Excellent chance for Excessable at Southwell
As freezing temperatures continue to bite, action again focuses on the all-weather and Excessable has plenty in his favour as he lines up in the Play 4 To Score At Betway Handicap at Southwell tomorrow.
Course form is so often key at the Nottinghamshire track and with Excessable having been in the first three in each of his five runs on the Fibresand, it is clearly right up his street.
Tim Easterby has seemingly found Excessable’s optimum trip too, with this six-furlong distance playing to his strengths as he kept on with real purpose to triumph just over a week ago. That length verdict from Nick Vedder supplemented his neck win back in December and while he is now off a 4lb higher mark, Excessable looks capable of confirming that form as he remains a good chunk below his career-high rating of 94 from his juvenile days.
Bill Cody is another going for a Southwell double in the Betway Handicap. He made a glorious return from 325 days off last month when making all for a cosy three-length win over an extended two miles.
One or two rivals failed to stay that day with the first three home some 21 lengths clear of the fourth-placed runner, but Bill Cody was tough from the front and Callum Rodriguez certainly utilised his mount’s strengths.
Julie Camacho steps into the unknown with Bill Cody as she ups him to two and a quarter miles, but this strong staying six-year-old can rise to the challenge.
Kabuto shaped with promise on his racecourse bow here and can make it second time lucky in the Get Your Ladbrokes Daily Odds Boost Maiden Stakes. Sent off an 181 shot over a mile, Kabuto was slow to break and on the back foot from the off, before eventually finding his rhythm too late to have any real impact.
Beaten nearly nine lengths, Kabuto looks better than that performance.
Under Wraps has been found wanting in novice and maiden company, but an opening mark of 64 looks fairly workable in the tote Placepot Your First Bet Handicap at Chelmsford.
Bred in the purple as a daughter of Kingman out of
French Oaks victor Confidential Lady, Under Wraps has yet to come anywhere close to victory in three runs, being beaten just over six lengths in third on her latest attempt. Her earlier outing suggested at more ability, so it perhaps makes sense to switch to handicap level now as connections seek that allimportant first win.
Maxine might appreciate edging up in trip to 10 furlongs for the CCR Handicap. Harry Dunlop’s charge has been knocking on the door in her last four runs, finishing third at Wolverhampton on her most recent attempt.
Manchester United captain Harry Maguire knows it is high time the club starts winning trophies again.
TheOldTraffordgiantsare synonymous with success but have not won silverware since lifting the Europa League under Jose Mourinho in May 2017. Successor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – a man who knows a thing or two about collecting winners’ medals at United – has fallen just short so far, losing in four successive cup semi-final appearances.
Carabao Cup exits bookended defeats in the FA Cup and Europa League semifinals – competitions that this season continue to provide an avenue to glory that skipper Maguire is determined to grasp.
“Last season, it was disappointing to lose in the semi-finals like we did, but we’ve got to win trophies,” the United defender said. “We’ve got to demand that of each other. We do.
“We demand that we win trophies and it’s vital the team starts winning trophies, for the club and the fans as well.”
Unitedsealedtheirplacein the FA Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday evening, when Scott McTominay’ssnapshotsealed a hard-fought 1-0 extra-time win against West Ham.
“We got there in the end and I feel we deserved it,” Maguire said.
“We felt comfortable on the pitch, I felt in the first half we played with intensity and dominated the game, played thegameintheirhalfandhad chances where we should be one, two, three (up). We just needed four for us (to score).”
United have beaten Watford,LiverpoolandWestHam at an empty Old Trafford to reach next month’s quarterfinals, with the draw coming up on Thursday night.
“We love playing at this ground,andwe’vegottomake it tough for people to come here and get results,” Maguiresaid.“Weneedtogetbetter
andweseemtohaveimproved a little of late. But no, obviously, we want a home game.
“We fancy our chances against anyone, we just need to look after ourselves, perform well and ensure that we start winning trophies.”
Unitedalsoremainsecond in the Premier League, albeit leaders Manchester City have built a five-point lead and have a game in hand. Solskjaer’s men return to league action at West Brom on Sunday, while West Ham will be looking to return to winning waysagainstSheffieldUnited on Monday.
Charlie Wyke's dazzling form in January has seen him nominated for the League One player of the month award.
The Sunderland striker netted five times in the opening month of the year as he emerged as a contender for the division’s golden boot.
Wyke scored five times during the month and the for ward’ s achievements haven’ t gone unnoticed, with an EFL panel short listing the 28- yearold for the player of the month trophy.
Explaining the striker’s nomination, the panel said:
“Five goals in seven games for Wyke – and game-defining ones, too. His hat-trick at Wimbledon, a header against Shrewsbury and a sweetly-timed volley at Ipswich accounted for every Sunderland goal in their January victories.”
Wyke has been nominatedalongside Rochdale’ sM at ty Lund, Josh Ruffels of Oxford United and former Sunderland midfielder George Honeyman. The winner will be announced on Friday.
*The Sunderland Fans Museum is creating a digital tour which can be accessed from home.
Due to Covid-19, the Fans Museum has been unable to interact with the community and travelling fans.
The museum, therefore, plans to launch a digital log book for supporters cataloguing some of their most iconic items - including Kevin Phillips' European Golden Boot and Jimmy Montgomery' s European Cup winners medal.
The museum is now raising funds to use professional collection management software and professional photography which it needs to launch the project.
Leading brain injury charity Headway has reiterated its belief that football’s new concussion rules are “deeply flawed” following their domestic application for the first time on Tuesday night.
Under the rules which allow clubs to make up to two additional, permanent substitutions in the event of head injuries, West Ham’s Issa Diop was replaced following a clash of heads with
Manchester United’s Anthony Martial at Old Trafford.
But Headway chief executive Peter McCabe says the new rule – adopted by the Football Association for the remainder of this season’s FA Cup fixtures, as well as by the Premier League – does not go far enough.
McCabe highlighted his organisation’s concern that Diop had initially been cleared to continue playing following an on-pitch consultation, before being substituted shortly afterwards at half-time.
McCabe said: “The decision to allow Issa Diop to return to the field of play after being assessed for concussion in just two minutes, while still on the pitch, shows just how deeply flawed this new protocol is.
“When this rule was introduced to much fanfare, we warned that it would make very little difference in terms of protecting players from the risk of more serious injury.”
Headway has consistently maintained that the rule would have been much more effective if it enabled temporary substitutes – thus theoretically allowing Diop to leave the field immediately in the knowledge he could return if deemed safe to do so.
“Had the FA followed the advice of Headway and other leading experts by introducing temporary substitutes, as successfully used in other sports, Diop would not have been at risk of exacerbating the injury to his brain during the seven minutes he was allowed to play on before halftime,” added McCabe.
“Instead, he could have had a longer assessment, which would have included the 15-minutes of half-time, in a quiet treatment room. This would have given the medical team more time to make their decision.
“The new protocol has failed its very first test. The FA must act now to alter the rule and introduce temporary concussion substitutes to avoid such unacceptable risk being taken in the future.”
Sunderland fear Jordan Willis is facing a prolonged period on the sidelines with a suspected ruptured patella.
Willis was substituted early in the first half as Sunderland fell to a 2-1 defeat at Shrewsbury Town.
The 26-year-old left the pitch on a stretcher and was in visible discomfort.
The centre back will be assessed over the coming days but the initial assessment is that he is likely to be absent for some time.
“We lost Jordan early and that looks a really bad one,” Johnson said.
"We feel for him massively. It looks like he’s ruptured his patella, which would be a bad one. Obviously, we won’t know until we’ve had a proper look.
"That’s worst-case scenario, but it seems that way. That’s a big loss.”
Dion Sanderson stepped in for Willis on Tuesday night, while Tom Flanagan is expected to return to the fold soon after a minor calf problem.
While Sunderland fell to a dire defeat at Shrewsbury Town, Will Grigg was making an immediate impact on his MK Dons debut.
Grigg has struggled for goals and form since joining Sunderland in a big-money move from Wigan Athletic two years ago and was allowed to join MK Dons on loan for the rest of this season on deadline day. With Sunderland playing MK Dons twice in quick succession last week, Grigg had to wait for his debut as he wasn’t allowed to play against his parent club.
His debut came against Rochdale on Tuesday evening, with the striker providing two assists in a 4-1 win, setting up Matt O'Riley to score the opener at Spotland before laying the ball off for Cameron Jerome for the fourth.
And he won praise from boss Russell Martin. "Griggy is such a clever player," said Martin. "He's a really big player with what he adds. We've got a lot of options now.
"I was disappointed for him not to get a goal because he deserved one, but the two assists were of real quality. He pressed hard, was in great defensive positions and looked really good for us.
"We'll have to manage him but he gave us everything and if he continues to do that, he'll be a big player.
"His game isn't just about goals, he will score them but it's about the contribution."
Grigg has another year left on his Sunderland contract as is due to return to the Stadium of Light in the summer.