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While much of the excitement at Aston Villa at the moment will naturally surround Steven Gerrard and how he can get the club firing again, NSWE will be absolutely delighted at securing the services of another man: Michael Beale.

The 41-year-old arrived at Villa Park as Gerrard’s first-team coach from his time at Rangers, and has been widely hailed by numerous people for the role he has played.

Indeed, Gerrard himself told The Robbie Fowler Podcast: “What I’ll never do is try to do someone else’s job when they are better than me at doing it It would take me 15 to 20 years to become as good as Michael Beale as an on-pitch coach, delivering sessions on a daily basis, so I let Mick be Mick because he’s the expert.”

That sentiment is echoed by journalist Stuart Hodge who exclusively revealed to GIVEMESPORT the kind of role Beale has played, and will play at Villa Park over the coming months and years.

Hodge said: “Beale is the man behind him that’s doing things and looking at things from a different perspective. He’ll be the one doing a lot of the drills on the training pitch.”

He added: “Gerrard is the manager and Beale’s the coach, essentially. Beale is the brains behind the operation, whereas Gerrard is very much the face and the front of it.”

Having that respected coach who can really dig into the finer details on the training ground and really improve players will be particularly key for a young Villa side brimming with exciting talents coming through the academy – not least the likes of Carney Chukwuemeka and Cameron Archer.

And, speaking to BBC Scotland, former Gers star Peter Lovenkrands outlined just how Beale goes about things with individual players: “What he does with the players on the pitch is phenomenal. I remember he was giving me sessions to take down because I was doing the reserves; he wanted us to copy it. I was loving it. I actually wanted to take part in the training.

“He’s so on the ball. He’s so good at what he does. The players love it. His preparation for each game is fantastic to watch, and Gerrard is very lucky to have him.”

While Villa fans will surely be very pleased with appointing Gerrard, the arrival of the 41-year-old Beale in tandem could be the real masterstroke that really ignites things behind-the-scenes.

Meanwhile, Ashley Preece has revealed what Gerrard has “transformed” at Villa Park…

Kent, Somerset, Northamptonshire and Sussex are chasing the Twenty20 Cup on finals day at Edgbaston

Andrew McGlashan14-Aug-2009It’s easy to forget that England is where Twenty20 began. It doesn’t feel like that these days. The game has been carried forward at speed by other nations and the ECB has been left in the wake. How to compete with the IPL? How to attract overseas players? How many matches do the public actually want?The Twenty20 Cup, whose showpiece event, Finals Day, is at Edgbaston on Saturday, has grown steadily since its inception in 2003. Next year there will be more changes as the tournament is played over a longer period of mid-summer with more matches in a two-league structure and will be called P20.The idea of a second Twenty20 tournament has been ditched, largely due to the economical climate, and the new P20 will aim to be a half-way house between the current format and the international flavour of the IPL. Quite how many stars turn out remains to seen. It’s all about money.Earlier this week an expanded IPL was announced and in 2011 there will be 10 teams making 94 matches. Too much of a good thing? Try telling that to Lalit Modi. It is futile to try to keep up with a multi-million dollar machine. The ECB tried, of course, with the fateful association with Allen Stanford and they won’t care to be reminded of that mistake.However, the financial rewards of Twenty20 will still be a major motivation at Edgbaston with Champions League – another Modi brainchild – berths up for grabs for the two finalists. Except for Northamptonshire, who will be disqualified because two of their South African allrounders – Nicky Boje and Andrew Hall – did not produce the required evidence that they had severed their links with the ICL in time, though the pair have now ended their deals.Last year Kent reached the final but had Azhar Mahmood and Justin Kemp on ICL books. In the end the Champions League was cancelled after the Mumbai terror attacks, which meant Middlesex missed their chance at competing having qualified without any ICL players. This year Middlesex finished bottom of their group (although they’ll always have Antigua). It’s a tough game.Kent, though, have made it to finals day again and now Mahmood and Kemp have cut their ICL ties so the Champions League is a real aim as it is for Somerset and Sussex. The prizes on offer are sizable, but first you have to get there. The second semi between Kent and Somerset looks the tougher draw, but in Twenty20 it’s hard to tell. Here’s a run down of the contenders.Finals Day fixturesFirst semi-final – Northamptonshire v Sussex (11.30am)

Second semi-final – Kent v Somerset (3.00pm)

Twenty20 Final – 7.15pmSomersetPedigree – Won the trophy in 2005 when Graeme Smith played a key role in their success.Strengths – An awesome top order. Marcus Trescothick is in prime form and Craig Kieswetter will push for an England place when he qualifies. Then there’s Justin Langer and the in-form James Hildreth.Weaknesses – No major spin option, although Max Waller, the 21-year-old legspinner, is making a positive impression. Nothing like the big stage to show what you can do.Star man – Trescothick. How England would love him to be at The Oval next week. Can win a game on his own.KentPedigree – Runners-up last year and winners in 2007 they have all bases covered for this format.Strengths – Probably the most complete team on show. Hitting power all the way down the order, the death-bowling skills of Azhar Mahmood and Wayne Parnell (back from South Africa specially for Finals Day), a seasoned spinner in James Tredwell and an astute captain.Weakness – Not a huge squad, so will need all their big-guns available. Rested key players for last Championship match which showed where their focus is.Star man – Mahmood. Has plenty of Finals Day experience with Kent and Surrey. Is one of the best at the death.SussexPedigree – The departure of Chris Adams and Mushtaq Ahmed has been well compensated for by a determined side. They have appeared on one previous finals day, but didn’t progress past the semis in 2007.Strengths – The experience of James Kirtley and Yasir Arafat will serve them well with the ball, while the young spinners have performed above expectation.Weaknesses – They have missed out on a trophy this season with their Friends Provident defeat. Will that haunt or motivate them? Murray Goodwin has also lost form at the wrong time and they will be missing Matt Prior, who has been rested ahead of the final Ashes Test.Star man – Luke Wright. Is capable of match-winning performances with bat or ball, warmed up with 95 off 68 balls in the Pro40 last weekend and a five-wicket haul in the Championship.NorthamptonshirePedigree – Their first appearance on finals day, and searching for their first silverware since winning the County Championship Division title in 2000. They haven’t won a one-day prize since the Natwest Trophy in 1992.Strengths – Their trio of South African allrounders, Johan van der Wath, Andrew Hall and Nicky Boje, play key roles, but don’t overlook the hard-hitting Niall O’Brien.Weaknesses – How will the pressure affect a team that isn’t used to success and will the ICL situation be a demotivating factor?Star man – van der Wath. Gives the ball and thump and can bowl at either end of the innings.

James Benning, who was recently released by Surrey, will make his debut for Leicestershire in the Pro40 at Lord’s on Sunday after joining on a loan deal

Cricinfo staff15-Aug-2009James Benning, who was recently released by Surrey, will make his debut for Leicestershire in the Pro40 at Lord’s on Sunday after joining on a loan deal.Benning, 26, is at Leicestershire initially until the end of the season, but has agreed a deal to play next summer as well. His medium-pace bowling will help to replace Jim Allenby, who is now with Glamorgan.”James’s record in both forms of the game is good. He has played 127 one-day games with three one-day hundreds and a top score of 189 not out,” said David Smith, Leicestershire’s chief executive. “He also offers us a good bowling option in both four-day and one-day cricket.”

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been left erupting as some comments emerged from Steven Gerrard.

Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of the match at home to Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday afternoon, the English manager has now claimed that the club need to ‘spend big money’ in transfer windows in order to be able to compete, citing that in the last two windows they ‘haven’t spent a penny’.

This comes after the Light Blues lost 1-0 away at Sparta Prague in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night, after losing their opening game 2-0 at home to Lyon in the competition (BBC Sport).

They have also drawn and lost a match in the SPFL already as well, and so question marks have been raised over their performances this season compared to last.

Nonetheless, several Light Blues seemed to be taken back by his subtle dig at the board.

Rangers fans on Gerrard comments

These Gers supporters erupted as the comments were shared on Twitter:

“That’s a statement and a half”

Credit: @TobyJamieson4

“First time we’ve heard him express his disappointment at the transfer business we have done. Sounded like a wee dig at the board.”

Credit: @FacelessRanger

“Is that a dig at the board for us not spending any money?”

Credit: @CarrieCummings4

“The board won’t be too happy with that last comment, but he’s correct.”

Credit: @Motor_Ted

“Steven Gerrard making it clear to EVERYONE you need to spend money to improve and challenge in European competitions. Money he hasn’t been given in the last 2 transfer windows so why should we expect this team to keep doing it, year after year?”

Credit: @CF3Loyal

“2 poor transfer windows. Not spent a penny. Manager having a dig at the board here?”

Credit: @TheFamousRFC

In other news, find out whose display against Prague left RFC fans fuming here!

Speaking to Football Insider, BBC pundit Noel Whelan has heaped praise on West Ham United manager David Moyes after the 58-year-old revealed his transfer plan for the Hammers.

The Lowdown: Moyes outlines future plan…

Speaking to the press (via football.london), the Irons boss dropped a hint on his plans for the future of West Ham in a message.

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Indeed, Moyes explained that he wants the club to be looking for ‘young British talented players’ as well as recruiting from outside of the UK.

“I’d like to have a bigger West Ham presence around the streets of London but probably around the whole country as well because I want us to be looking for young British talented players, as well as the work we need to do overseas,” he said.

“I can only look back at the years I had at Everton when I thought I had a really good recruitment team. But that took time as well, it didn’t happen over one or two windows and I’ve got to give Rob [Newman] time.”

The Latest: Whelan thrilled…

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan has praised Moyes for this mindset and backs him to follow it through.

“That that’s his blueprint already since he came into the club,” the pundit explained.

“It’s been really successful, we’ve seen how its worked, the core of the team is British. They know the Premier League, they know English football.

“They don’t need time to bed in, they don’t need any time to get used to the conditions and change of lifestyle. It’s right there.

“Every player that he’s got British-wise has been exceptional, they really have. You can see the mentality change and the culture change straight away at the football club.

“It’s been successful so that blueprint that he came into with West Ham, why change something that’s working? He’s still looking to get these young British players into the football club.

“They will be the core, they’ll be the future, they know their mentality, they can handle English football. I think he has done an amazing job. He really, really has.”

The Verdict: Promising message…

Already, we’ve seen reports linking West Ham with exciting homegrown talents like James McAtee as well as the work they done to bring in a plethora of promising players over the summer.

Going by this blueprint, Moyes could certainly have a promising plan on his hands as he thinks about the bigger picture.

In other news: West Ham now lining up sensational swoop to sign ‘extraordinary’ 151-goal striker, find out more here.

Celtic appear to have found their replacement for Odsonne Edouard in the form of Japan international Kyogo Furuhasi.

The summer signing has scored four times in four starts in the Scottish Premiership and eight goals in 11 appearances overall this season. He has been able to showcase his quality in the final third and looks set for a sublime campaign for the Hoops.

His form will surely come as a welcome relief to Ange Postecoglou, who inherited a misfiring striker upon his arrival at the club – Albian Ajeti.

Following the sale of Edouard to Crystal Palace, Ajeti was left to fill his boots and has scored three goals in 12 games in all competitions in the 2021/22 campaign.

How did Ajeti get to this point though?

The forward enjoyed a terrific season with Basel in his home country during the 2018/19 campaign. He scored 21 goals and provided 11 assists in all competitions, earning himself a £10.17m transfer to Premier League side West Ham.

This is where the struggles began for Ajeti as he never adjusted to life in England. He failed to score in 12 games for the Hammers the following season, including nine appearances in the Premier League, as he averaged a SofaScore rating of just 6.46.

Following his horrific debut campaign for West Ham, Ajeti was sold to Celtic in the summer of 2020 for a fee of £4.95m. Transfermarkt valued him at £4.32m at the time of the transfer, which was already £5.85m less than West Ham paid for him a year prior.

In his first year at Celtic, Ajeti scored six goals in 20 Scottish Premiership appearances. He averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.85 and lost 65% of his duels on the pitch throughout the campaign, suggesting that he was too weak to compete physically in the division.

At the time of writing (04/10/21), Ajeti is valued at £2.88m by Transfermarkt. This means that his value has dropped dramatically by £7.29m in just two years of football, with one of those being at West Ham and the other at Celtic Park in Scotland.

He needs to turn his form around soon or his career could be at risk. At the age of 24, he is exiting the potential stage and beginning to move towards his prime years where he should be expected to be at his best.

If he fails to deliver consistent end product sooner rather than later, it could put other clubs off wanting to go near him – leaving Ajeti to waste away at Celtic or be forced to drop down to a lower standard of football to play regularly.

His value continuing to drop since leaving Switzerland is proof of his faltering career and highlights the downwards trend that he’s on. Hopefully, the attacker will be able to find his feet in Scotland and start to show why he was bought for £10.17m only two years ago.

AND in other news, Postecoglou provides fresh injury update that should excite Celtic supporters…

Tottenham Hotspur are now reportedly fighting a number of clubs in the UEFA Champions League to sign Ryan Gravenberch.

The Lowdown: Emerging talent

Gravenberch is certainly one of the biggest emerging talents in world football at just 19 years of age, having played in ten games in total over all competitions so far this season for Ajax already, scoring one goal and making one assist (Transfermarkt).

Former Spurs star and fellow countryman Rafael van der Vaart has recently been singing the praises of the Netherlands international, claiming that he is ‘big’, ‘strong’ and ‘calm on the ball’ (Ziggo Sport Voetbal).

The Latest: Plenty of interest

As per Fichajes, there is now plenty of interest in Gravenberch from a number of top teams in Europe.

As well as the Lilywhites, UEFA Champions League sides Chelsea, FC Barcelona and Juventus all reportedly have the central midfield player in their sights, while north London rivals Arsenal are also following his situation.

However, Ajax currently value him at a whopping €75m (£64.2m), as his current deal at the Dutch giants does not end until 2024.

The Verdict: Break the bank

It is not often that Daniel Levy decided to break the bank on a signing, but if he gets the green light, he must go out and sign Gravenberch at all costs.

It is scary just how much potential he is at 19, and the number of top European clubs courting him should tell its own story.

Nonetheless, if THFC can raise some money through the sales of a few of their fringe players, then that cash should not be spent anywhere else.

In other news, find out who now wants to leave Tottenham here!

Celtic reporter Kieran Devlin has dropped a worrying claim on centre-back Osaze Urhoghide.

The Lowdown: Urhoghide’s Celtic start

Urhoghide was one of 12 summer additions at Celtic Park over the summer, four of which came at centre-back.

He joined from Sheffield Wednesday and cost £207,000 but is yet to feature in a competitive match under Ange Postecoglou, even though he has been in the squad on multiple occasions.

The Celtic boss hailed the 21-year-old in the summer, but it seems as if he is struggling to make an impact at Parkhead.

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The Latest: Devlin’s claim

Devlin, Celtic’s correspondent for The Athletic, ran a Q&A on the site for the Hoops’ League Cup quarter-final against Raith Rovers.

Prior to the game, one fan staked his claim to see the likes of Urhoghide and other Celtic fringe players feature. Devlin responded and made this claim when it comes to the defender.

“If he was to play a young CB, Bosun Lawal and Dane Murray are apparently ahead of Urhoghide in their development.”

The Verdict: Worrying times?

The latest claim on Urhoghide could be a cause for concern at Parkhead.

He featured heavily towards the end of last season for The Owls, starting 12 of Wednesday’s final 18 second-tier fixtures.

On that basis, you’d have hoped that he would’ve broken into Postecoglou’s plans by now, especially as he was wanted by Premier League clubs before joining Celtic.

Hopefully, it is only a matter of time until Urhoghide makes his competitive debut in green and white, but it doesn’t seem as if it will be this month.

In other news: ‘Hopefully’ – Kieran Devlin shares ‘important’ area Celtic may add to next after McElhone. 

Evening Standard journalist Jack Rosser has told The Transfer Tavern that Jesse Lingard is adamant that he wants to remain at Manchester United – making a late move to West ham extremely unlikely.

Following his outstanding loan spell in the second half of last season, David Moyes has been desperate to bring Lingard back to the London Stadium on a permanent basis this summer.

However, Lingard, who made his first Premier League appearance for United for 12 months against Southampton last weekend, wants to fight for his place under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Despite only being introduced for the final few minutes at St Mary’s, Lingard was called up for the England squad for next month’s World Cup qualifiers by Gareth Southgate, which would appear a blow to West Ham’s chances of signing him.

Rosser didn’t completely rule out one last-ditch attempt from West Ham to try and re-sign Lingard, but told The Transfer Tavern that his love for his boyhood club United has dampened the Hammers’ chances:

“I think he wants to keep Manchester United – he’s adamant he wants to stay there. Him being in the England squad won’t help West Ham.

“If you can get in the England squad from playing 10 minutes against Southampton, then I think he’ll be fairly confident he can stay at United.

“You wonder whether that you could change over the weekend, but he’s been at the club a long time and loves the club.”

A summer of change is playing out at Celtic but the Hoops are far from finished when it comes to their transfer business.

Ange Postecoglou wasn’t backed sufficiently until the Bhoys crashed out of Europe’s top competition but since then, they’ve made some eye-catching acquisitions.

On the chalkboard

Kyogo Furuhashi and Liel Abada have taken to life at Parkhead like ducks to water, contributing a whole host of goals since penning terms.

However, they could still be joined in Glasgow by Thomas Henry, the second top scorer in the Belgium top-flight last term.

What’s more important for Celtic now, however, is improving their backline.

Manchester City centre-back Ko Itakura has been linked with a swoop while it’s thought the Bhoys are on the verge of sealing a £2.5m move for Croatian right-back Josip Juranovic.

That’s according to various sources. Sky Sports first reported that Celtic were looking to complete a deal before journalist Izak Ante Sucic (via Everything Celtic) suggested that everything was progressing nicely.

One of the biggest priorities for Postecoglou since he was handed the keys to Paradise has been finding a right-back.

Although Anthony Ralston has started the new season with two goals in successive Premiership games, he still doesn’t feel like a long-term solution to their problems in that third of the pitch.

In Juranovic, they’d find a significant upgrade for their defensive ranks.

The Croat currently plays for Legia Warsaw in Poland where he’s quickly become one of the most eye-catching full-backs in the division.

Described as a “creative monster” by Bhoys Analytics, he’d be the perfect player to fit into the manager’s inverted way of playing.

Capable of coming inside and playing a pass, he is also rampant when hugging the touchline. Juranovic managed to register eight assists last term while completing a very impressive 40% of his crosses.

Furthermore, the Croatia international is extremely competent from a defensive point of view. Although his height of just 5 foot 8 means he wins very few aerial duels, he gave away the least amount of fouls in the entire Polish top-flight last season at only 0.21 per 90 minutes.

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Celtic had attacking full-backs in Jeremie Frimpong and Jonjoe Kenny last term but what they lacked was somebody who could also defend reliably. Juranovic is technically strong but is physical too, prevailing in 67.6% of his ground duels.

On that evidence, the Croatian flyer would be the ideal addition to their ranks this summer. He is creative, strong and also remarkably cheap.

AND in other news, Celtic must sign 25-goal “great talent” who could become “better” than Henrik Larsson…