Glasgow Rangers manager Philippe Clement has a tough job on his hands after taking over from Michael Beale, and he will need to hit the ground running in order to impress the Ibrox faithful.

The current crop of players have not been good enough so far this season, failing to qualify for the Champions League group stages while slipping seven points behind Celtic in the Premiership table.

The Belgian coach will have his own ideas and processes on how to bring the Gers back to the summit of Scottish football and this will include getting a tune out of the current crop of players, while thinking about the future.

There are five players out of contract in 2024, and they will be keen on showing the new boss their talents in order to secure an extension. John Lundstram is one of those five and could this be his final season at Ibrox?

How has John Lundstram performed this season?

The former Sheffield United midfielder is into his third season with the Light Blues, yet he only has a Scottish Cup winners medal to show for it.

Across the squad this term, Lundstram ranks fifth for accurate passes per game (61) while also ranking eighth for key passes per game (one), seventh for tackles per game (1.3) and fourth for interceptions (1.3), suggesting he has not exactly been a standout so far this season as other players have outperformed him.

Clement may look to give every player a clean slate and this could benefit everyone, especially the summer signings. With less than a year to go on his current deal, however, might Lundstram be looking over his shoulder as there is plenty of young talent emerging through the academy.

Cole McKinnon is one of the players knocking on the door with regard to securing regular minutes in the first team, and he could turn into an ideal heir for the Englishman.

How good is Cole McKinnon?

The youngster has already featured for the senior side, playing against Hearts on the final day of the 2021/22 season, even scoring a debut goal and the future looked bright for the teenage starlet.

Ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, the midfielder was sent out on loan to Partick Thistle in order to gain regular minutes at a club playing in one of the most challenging leagues in the country, and it may have helped to improve his game.

Before he joined, journalist Jordan Campbell praised the teenager, saying: “Understand Rangers midfielder Cole McKinnon, who signed a new three-year deal yesterday, is expected to join Partick Thistle on loan.

“The 19-year-old is highly rated at Ibrox and scored in the final league game of last season. Goes box-to-box and has a knack of getting a goal.”

Although predominately featuring in the centre of midfield, McKinnon was able to burst forward often from the middle of the pitch and create chances for others, while also scoring the odd goal himself.

He finished last season having scored three goals and registered three assists across 31 matches and while Partick failed to get promoted, the Scot impressed. Meanwhile, Lundstram has zero goals or assists in the Premiership this term.

Indeed, the 20-year-old whiz has made the matchday squad on five occasions this season, including both Europa League ties, and surely he will get his opportunity to shine under the new manager in the coming months.

Lundstram turns 30 in February and while this is still relatively young for the modern player, he certainly is not in his peak years anymore.

This could provide McKinnon, who has showcased his ability to chip in with goals and assists from a central midfield position, an opportunity to take over as the former Sheffield United star's heir at Ibrox.

Manchester United have failed to recapture their form from the end of last season as Erik ten Hag is currently suffering from second-season syndrome, and he will need to get his act together swiftly, otherwise he could be out of a job.

Having won their first trophy in six years by claiming the EFL Cup last season while finishing third in the Premier League, it looked as though United were heading in the right direction and that Ten Hag was the true successor to Sir Alex Ferguson.

Just five wins from 11 matches this season, however, has slowed their ascendency down slightly and while the Dutchman managed to lure the likes of Andre Onana, Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund to the project he is currently building in Manchester, he did miss out on some transfer targets, namely Harry Kane.

He isn’t the first United manager this has happened to, and he won't be the last, even 'Fergie' missed out on players who then shone elsewhere.

The Red Devils could’ve had Alan Shearer leading their line during the 1990s, yet he turned down the club to move to Newcastle United. They even had a chance to sign Frank Lampard before his move to Chelsea, think how good Fergie’s midfield could have been with the former England international starring for him?

Ferguson also failed to lure another future Chelsea icon to United when they were going through a barren spell, as Didier Drogba ended up moving to London instead of Manchester and there is no doubt he could’ve significantly bolstered his squad at the time.

Did Man Utd nearly sign Didier Drogba?

In the summer of 2004, Jose Mourinho was announced as the new Chelsea manager and with that, United’s era of domination ended.

With the club securing just the FA Cup during the 2003/04 season while witnessing Arsenal’s unbeaten Premier League campaign firsthand, Ferguson turned to the transfer window in order to strengthen, with Drogba on his list of potential new signings.

He said: “We went to check him out [at Marseille] but the club wanted £25million and Chelsea moved in for the kill before we had made up our minds.”

United went and signed Wayne Rooney towards the end of that summer instead and that move obviously worked out extremely well, yet Drogba would’ve been a great signing.

What happened to Didier Drogba?

Mourinho was smitten with Drogba and shelled out £24m to sign one of his top transfer targets as he aimed to lead the Blues to their first league title since 1955.

The Ivorian scored 16 goals during his maiden campaign in London to help the Blues win the Premier League, while he also starred in the League Cup final too and the £24m was certainly proving to be quite the bargain.

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Another 27 goal contributions followed the season after as the Stamford Bridge side retained their title, and it looked as though the next few years were going to be all about Chelsea and Mourinho was the mastermind behind the success.

Despite a League Cup and FA Cup double during 2006/07, a poor start to the following season ensured Mourinho was sacked after a fractious relationship with chairman Romain Abramovich and Drogba went through a series of managers during his remaining few years at the club.

He did win another league title in 2009/10, netting 29 goals in just 32 matches, yet it was the 2011/12 season where he enjoyed his greatest success.

Abramovich had spent big since taking over the club in 2003 and Champions League glory was his only prerequisite. They lost the 2008 final to United in a rain-soaked Moscow but having defeated Barcelona in the semifinals, they faced Bayern Munich, in Munich, to see who would claim the title in 2012.

Knowing this was his final game for the club (during his first spell), Drogba certainly lived up to his reputation of being a big game player and against Bayern, this was no different.

Heading into the dying embers of the tie, Chelsea were down 1-0 and defeat looked certain. Drogba, however, powered home a header to send the tie to extra time.

He did concede a penalty, yet this was missed by Arjen Robben and the final was to be decided by the dreaded shootout. The Ivorian went on to write his name in Chelsea folklore, scoring the winning penalty and wheeling away in jubilation.

How many goals did Didier Drogba score for Chelsea?

The one-time Guingamp marksman returned to Chelsea during the 2014/15 season and won yet another Premier League title before eventually retiring in 2018. He ended up scoring 164 goals across 381 games for the Blues and this type of record would’ve made him a huge success in Manchester, absolutely no doubt about it.

He drew praise from ex-teammate Frank Lampard a few years ago, who said: “I always say Didier Drogba and John Terry [were my favourite to play alongside], for different reasons so it’s like a double-headed answer really.

“Didier for me was amazing, to have him in your team in a final, you felt Didier in the dressing room before a big game that it was a different Didier, he was like an animal.

“His preparation, the intensity in his eyes and then he always produced.”

Imagine this type of striker leading the line under Ferguson at United, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney providing chance after chance for the player.

It could have been a dream attacking triumvirate, yet it clearly wasn’t to be for the future Chelsea “legend” – as so dubbed by their summer arrival Nicolas Jackson – as he forged his own glorious story in England with a different club.

Ferguson’s mistakes in the transfer market were few and far between, yet during his final decade or so in charge, he began to let some excellent players slip through his grasp who may have enabled him to secure more silverware.

Drogba was one of those names and if he had joined United instead of Chelsea in 2004, might they have returned to the summit of English football sooner than they did?

Who knows, but the now-retired ace would have been outstanding in the red of United, and he remains one of the Premier League's finest-ever strikers.

Not since the days of Arsene Wenger and Manuel Pellegrini had Arsenal defeated Manchester City in the league.

The year was 2015, goals from Theo Walcott, a TV pundit for Sky during the game and Olivier Giroud, a man who strangely played in goal for Milan on Saturday, were the scorers that day.

It has been a long eight years back to glory for the Gunners since, but at long, long last, they are victors over Man City again.

Mikel Arteta had beaten every Premier League side but his former employers since taking on the job at the Emirates Stadium, so this was a true statement win.

Truth be told, most Arsenal supporters would have been content with a point as the game reached its conclusion. Gabriel Martinelli was not, however, as he came off the bench at half-time to devasting effect. It was his rasping finish, deflected in off Nathan Ake, that ensured the north London side won 1-0.

It was a poor game of football, one summarised by the fact that City only managed four shots during the game.

That happened to be the lowest tally that a Pep Guardiola side has achieved in a Premier League game since he arrived in English football.

How did Arsenal beat Man City?

A number of players stood out in red and white during the contest, namely that man Martinelli,

The Brazilian has been missing since the win over Everton in mid-September, an injury that was seen as a crushing blow. That said, he returned ahead of schedule and how that was needed in a game when Bukayo Saka was absent.

Martinelli replaced Leandro Trossard at the interval and made a huge impact. Within minutes he was causing problems for Kyle Walker, fizzing in a cross towards the back post that just evaded the head of Gabriel Jesus.

However, with four minutes left came his biggest moment yet in an Arsenal shirt. It was three substitutes who combined. Takehiro Tomiyasu found himself inside the area before knocking the ball down to Kai Havertz. The German cushioned the ball to Martinelli on the edge of the area and their number 11 did the rest, causing bedlam inside the Emirates.

Who was Arsenal's best player against Man City?

To keep Erling Haaland quiet is a hell of a job. The Norwegian scored a remarkable 52 goals last season on his way to winning the treble and the PFA Player of the Year award.

Yet, against Arsenal on Sunday, he was so quiet that he registered an xG (expected goals) tally of 0.00. That was a product of Arteta's side's resolute defensive performance with Gabriel and William Saliba shining above all else in the capital this weekend.

Saliba, in particular, deserves the plaudits. It was his injury last term that proved to be a turning point in the title race and today the Frenchman showed just how crucial he is to the club's cause.

Haaland left the pitch after the game was done having had just 23 touches of the ball and zero shots. So far this campaign, the Norwegian powerhouse has managed four shots per game, a stat that sums up the lack of impact he had up against Saliba.

The France international, by comparison, won 100% of his defensive battles, prevailing against the City superstar on more than one occasion.

Described as "immense" by Arseblog, Arsenal's defensive pairing were also noted as the "best players on the pitch" by one writer.

Not just a complete rock at the back, Saliba was the epitome of calmness, completing a whopping 97% of his passes and losing possession just twice from his 76 touches. To put that into context, no player in red or white managed more.

Often described as a "Rolls-Royce" of a defender, the 22-year-old showed that and more on Sunday in a display that proved Arsenal could well have what it takes to become champions.

This was a landmark result and one they could look back on in May as key to how their season panned out.

Everton could submit an offer for an overseas forward during the transfer window in January, and a new report has revealed that his club are hoping they receive a bid from the Premier League.

Who did Everton sign this summer?

Over the summer, Sean Dyche’s side recruited five fresh faces in the form of Beto and Youssef Chermiti on a permanent basis, whilst Arnaut Danjuma and Jack Harrison joined on loan, alongside Ashley Young who put pen to paper on a free transfer from Aston Villa.

Whilst that particular window has now closed, Toffees chiefs are already assessing their options in the market ahead of January where they have been linked with Blackburn Rovers midfielder Adam Wharton, as well as Manchester United’s Harry Maguire who could be allowed to leave on loan should his game time not improve.

Beside those, Sevilla’s Adnan Januzaj is the third player to have emerged as a target for the Merseyside outfit after Spanish reports credited them with an interest in the right-winger, and there has now been a fresh update regarding the club’s pursuit of the 28-year-old.

Are Everton signing Adnan Januzaj?

According to VamosMiSevilla (via Sport Witness), Everton tabling an offer for Januzaj would be a "real miracle" for Sevilla, who are hoping to receive money to help with their financial struggles in La Liga.

Jose Luis Mendilibar reportedly wants to keep his prized asset in the building, but having not played a single minute of football so far this season, it's clear that he's out of favour and low down in the pecking order to the point where he's not getting a look in.

The Toffees could at the very least make a loan proposal that would see them cover the attacker's wages, and having previously played for Manchester United, there's always a chance that he may want to return to the Premier League.

How many goals has Adnan Januzaj scored?

Since the start of his career, Januzaj has posted 89 contributions (42 goals and 47 assists) in 332 appearances, form which has seen him described as a “gifted footballer” by ESPN editor David Cartlidge, so whilst he’s not yet hit the ground running at Sevilla, he could still be a fantastic addition for Dyche should he sign on the dotted line at Everton.

Sponsored by Nike, the Belgium international is also a versatile operator having been deployed in an outstanding seven different positions since first bursting onto the scene, including everywhere across the frontline and even three roles in the midfield, so this is another attribute that the boss may well find attractive alongside how prolific he can be in the final third.

Furthermore, the £52k-per-week earner already knows what it takes to compete and be successful at the highest level having secured five senior trophies throughout his professional life, including the Premier League and the FA Cup titles, so he could be able to pass his winning mentality onto the rest of the squad who are already at Goodison Park, making this one to watch over the coming months.

MatériaMais Notícias

O bastão foi passado para Ramón Díaz da pior maneira possível. O Botafogo não vence há seis jogos, foi eliminado recentemente da Copa do Brasil e está na zona de rebaixamento do Campeonato Brasileiro. O argentino começa a comandar o Alvinegro de forma oficial nesta terça-feira, mas os desempenhos recentes mostram que ele terá que suar desde o primeiro dia no Nilton Santos.

Da atual sequência negativa, três dos últimos jogos foram com Flávio Tenius , que assumiu interinamente enquanto o Botafogo procurava um substituto para Bruno Lazaroni – e conquistou um histórico de dois empates e uma derrota. O preparador de goleiros tentou colocar em prática novos conceitos – como a aparição de pontas em velocidade e Bruno Nazário pelo meio -, mas o desempenho foi aquém.

Ramón Díaz, antes de tudo, precisará colocar um direcionamento ao elenco. Com Bruno Lazaroni e já no fim da era Paulo Autuori, o Botafogo vem sendo uma equipe sem identidade tática e tampouco característica por adotar um estilo fixo de jogo.

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O argentino, geralmente, gosta de equipes intensas no ataque, pressão em zonas centrais e escalas os times que treina em 4-4-2 tradicional, com duas linhas de quatro. Durante a carreira, contudo, ‘Don Ramón’ se adaptou ao estilo e peculiaridades dos elencos e próprias equipes.

Ao lado de uma extensa nova comissão técnica, Ramón terá seis dias de treinamento – praticamente uma semana – até a estreia, contra o Red Bull Bragantino, na próxima segunda-feira, às 20h, pela 21ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro, no Estádio Nilton Santos.

O novo treinador terá oportunidade – dentro do contexto do futebol brasileiro – para iniciar aquilo que entende como correto e começar os treinamentos táticos com o grupo do Alvinegro. Ramón Díaz também, vale ressaltar, também terá trabalho: a equipe não mostra respostas há muito tempo.

نجح فريق الكرة الأول بنادي الزمالك في تسجيل الهدف الأول بشباك نظيره فاركو في المباراة الجارية بينهما الآن ضمن منافسات الدوري المصري “النيل”.

ويلاقي الزمالك منافسه فاركو على أرضية استاد ملعب برج العرب في الإسكندرية وذلك بالمواجهة التي تجمعها ضمن لقاءات الجولة 29 من الدوري الممتاز.

تشكيل الزمالك أمام فاركو.. أوباما وناصر ماهر يقودان الهجوم

وسجل هدف اللقاء الأول، أحمد مصطفى زيزو عن طريق ركلة جزاء في الدقيقة الثامنة والعشرين من عمر اللقاء.

ويحتل الزمالك حاليًا المركز الثامن بجدول ترتيب الدوري المصري برصيد 37 نقطة، بعد خوض 22 مباراة، فاز في 11 وتعادل في 4 وتلقى 7 هزائم.

ويتواجد فاركو بالمركز الخامس عشر في جدول مسابقة الدوري المصري، وفي جعبته 25 نقطة، حصل عليها من 28 مباراة، فاز في 5، وتعادل في 10، وخسر 13 مواجهة. هدف الزمالك الأول أمام فاركو

Christian Pulisic has explained why he is producing his “best form” at AC Milan, with career highs being scaled by the United States international.

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• American swapped England for Italy in 2023
• Benefitting from regular game time
• Posting personal bests in the current campaign

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Having struggled for form and fitness across four years at Chelsea, the American forward jumped at the chance to take on a new challenge at San Siro in 2023. That decision has been justified, with the 25-year-old finding consistency amid a regular run of starts.

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  WHAT PULISIC SAID

  He has reached 10 goals for the season, while posting a personal best return of 14 goal contributions in Serie A, and boasts the promise of more to come. Pulisic has told of his exploits: “I feel it’s some of the best form in my career, for sure. I’ve been given a lot of confidence and trust here from the staff, my team-mates, the city and the fans, so I feel really, really good here.”

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Pulisic’s latest strike was a match-winner, as he helped Milan to edge out Empoli, and he will happily take the slice of luck that saw his effort deflect in off Sebastiano Luperto. He added: “It’s a good feeling, it was a bit lucky, but we take it and keep moving.”

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  WHAT NEXT FOR PULISIC & AC MILAN?

  Milan are back up to second in the Serie A table, as they look to wrap up Champions League qualification, and will return to action on Thursday when taking in the second leg of a Europa League last-16 tie with Sparta Prague that they currently lead 4-2.

There are no question marks over the legitimacy of the German's triumphs at Anfield and he is now perfectly poised to complete his masterpiece

'This means more' – it was a self-aggrandising slogan pushed by Liverpool's marketing department a few years back that understandably annoyed the hell out of rival supporters.

The implication was that no matter how many trophies other clubs won, they would never carry quite the same weight as those lifted by Liverpool, which was – and remains – pure bullsh*t. Other supporters have suffered too, after all. Liverpool do not have a monopoly on meaningful title triumphs (nor do they own the copyright on fist pumps while we're at it!).

So, Trent Alexander-Arnold's take on the Liverpool-Manchester City rivalry that has defined the Premier League over the past five years will have left many football fans rolling their eyes once again.

"It's tough," the right-back told FourFourTwo. "We're up against a machine that's built to win – that's the simplest way to describe City and their organisation.

"Looking back on this era, although they've won more titles than us and have probably been more successful, our trophies will mean more to us and our fanbase because of the situations at both clubs, financially. How both clubs have built their teams and the manner in which we've done it, probably means more to our fans."

GettySome victories more valuable than others

Ruben Dias and Erling Haaland have already issued biting replies to Alexander-Arnold's comments, pointing out that the right-back has no idea how it feels to win a treble. The thing is, though, there is an element of truth in what Alexander-Arnold is saying. Not about what the titles mean to the fans, of course.

The City supporters who remember the nightmare of relegation to the third tier of English football are now revelling in a beautiful dream. Each and every trophy must feel so unbelievable and, therefore, so precious. However, there is simply no denying that certain victories are more valuable than others. It has ever been thus in football.

Francesco Totti always insisted that he was never in the least bit jealous of Juventus' success during his playing days, and still has no regrets over remaining at Roma for the duration of his professional career, because one Scudetto with his hometown club was "worth 10 elsewhere".

Kylian Mbappe, by contrast, is closing in on a sixth Ligue 1 title in his native Paris – yet the championship he won with Monaco will forever be a far more significant achievement given PSG's dominance of French football for well over a decade.

And surely even Liverpool fans would admit that their first English top-flight title for 30 years was no more special than Napoli's long-awaited Serie A win last season – and that neither feat compares to Leicester City's Premier League miracle of 2016?

AdvertisementGetty Legacies on the line at Anfield

The point is that when it comes to appraising success, context is always key, which is why Sunday's latest meeting between Liverpool and Manchester City is so important. Legacies are on the line at Anfield.

This is no title-decider, of course. It's too tight at the top of the table to make such a lofty claim at this stage of the season, particularly when there are more than 10 rounds remaining and a third team in play, with Arsenal likely to end the day at the summit of the standings if Liverpool and City play out a draw for the second time this season.

Nonetheless, the victor at Anfield would undeniably benefit from a massive amount of momentum, which could well prove decisive given both sides are flying as it is.

Liverpool won the first major trophy of the season, the Carabao Cup, in extraordinary circumstances, with the injury-ravaged Reds defeating Chelsea "billion-pound bottle jobs" with a selection of "Jurgen Klopp's kids".

However, if the return of the "mentality monsters" is a terrifying prospect for Liverpool's rivals, then so too is the sight of Pep Guardiola's winning "machine" once again clicking into gear at the business end of the season.

City's current 20-match unbeaten run stretches all the way back to December, making a mockery of Guardiola's claim that his stellar squad has next to no hope of winning a second-consecutive treble. It is not only possible; it is actually probable.

City are just a point behind Liverpool in the Premier League table (with a more favourable fixture list), are the clear favourites to win the Champions League and face Newcastle in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. History is there for the taking.

GettyKlopp's chance to put Pep in the shade

Of course, Liverpool are also attempting something unique: a quadruple. In truth, it still appears a distant dream, given the state of their squad (Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota and Alisson Becker are among several senior stars still sidelined by injury). But the Premier League is clearly a realistic goal – and a hugely important one at that.

Whether victory would mean more to Liverpool or City fans is highly debatable. Liverpool may have only won one Premier League title but past comments from Pep and his players has underlined that City would undoubtedly derive as much pleasure from denying their greatest rivals another title as winning an unprecedented fourth in a row.

What's also clear, though, is that Klopp winning a second Premier League would see him bid farewell to Anfield having unquestionably surpassed Guardiola's achievements at the Etihad. That may sound strange, when one considers that Klopp will leave Liverpool having won fewer trophies than Guardiola – no matter what happens between now and the end of the season.

But it's true, given the disparity in resources and the very stark contrast in starting points.

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GettyFrom crisis club to champions of everything

Klopp arrived at a club in crisis that had never actually won the Premier League and inherited a shockingly poor squad from Brendan Rodgers containing the likes of Christian Benteke, Joe Allen and Steven Caulker. Through almost flawless recruitment, genius man-management and sheer force of personality, he transformed Liverpool into the champions of everything.

Guardiola, by complete contrast, took over a team that had won the title two years previously and was greeted at the Etihad by Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero and David Silva, as well as a host of familiar faces from his time at Barcelona that had been patiently awaiting his arrival.

Thanks to a bottomless well of Abu Dhabi money, Guardiola's former colleagues had constructed a club in the Catalan's image. This wasn't just fantasy football, it was made-to-order management. Success was inevitable, it was only ever a question of when it would arrive – and the only surprise surrounding Guardiola's time at the Etihad is that it took so long for City to conquer Europe.

Money has never been an issue, after all. Whereas Liverpool's rise to the top was greatly aided by an almost flawless record in the transfer market, City could afford to make mistakes. £100 million ($129m) signings like Jack Grealish and Josko Gvardiol can be just left on the bench until they are ready to make a contribution. There's always another international waiting in the wings to take their place.

The franchise is pressing for a stake in CSA’s new T20 tournament since – contractually – it still holds the rights to a T20 franchise based out of Durban

Umar Farooq and Firdose Moonda21-Jun-2018

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The owner of the Durban Qalandars franchise is weighing up legal options against Cricket South Africa (CSA), accusing the board of abusing a franchise rights agreement.The Qalandars were in line to own a team in the inaugural Global T20 League last year, but CSA at first postponed and then scrapped the tournament altogether. Numerous logistical challenges and serious financial concerns, not least the lack of a broadcast deal and title sponsor, led to the board launching a replacement league that it co-owns with the broadcaster SuperSport.None of the eight team owners from the GLT20 will be involved in CSA’s new competition, which is essentially a South African product, but the Qalandars are pressing for a stake since, contractually, they still hold the rights to a T20 franchise based out of Durban.”We have had a successful experience with Lahore Qalandars in PSL and wanted to grow globally,” the Qalandars CEO Sameen Rana told ESPNcricinfo. “We couldn’t resist investing in South Africa, a country which has a big cricketing history and with the talent around I felt it was an excellent opportunity for us expand our venture. We were particularly keen to invest in cricket development in the Kwa-Zulu Natal province.”We also set up our office, invested a lot on recruitment to bring people to run the cricket operations in South Africa. It all came after we were awarded the rights for Durban franchise with Kingsmead Cricket Ground as our home venue. But unfortunately after [former CSA CEO] Haroon [Lorgat] departed things started to fall apart and CSA stopped interacting with us. Reportedly there were a lot of discussions within CSA board without even taking us into confidence, despite us being a stakeholder for the entire project.”CSA’s efforts are now concentrated on making sure the new T20 tournament goes off without a hitch, and the board has begun giving back the deposits paid by the GLT20 team owners – USD 250,000 along with an interest of 3.5%.And, in a letter from CSA to a GLT20 owner seen by ESPNcricinfo, the board offered to pay an additional USD 180,000 to each franchise to reimburse them for the expenses incurred in planning for the tournament, a figure some owners are reportedly unhappy with.The Qalandars aren’t satisfied with how everything has panned out.”To our surprise we now read that CSA and SuperSport have signed a deal for yet another T20 venture and we were asked to take the refundable USD 250,000 back without any explanation,” Rana said. “This is a serious breach of trust and contract with us. We do not want our refundable money back, but we require CSA to fulfill the agreement they have signed with us. They also offered us 3.5% interest on the refund along with the reimbursement of expenses incurred. But this is again something we did not demand. We simply need CSA to respect the agreements around the awarding of the franchise to us, which they themselves have given to us in perpetuity. I do not agree to this refund as condition to give up my rights so we will challenge CSA via legal [proceedings].”All of these reimbursements will cost CSA a further R 19.6 million (USD 1.44 million) adding to their already depleted stocks. That will bring losses incurred by the board, which were reported at USD 14.1 million last year, to USD 15.6 million (R 212 million).However, even though it appears CSA have cut ties with the people who had initially invested in the concept a T20 league in South Africa, an insider told ESPNcricinfo otherwise. “CSA’s view is that we were in a partnership and would ideally like to retain the relationship in case there’s an opportunity in selling equity in teams.”

Glasgow Rangers failed to extend their winning run to five matches as Aberdeen came away from Ibrox with a 3-1 victory which further piles the pressure on Michael Beale.

The 43-year-old had led the Gers to four wins from their previous four matches following the international break, conceding zero goals during that run, yet the Dons made the most of their chances and the result currently leaves the club seven points behind Celtic in the Premiership table.

The Ibrox side missed a few glaring chances in the first half and once Aberdeen got a foothold in the game, Beale couldn’t spur his side on to secure a positive result.

Scott Wright even received a red card and although Abdallah Sima netted, the away team secured the three points with a late goal and a player who impressed in midweek failed to build upon his display – Ridvan Yilmaz.

How did Ridvan Yilmaz play vs Aberdeen?

Having scored his first goal for the club against Livingston in the League Cup on Wednesday evening, the defender was looking to stamp his authority on the left-back spot.

He only lasted 45 minutes however and during that period, he managed to lose possession 12 times while delivering only two accurate crosses from eight attempts and completed just 24 accurate passes.

It wasn’t the performance that he would’ve been looking to deliver and Borna Barisic replaced him at half-time. The young Turk is still adapting to the Scottish game, but he will need to be more consistent going forward.

As poor as Yilmaz was, Cyriel Dessers put in yet another disappointing showing for the Gers, and he is certainly struggling to live up to expectations since his summer move.

Did Cyriel Dessers score against Aberdeen?

The striker should have found the back of the net against the Dons, missing two big chances throughout his 84 minutes on the pitch and Rangers Review journalist Joshua Barrie felt he should have gotten his name on the scoresheet.

He said: “Early chance from Dessers moving off the shoulder but he can't hit the target – the forward should do better there. Rangers with control of the first few minutes. Lammers noticeably more central from the start.”

The forward only completed nine passes when he was on the pitch along with winning just one ground duel from seven attempted, suggesting he struggled to cope with the physicality of the Aberdeen back line.

Dessers also failed to properly get involved in the game, taking only 25 touches before being substituted in the 84th minute for youngster Zak Lovelace, and Beale should perhaps look to utilise some more of the young talent in the first team.

Across 12 games for the Light Blues, Dessers has scored only three goals, and judging by his performance this afternoon, he may struggle to score over ten goals throughout the entire season.

There were very few positives to take from the defeat, but Beale must surely reassess his attacking options as soon as possible and put the summer signing on the bench for the next match.