked to lead Australia vs SA in the last test. Australia lost the series by 2-1.

Thread:

Tweaks, mistakes and ideas.

Man Utd 3 v 2 Liverpool — Tactics #MUFC
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In this thread, we'll look at couple of the highlights and tactical tweaks both teams used to attack each other. We'll look at Man Utd's mistakes that lead to the goals as well. #MUFC

Right from the off, Liverpool looked to hurt United with quick switches of play to catch out their out of possession 442 setup. A quick switched ball from Robertson to TAA catches Rashford, Shaw and Maguire OOP & force them to adjust quickly. Rashford is vital here for TAA's run.

United looked to do the same but with Rashford. Switch the play or drag Liverpool out, find Rashford, and Rashford looks for Cavani and/or Greenwood. Liverpool adopt a very highline as they usually have the possession, so this can be exploited heavily. LIV: 442 OOP. #MUFC

Notice where Firmino is. Liverpool used the same idea of overloading the midfield to create 4v3. United adapted at Anfield and had one of the wingers tuck when the ball is on the far-side. Look at Rashford. #MUFC

#Thread #Cricket

It's important that credit should be given to the right individuals where 'coaching' is concerned. Let's not be blind to some leading contributions that have come from lesser-known names.
#TeamIndia #coaches

Blindly crediting a Rahul Dravid or a Ravi Shastri for years of hard work someone else has put in is not fair. Here's a list of individuals responsible for the success of Team India players...
#TeamIndia #coaches #AUSvsIND

Shubhman Gill -- his father Lakhwinder Singh.
Rohit Sharma -- his childhood coach and go-to man Dinesh Lad.
Cheteshwar Pujara -- his dad Arvind Pujara
Ajinkya Rahane -- Pravin Amre
Virat Kohli -- Rajkumar Sharma, Ravi Shastri
Rishabh Pant -- Tarak Sinha, Ricky Ponting

Mayank Agarwal -- RX Murali
Prithvi Shaw -- Santosh Pingutkar (childhood coach), Mak Waingankar (long-time mentor), Raju Pathak (Rizvi)
R Ashwin -- nobody in particular, grew in stature as he played more cricket
Jasprit Bumrah -- the Mumbai Indians set up, and Bharat Arun

Hardik Pandya -- Jitendra Singh in Baroda & Mumbai Indians set-up
Kuldeep Yadav -- Kapil Pandey
Mohammed Siraj -- Bharat Arun
Mohammed Shami -- Badruddin Siddiqui & Bharat Arun
T Natarajan -- Diwakar Vasu
Wriddhiman Saha -- Jayanta Bhowmick
Navdeep Saini -- Bharat Arun

Highlights of what happened after 36/9 - a thread.

#AUSvIND

Boxing Day Test - we lose Virat, Ajinkya takes over captaincy, with a forgettable loss still lurking. We carry a record of not winning at the 'G while chasing. Aussie win the toss & elect to bat, meaning we'd have to bat fourth.

#AUSvIND

With Shami gone due to injury, Bumrah leads from the front making sure the Aussies bundle out within 200 with the other bowlers chipping in at regular intervals. Ashwin picking Smith for a blob is the most special part of it all.

#AUSvIND

At 64/3 & in the danger of conceding a lead yet again and under immense pressure, captain Rahane chips in with a 💯 which is at par with his Lord's knock & with Jaddu's contribution lower down, India manage a lead of 131.

#AUSvIND

Siraj, the son of an auto rickshawman, having lost his father before the series & not being able to attend the funeral, plays his debut Test, tears up during the national anthem. He was the highest wicket taker for India in the 2nd innings wrapping up Aussies for 200.

#AUSvIND