Archive December 2, 2025

Former England captain Michael Vaughan advises the batsmen to master their attacking “Bazball” style and practice a more aplomb in the second Ashes Test.

After England suffered an astonishing two-day defeat in the first Test in Perth, where the tourists’ shot selection was heavily criticized, Australia are now 1-0 up in the series.

In Brisbane, Ben Stokes’ side will play a pink ball during a day-night test.

Australia have won 13 of their 14 day-night tests, including three against England, with a formidable record.

Vaughan claimed that England should have better game awareness at the Gabba and that there was “arrogance” about how they handled Perth.

“This England side dances down,” They “fly toward the danger,” Vaughan said.

“I’m not too sure that’s a wise decision,” the ballplayer said. Play the traditional way.

I’m not suggesting that you constantly play like Geoff Boycott or Alastair Cook. However, when the ball is slightly zipping around, use your senses.

They are excellent entertainers, but they haven’t won a fifth or fourth series in three or four years. I’ll give a tip about England. It is ineffective.

Vaughan argued that England should focus on using a more measured approach to frustrate left-arm quick Mitchell Starc in Brisbane.

Starc is widely regarded as the best bowler in the world with a pink ball in hand and has 81 wickets for his average of 17.09 in day-night games.

Mitchell Starc, who won the Ashes series for England in 2005, is the aggressor and must take wickets, said Vaughan, who added.

There is no way Starc won’t bowl a run because he is there to get wickets if you leave a few outside off the stump. It possesses that awareness and sense of game.

Vaughan said he was concerned about how England’s bowlers would handle the heat in Brisbane and that “a lot of overs” would be required.

With fast bowler Mark Wood expected to miss the match with an injury, England could use Shoaib Bashir as a spinner or switch to Will Jacks, who would also add depth to their batting.

Vaughan said he would stick with an all-out pace attack because England needed to win the series and face off.

If England bowls well with the seam bowlers, he said, they will take 20 wickets.

I wouldn’t play spinner, in my opinion. I’d be playing all my quicks because England currently doesn’t have a good spinner for these circumstances.

“I can’t imagine Shoaib Bashir or Will Jacks taking four or five wickets at the Gabba.” Josh Tongue is my favorite. He’s a wicket taker, if you look at his record. He would approach me.

Stokes, the England captain, should not be hesitant to start introducing himself into the attack sooner rather than later, according to Vaughan.

Ben Stokes bowling early appeals to me. He had to bowl earlier in Perth, but it was crying out. He needs to realize how effective a bowler he is, Vaughan said.

Thomas Frank, the owner of Tottenham, claims he has faith in himself and is “very confident” in his decision to win.

The opening-weekend game against Burnley was Spurs’ only Premier League home game since Frank’s June signing from Brentford.

Some fans have criticized the Dane, who sits 12th in the league table and has just 18 points from 13 games.

Frank responded to reporters by saying, “Yes, I’m very confident. I’m very confident.

They appear to be good guys, knowledgeable about running businesses, and interested in learning about football.

“I believe every successful dynasty and every successful club have taken time when we’re dealing with intelligent people,” said one.

Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario’s error caused Fulham’s second goal in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat, Spurs’ 10th home league defeat of 2025, to receive booed by Tottenham Hotspur Stadium fans.

After the defeat, the Dane claimed that Vicario’s supporters “can’t be true Tottenham fans” and that their actions were “completely unacceptable.”

Frank said he understood the disappointment of fans before his team took on Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Tuesday (20:15 GMT) just below them in the 13th tier.

He said, “I completely understand the frustration,” as I said after the game.

There will always be frustration if you don’t win. That is typical.

Particularly because we haven’t won as much at home this year as we would have liked, both historically. So the frustration intensifies a little more.

Without fans, we would be nothing. Without the fans, there is no club. Without our incredible fans, nothing could exist at Tottenham. We require one another.

My point is that I want to build a fortress during matches because that is what we need each other.

Goalkeeper Vicario came out to deal with a long ball when Spurs were already 1-0 up inside six minutes against Fulham, but Harry Wilson’s weak clearance prevented him from curling a shot into the open goal from the touchline.

Spurs fans booed the Italian when the ball came to him moments later, and the team was also jeered off at half-time and the final whistle as a result.

After the game, I spoke with him, and he assured me that he was fine, Frank said.

Vic is a relatively resilient player when faced with setbacks like that. It might have hurt others more.

How well you handle mistakes as a goalkeeper and player is largely determined by how well you develop as both a player and a goalkeeper.

Vicario apologized to the fans after the game for his error and the outcome.

The 29-year-old told Sky Sports, “I take responsibility for that because I made a mistake with my second goal.”

Andre Onana was cut from Cameroon’s squad for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), with the team in chaos after head coach Marc Brys was fired amid “subterfuge” allegations.

In a shocking statement, Samuel Eto’o and his executive committee announced Brys’ dismissal days after being re-elected as president of the Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot).

It contains a long list of “professional failure” accusations against Brys, including “inciting” players to defy Fecafoot.

Eto’o, a decision that the Belgian was appointed by Cameroon’s sports ministry in April 2024, is also accused of “active collaboration with unknown individuals within Fecafoot.”

Additionally, he is accused of using “subterfuge to avoid his professional obligation to hold press conferences,” refusing to disclose his training plans, compromising relationships with sponsors, and releasing his squad selections on time.

Brys is replaced by David Pagou, a seasoned Cameroonian coach who has overseen several top-tier teams, by one of his assistants, David Pagou.

However, several important names are missing from Pagou’s 28-man squad for the upcoming Afcon in Morocco, which kicks off on December 21.

In addition to their goals, Onana, Vincent Aboubakar, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, the team’s captain, and defender Michael Ngadeu.

Fecafoot and Cameroon’s ministry of sport have been at odds over whether the 63-year-old’s contract is legitimate and valid since Brys’ arrival.

But Eto’o’s regime has not only fired him, but many others.

The former Barcelona and Inter Milan forward quickly oversaw the dismissal of Portuguese manager Toni Concecaio, who had led Cameroon to a third-place finish on home soil at the 2021 Afcon despite ministry opposition, having first been elected to Fecafoot’s top job in December 2021.

Under the direction of Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, Rigobert Song was immediately chosen as Conceicao’s replacement.

Song led his country at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which Onana left early after being suspended by Fecafoot, but a poor performance at the previous Afcon in Ivory Coast put an end to the former West Ham and Liverpool defender’s tenure in charge. Strongly rumored to be Eto’o’s choice, Song led his country at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

At Fecafoot, the sports ministry’s choice of Brys as Song’s replacement was met with “great astonishment.”

After a heated argument with Eto’o, the Belgian was removed less than two months later, but he was reinstated two days later as the federation president apologized.

After losing to Dr Congo in the African play-offs, Brys’ recent failure to qualify his team for the next year’s World Cup appears to indicate Eto’o has finally gotten his way.

However, it’s still to be seen if Fecafoot and Eto’o will agree to the ministry’s payment of the head coach’s salary. The BBC has been informed that it has nothing to say right now.

Njie Enow, a Cameroonian analyst, said: “It’s difficult to see how a new manager will be able to put together a playing system, create an environment where the players can express themselves fluently on the pitch and play as a unit.

The most well-known absence from Cameroon’s Afcon squad is Onana, who has 59 caps.

Given his recent success at major tournaments and his recent form at Manchester United before being loaned to Turkish side Trabzonspor in September, it might not come as a surprise.

He delayed his arrival at the tournament in order to play an extra game for United, and he also lost his place in the starting lineup for the 2023 Afcon.

He returned for the 3-1 defeat by Senegal, a game in which he was arguably responsible for the opening goal despite being excluded from the Indomitable Lions’ first group game against Guinea as a result.

The Gambia defeated Nigeria in the final 16; Fabrice Ondoa was then chosen to lead the team.

Onana’s loan move to Trabzonspor did allow him to regain his position as Cameroon’s number one under Brys, and he also helped him start last month’s World Cup play-off defeat by DR Congo.

The 29-year-old no longer has a place in a squad that includes four goalkeepers because Brys is gone.

Both Bryan Mbeumo and Carlos Baleba, a team-mate of Onana’s at Old Trafford, are included.

However, Anguissa, the reigning champion of Serie A and who chose to prioritize his recovery at Napoli, will undoubtedly miss out on his experience.

Without a number of their well-known stars, Cameroon is difficult to find in Morocco.

Conor Gallagher is on the verge of leaving Manchester City, Jean-Philippe Mateta is wanted by AC Milan, and Atletico Madrid is prepared to sell him.

German goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, 33, may be looking for a new challenge while Manchester City’s English goalkeeper James Trafford, 23, is looking to leave the club in January after falling into the pecking order following the arrival of 26-year-old Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris St-Germain. (Mail)

Jean-Philippe Mateta, 28, a French striker for Crystal Palace, is interested in a move to Serie A, with AC Milan one of the interested clubs. (Talksport)

Conor Gallagher, 25, may leave for about £26 million in January or the summer, but Atletico Madrid rejected the attempt last summer to sign the England international on loan. (Here We Go Podcast with Fabrizio Romano)

Eintracht Frankfurt still wants Newcastle and Denmark striker William Osula, 22, but West Ham and Germany forward Niclas Fullkrug, 32, are no longer interested. (Sky Sports Germany, German)

Independiente Del Valle‘s twin brothers Edwin and Holger Quintero, both aged 16 and playing in midfield at age 16, will be signed by Arsenal in a definitive agreement in August 2027. (ESPN)

Matteo Guendouzi, 26, a former Arsenal player, is interested in moving to the Black Cats. (i Paper: Ascription required)

If they are unable to sign Manchester United’s 24-year-old Netherlands striker Joshua Zirkzee, class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″>Roma will consider making a move for class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″>Tottenham’s 20-year-old French forward Mathys Tel in January. (Il Messaggero, Italian)

Nathaniel Brown, 22, a left-back from Germany and Eintracht Frankfurt, who is also intriguing to Real Madrid and Barcelona, is also on Man United’s radar. (Florian Plettenberg)

Tottenham are interested in signing Porto’s 21-year-old Samu Aghehowa from Spain, but they are concerned that Manchester City will lose out against them in their bid to land Bournemouth’s 25-year-old Ghana forward Antoine Semenyo. (Teamtalk)

Sergio Ramos, 39, wants to play for Real Madrid again when his contract with the Mexican side Monterrey expires at the end of December. (Calciomercato – Italian)