Was this a lucky or laudable Lions vintage? It's too soon to say
It is a school of thought that cares only about results. Performance isn't part of the assessment. Winning is all. Had the Lions won all three Test matches, I suspect the tag 'greatest Lions of the professional age' would have been bandied about. The unbeaten 22-match tour to South Africa in 1974 and the one and only series success in New Zealand three years earlier might have been achievements too far for even the relentless marketing myth machine.
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Scotsman
11 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Hearts transfer targets and Jamestown Analytics' role explained in detail
Transfer window has been busy at Tynecastle Park Sign up to our Hearts newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Nine new signings with potentially more to follow amounts to one of the busiest summers in Hearts' history. Even the once transfer-obsessed Vladimir Romanov would be proud of his old club's dealings. Research on new players is considerably more robust nowadays thanks to Jamestown Analytics. Their secretive workings and relationship with the Edinburgh club remain a source of much fascination. For Derek McInnes, the Hearts head coach, Jamestown's data is an advantageous tool. He was inquisitive at his job interview in May about what the London-based sports recruitment firm do and how they help the Tynecastle club. The partnership was explained in detail, and McInnes then held further talks with Tynecastle's new investor Tony Bloom this week. Jamestown is an offshoot of Bloom's gambling software company Starlizard. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad McInnes has overseen the arrival of nine new recruits since his appointment: Norwegian right-back Christian Borchgrevink, Greek winger Alexandros Kyziridis, Portuguese forward Claudio Braga, Irish midfielder Oisin McEntee, Belgian striker Elton Kabangu, Scottish centre-back Stuart Findlay, Albanian winger Sabah Kerjota, Icelandic midfielder Tomas Bent Magnusson and Burkinabe forward Pierre Landry Kabore. He provided a detailed insight into the inner workings of the Hearts-Jamestown agreement. 'When I was interviewed, it was kind of relayed to me what that looked like,' he said. 'I was quite inquisitive about the parameters and how it all works. Graeme Jones [Hearts sporting director] had given me fine detail about how they see it working. I was obviously encouraged and excited by that. 'In days gone by, for any manager in normal circumstances, you'd get offered a player and you and your staff with your recruitment team would look through maybe eight to 10 hours of footage, watching different types of games, different clips. We're no longer doing that now as a staff, so we're getting the benefit of having these players getting watched to death. 'I don't know how many minutes they look at for every player, but every game that they've played has been watched and analysed and marked and judged and all the rest of it. So, when we then say we're looking for this type of profile, they'll spit out maybe four or five options for us to look at. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Now I must say, we've not signed everybody that's been proposed to us, there's been a few that we've moved away from quite quickly. That's not to say they weren't good players, because they're clearly all good players that Jamestown are offering. A lot of these players come from leagues that you probably wouldn't have been looking in, like Kerjota for instance, and even Magnussen. Hearts transfers and positions in mind 'These are guys that Jamestown have the benefit and the confidence that they're sourcing them before they get their [big] move - if you know what I mean - and they're identifying good players. I think it's clear that every player that they've proposed is a good footballer. It's up to us to try and make those footballers better. Every signing as a manager, it's up to us to try and validate that confidence. when you bring a player in. That's always the way for a manager, when you sign a player you always want to make them work. 'Not every signing is going to work for different reasons. But I do think we all take confidence from the fact that a lot of the work that normally us managers and staff have to go through has all been done, and you're just getting at that end point. Sometimes you see it right away. You watch a player and you watch the clip and you go: 'What a good player he is.' 'We all think the same thing. We could all be sitting in a room as a staff, we just watch the game, we watch the clips, we don't speak while we're watching it. Then it's: 'What a good player he is.' You just get a good feeling about it, and the fact that other people have done their work before they propose them to you, it gives you an added security. An endorsement, I suppose. Normally, it's just my decision or the staff's decision. We feel as though we've got the right people getting us to that point.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Despite the extensive business done so far, Hearts may yet target more new recruits. Adam Forrester's proposed loan move to St Johnstone would leave the right-back department short on cover. Craig Gordon's persistent shoulder injury may also necessitate a move for another goalkeeper, so Jamestown will likely be called upon again before the summer transfer window closes on 1 September. The ability to free up time would appeal to any top-flight football manager in what is a 24/7 job. McInnes is no different. Jamestown remove a fair portion of the laborious process when researching a potential signing target. Consequently, the Hearts head coach should have plenty extra time for other duties at Riccarton. 'I should have, but it doesn't feel like it,' he laughed. 'We're still looking at players all the time, we're still getting stuff proposed to us. There are a few that we've moved on from pretty quickly. There is still loads to do for any manager, particularly during pre-season and particularly in the [transfer] window. Maybe once the window closes we'll get a wee bit more time to do what we want to do, rather than poring over players.' READ MORE: Transfer progress at Tynecastle as defender nears a move
Daily Mirror
41 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Jurgen Klopp could play crucial role to help Liverpool complete Alexander Isak transfer
Jurgen Klopp is now a leading figure at Red Bull and he's central to their pursuit of Harvey Elliott - which could help fund Liverpool's pursuit of Alexander Isak Liverpool remain keen on landing Alexander Isak, who has told Newcastle he wants to seek pastures new - with the Reds already seeing an opening bid for the Swede rejected. They tabled an overall over worth £120million, but that was knocked back by their Premier League rivals. The Magpies value Isak closer to £150m after seeing him establish himself as one of Europe's leading No 9s since moving to St James' Park. Liverpool have already spent well over £200m but could still break the British-transfer record for the second time in a single summer. Their transfer efforts will be aided by more money coming into the club and former manager Jurgen Klopp is now Head of Global Soccer for Red Bull and plays a major role in their recruitment. Bild reports that Klopp is particularly keen to bring Harvey Elliott to RB Leipzig with the Englishman tipped to move on this summer. Despite having options to remain in England the German, who bought Elliott to Anfield back in 2019, wants to lure him to the Bundesliga. Elliott has seen his stock rise this summer after excelling at the U21 Euros with England, where he was named Player of the Tournament. He is being eyed by the likes of Brighton and West Ham, but Leipzig represent a chance for him to head overseas. Liverpool are looking to bank around £50m if they are to let Elliott, who only started two Premier League games last term, leave. That fee would also represent pure profit and further bolster their transfer kitty ahead of a renewed move for Isak. Germany has proved to be an excellent environment for English talent to thrive. Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham, who both made their names at Borussia Dortmund, are shining examples of how heading to the Bundesliga can be hugely beneficial for one's career. The 22-year-old acknowledges he needs to be selfish with his next move and said recently: 'If I had it my way, I would be here for the rest of my career, it's as simple as that. I love everything about the club. But at the same time, I kind of need to be selfish with myself and see what's best for me. "I have big ambitions, I want to get in the World Cup [squad], keep being successful as a player. I think it's still something I need to review, I need to have a talk with everyone and review the situation. Obviously we have many new players that have come in, so whether it blocks the path for me, I'm not sure. It's something for me to decide and have a look at. As I said, just review the situation." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Powys County Times
3 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Arlington Million trip with Cairo has Haynes in dreamland
Alice Haynes hopes Cairo can continue riding on the coattails of his brilliant third at Royal Ascot when challenging for the Arlington Million on Saturday. The five-year-old son of American multiple Grade One winner Quality Road will be making a maiden trip Stateside for the historic mile-and-a-quarter contest, which is now held at Colonial Downs. Cairo – who was behind only then-stablemate Paddington in the Irish 2,000 Guineas when trained by Aidan O'Brien – was best of the rest at 100-1 as Docklands narrowly defeated Rosallion in the Queen Anne Stakes at the Royal meeting. Having already faced high-calibre fields this season, Cairo will add to that list by taking on 2024 Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan in Virginia. 'Going into Royal Ascot, I did feel the horse was as well as we've ever had him,' Haynes told her yard sponsor, Coral. 'He was absolutely flying at home so I had high hopes he would run a big race, but even so, to finish third in a field of that quality did surprise me, in the best possible way obviously! 'I'd always thought that coming to America would suit him, and having discussed it with the owner, going into Ascot we very much had it in our minds. 'He still needed to run a big race at Ascot to make the trip viable, but of course he produced that big run. 'The team from Colonial Downs were at the track that day and chatting to them after the Queen Anne really did make up our mind to come here.' Haynes has now set her sights on rewarding her stable star, who arrived in New York last week before an eight-hour journey to Virginia, with a couple of lucrative races in the United States before returning home. 'He's an old pro now when it comes to travelling, so he's taken it all in his stride and acclimatised well,' Haynes added. 'The temperature is cooler than it was here last week apparently so while it's still warm, it's more comfortable for him now. 'He had a couple of canters on the dirt when he first got here and his latest piece of work has been on the turf, under his big-race pilot Ben Curtis. 'Ben actually contacted us when he saw we were running the horse over here and I think he will be a really good fit for the horse. 'He's obviously got plenty of experience riding European horses, but he's been in America long enough now to have the local knowledge as well, which I think could be really important in a race like this. 'We're under no illusions about the task we face though, and realistically, finishing in the first three would be a tremendous achievement. 'The plan after this weekend is to send him down to Keeneland to be based with Ed Vaughan and aim him at a richly-endowed race at Kentucky Downs. 'It is just so exciting to be involved in a big international race like this, it really is what we have worked so hard to achieve.'
