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West Ham face an urgent crisis in the striker position as the January transfer window approaches, with manager Nuno Espírito Santo reportedly identifying a new centre-forward as the absolute priority if the club hope to swerve relegation.

The Hammers sit 18th in the Premier League table with just 13 points from 18 matches, having scored the joint-fourth fewest goals in the top flight this season.

Relegation is staring them in the face right now as West Ham sit five points adrift of safety, and pressure is mounting on Nuno after a barren run of seven games without victory.

West Ham host Brighton this evening with Nuno desperately in need of three points to both restore faith in him and their hopes of Premier League survival.

Nuno made the controversial decision to drop striker Callum Wilson, who has been in good form lately, in their last outing against Fulham — instead opting for Jarrod Bowen as the makeshift number nin

Related "Could happen" – Player admits he may join West Ham as agent works on transfer

He’s made a January admission.

Posts ByEmilio Galantini

Niclas Füllkrug’s departure to AC Milan also means that Nuno has been left with very few natural options up top bar Wilson and the inexperienced Callum Marshall, so reports are suggesting that a striker is top of the agenda next month.

West Ham have already made an approach to sign Wolves striker Jorgen Strand Larsen, as first reported by the reliable David Ornstein, and it is believed that the Norwegian is open to an east London move.

However, the asking price for Strand Larsen also sits at around £45 million, which presents a roadblock to West Ham as they reportedly scour for cheaper alternatives.

According to reliable club insider ExWHUemployee recently, one of the other strikers on their radar is Viktoria Plzen star Rafiu Durosinmi.

Even though Nuno is prioritising domestic options right now, the Nigerian is one to watch if he abandons that approach.

Now, as per Football Insider journalist Pete O’Rourke, West Ham have moved in with an offer.

West Ham submit bid for Viktoria Plzen star Rafiu Durosinmi

Indeed, it is now claimed that a £12 million bid has gone in from West Ham for Durosinmi, with both Stuttgart and Lazio making identical offers for the African ahead of January.

The 22-year-old has been on fire for Plzen since returning from a serious ACL injury, bagging 22 goals in all competitions across 2025, with former Plzen boss Miroslav Koubek praising his ‘high level’ form this year.

West Ham have enjoyed real success shopping in the Czech top flight in recent years, with Tomas Soucek, Vladimir Coufal and even El Hadj Malick Diouf impressing at the London Stadium.

Subscribe to the newsletter for striker-transfer insight Want detailed transfer analysis? Subscribe to the newsletter for focused coverage of West Ham’s striker options: from reported £12m offers for Rafiu Durosinmi to scouting assessments and how each target could reshape the club’s attacking prospects.

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Durosinmi’s form both domestically and in Europe has caught the attention of West Ham talent-spotters, and he could well be a solid outside option to bolster Nuno’s attacking line.

Related West Ham make January bid to sign Man United forward target after opening talks

They want him ‘as soon as’ the window opens.

Posts ByEmilio Galantini

	Daniel Flynn, among others, has to prove a point to John Bracewell © Getty Images

John Bracewell, New Zealand’s coach, wants his batsmen to “start living above the line” of averaging above 40 on their tour of England and Scotland and beyond. He is counting on a young side, including the uncapped Aaron Redmond and Daniel Flynn, to flourish if New Zealand are to do well.”We’ve got to work above the line, and the line to be successful as an international batsman is 40-plus,” Bracewell told NZPA in Christchurch on Tuesday. “We’ve got to start moving in that direction. We’ve got to start living above the line.”Four New Zealand batsmen averaged above 40 in their latest Test series, against England earlier this year. Thirteen half-centuries were shared among seven batsmen, but only one – Ross Taylor – made a century.Redmond and Flynn now have their chance for debut. Redmond, 28, is almost guaranteed a start, as Bracewell has previously confirmed he will be the first-choice opener. 23-year-old Flynn made his ODI and Twenty20 debuts for New Zealand against England earlier this year but has yet to feature in a Test.Five players will join up with the squad in England on May 1, having been allowed to play in the IPL. Taylor, Daniel Vettori, Brendon McCullum, Jacob Oram and Kyle Mills will arrive in time for the first-class warm-ups against Essex and England A. The first Test, at Lord’s as is tradition, is one of three and begins on May 15. They will miss two practice matches: a one-dayer against MCC in Arundel on Sunday and a three-day fixture against Kent which starts on Monday.However, Bracewell was excited about the experience the IPL offered, denying that it wasn’t good preparation leading into a Test series. “It’s going to be great for us,” he said of the experience the players would gain playing alongside such players as Australia’s Ricky Ponting.”We go from Twenty20 stuff to one-dayers to Test matches at the drop of a hat on a travel-to-play basis now and these guys are our most experienced players. They’ll be comfortable with their return to the team and what they’ve gained from that. It’s a landscape we’re reasonably used to, but not necessarily at this hype.”Bracewell is excited by “the adventure” of playing in England, and hopes this will fire up his squad. “I loved that bonding culture that you get out of busing around the place,” said Bracewell, who toured there three times between 1983 and 1990. “Those sorts of grounds, so steeped in history… It’s something that scratches my itch and I hope that it scratches the itch of some of our young players.”New Zealand head to England having lost 2-1 at home in their recent Test series. Their last tour of England, in 2004, resulted in a 3-0 win for the home side.

Herbert Sutcliffe is bowled by Mohammad Nissar – India’s first ever Test wicket © Cricinfo

It’s 75 years to the day since India made their entry into the Test fold. It was a glorious summer day in 1932 when CK Nayudu walked out to lead a bunch of novices against England at Lord’s.The MCC is marking the 75th anniversary by commissioning a Pataudi Trophy, named after the Nawab of Pataudi Snr, who played for both England and India during his 14-year career. Interestingly India will soon embark on a full-fledged tour of England, opening the three-Test series with a game at Lord’s.In that debut Test the efforts of India’s two opening bowlers, Mohammad Nissar and AmarSingh, was soon to enter folklore. Nissar, an aggressive fast bowler from Lahore, had England hobbling at 11 for 2 before Singh added the big wicket of Wally Hammond. Nissar’s son, Waqar, who’s currently settled in Lahore still flicks through his father’s scrap book, and even presented a copy of it to Sharad Pawar, the Indian board president, recently.Singh, who named his son after Vijay Merchant, one of India’s finest openers, died at the tender age of 29 after contracting typhoid. Merchant reciprocated his feelings for Singh by naming his own son Amar.Several players from the team ended up in Pakistan, after Partition in 1947. Jahangir Khan, India’s first-change bowler in that match, was one of them. His son Majid Khan had an illustrious career for Pakistan while his grandson Bazid made his Test debut as recently as 2005. The Ali brothers – Wazir and Nazir – also settled down in the western side of the border. Wazir’s son, Khalid, managed two Tests for Pakistan in the 1954 season.

Naoomal Jaomal, one of India’s openers, however, reversed the trend – he was bornin Karachi but settled down in Bombay. However, he did his bit forPakistan too: coaching them in the late 1950s and guiding players such asHanif Mohammad and Nasim-ul-Ghani

Naoomal Jaomal, one of India’s openers, however, reversed the trend – he was born in Karachi but settled down in Bombay. However, he did his bit for Pakistan too: coaching them in the late 1950s and guiding players such as Hanif Mohammad and Nasim-ul-Ghani. India’s other opener in that game, Janardhan Navle, was also their first wicketkeeper. He managed just one other Test and sadly, according to veteran statistician Vasant Raiji, “died in penury, uncared for in his final years”.Lall Singh, the only Test cricketer to be born in Malaysia, didn’t play another Test but will always be remembered, according to reports, as India’s “first outstanding fielder”. But if there’s one man permanently associated with the Test it will be Nayudu. “He always used to take pride in the fact that India’s Test journey began with him,” says his daughter Chandra, a retired professor in English and the author of the book .”Though it was the Maharaja of Patiala who was the designated captain and the Ghanshyamsinhji of Limbdi the official vice-captain, both made way for my father to lead the side. It was indicative of his abilities as a leader and the readiness with which even princes were willing to give way to a common man,” she told Cricinfo. As more and more youngsters make it to the national side from hitherto obscure parts of the nation, India’s cricketing saga continues even as the game’s popularity continues to soar.

The ECB have announced that the 50-over domestic competition, currently the C&G Trophy, will include a semi-final stage in 2007. There was been widespread criticism of the current format with just the top team for the North and South conference going into the final at Lord’sHugh Morris, the ECB’s deputy chief executive, said that the decisionhad been taken by the ECB board but it had been widely expected following calls from players and county officals to reduce the number of dead matches.”There were extremely strong cricketing reasons for reintroducing a semi final stage in next year’s competition,” said Morris. “The introduction of semi-finals will increase the intensity of the competition during the popular regional group stages. This move will benefit the players and the spectators alike.”This year’s C&G Final will take place at Lord’s on Saturday August 26 between Sussex and either Durham or Lancashire, with the final round of qualifying matches being played this Sunday.

Shane Warne: The wattle-blond bombshell who turned into Australia’s greatest bowler© Getty Images

The crown may sit slightly uncomfortably for Shane Warne, but before he collected the world record he was already Australian bowling’s king. Warne deferred to Dennis Lillee before the second Test, saying “DK” would always be the country’s greatest, but a coronation that started when he passed his hero in sleepy Auckland in 2000 is now complete.Lillee’s 355 wickets sat in the throne for three years, until they were passed by Richard Hadlee, and Warne’s reign could be over in a couple of months. But Warne changed the game in a way Lillee never could. Where Lillee incited, Warne excited. Lillee’s legion charged in, wore headbands, flicked off sweat with their fingers and got wickets. Warne’s disciples tried to spin the ball metres and struggled to land it on the pitch. After Lillee came McDermott, Hughes, McGrath and Gillespie. After Warne there is Cameron White, whose spin is more like Anil Kumble’s than his Victoria team-mate’s.Warne has inspired playgrounds full of flippers, but researchers can find nothing nearing a clone. A soccer striker can pot goals at will from inside the area, but very few can curl the ball in regularly from 30 yards. Over 22 yards, Warne has changed the way Australians watch the game and revived interest in an art that had been dying since the days of Clarrie Grimmett and Bill O’Reilly.Early in his career he was gazed at because he was stunningly different to the pace monotony. Later he was monitored to see if the magic remained after long absences with serious shoulder, finger and diuretic issues. Yet, he still kept swallowing milestones: Paul Wiseman to pass Lillee, Alec Stewart for 400, Hashan Tillakaratne for 500 and Upul Chandana, in Cairns, to equal Muttiah Muralitharan on 527.But 533 was the one he – and everyone else – was waiting for. Losing the plot in the first Test as he pushed too hard for history, Warne stepped out on his own when Irfan Pathan edged to Matthew Hayden in the first session. With a regal air he collected the ball from David Shepherd and waved it to the crowd. However, the new status did not prevent a pounding from Virender Sehwag, who he eventually had caught in the deep. India have always troubled him.

Warne has inspired playgrounds full of flippers, but researchers can find nothing nearing a clone© Getty Images

Beginning against them in 1991-92, Warne must have wondered if he’d ever get a Test wicket. A podgy 22-year-old who had been booted from the Academy, he was pasted all over the SCG by Ravi Shastri, who became his only wicket alongside 150 runs. But he kept ripping the ball with his strong wrists and foiled a late charge by Sri Lanka when they threatened to sneak away in 1992. Back in Australia he introduced his flipper against West Indies and the Ball of the Century to Mike Gatting turned his career. The wattle-blond bombshell had arrived.”Hollywood” was an early nickname and everyone tuned in to see what the blockbuster would do next. He once complained his life was a soap opera. Raking through the closets of Ramsay Street’s Dr Karl and Summer Bay’s Alf Stewart could never create so much interest. Drug scandals followed hat-tricks, lewd text messages were sent with the same fingers delivering mystery balls. Potty-mouthed sledging was heard on microphones and he was often overweight. Photographers camped outside his house and followed his children to school whenever he was required for the front pages instead of the back.Through it all he continued to plot wickets and retired from the one-day game, prolonging his career in whites and his attack on the world record. While losing the mark to Muralitharan seems inevitable, it will take somebody extra-special – more talented, more engaging, more prolific than Lillee, Miller or McGrath – to knock off Warne as Australia’s greatest bowler.

West Indies 311 for 9 (Smith 108, Hinds 84) v England
Scorecard

Devon Smith on his way to his maiden Test hundred© Getty Images

In recent years, England have earned a reputation for being slow off the mark in crucial Test series, but at Sabina Park today, they fought toe-to-toe with West Indies in an enthralling opening gambit.England started and finished the day strongly. In the morning session, their pace attack struck hard and fast, grabbing all four of West Indies’ experienced batsmen inside the first session and a half, and later returned to make efficient inroads into the tail. But in between whiles they were beaten back by a fifth-wicket stand of 122 between Devon Smith and Ryan Hinds, two batsmen making their return to the team after lengthy absences, as West Indies closed on 311 for 9.Smith, in his first match since that world-record run-chase of 418 against Australia in Antigua last May, rode out the early storm to make a fine 108, his maiden Test century. It was a gritty effort laced with occasional panache. He took his fair share of blows as Andrew Flintoff cracked him on the shoulder blade and Steve Harmison on the helmet and box, but Smith responded with a litany of defiant boundaries, including several slashes over the covers with a keen eye and the minimum of footwork.He was eventually stumped by Chris Read after a lapse of judgment, as he swept at Ashley Giles and left his back foot trailing just outside his crease. It was a careless end to a superb knock, but Giles – who bounced back well after being milked for 20 runs in his first two overs – soon struck again to remove Hinds, whose bullish approach had been paying rich dividends, He was all set for a century of his own, when he chipped a tame sweep to Mark Butcher at short fine leg. Hinds was gone for 84, and West Indies had slipped to 281 for 6.Nonetheless, it was a position of strength when compared to their perilous start to the innings. On winning the toss, Lara had little hesitation in choosing to bat first, on a hard-baked but green-tinged track that was a far cry from the corrugated minefield that greeted England on their last trip to the Caribbean in 1997-98. He admitted at the time that the first hour would be crucial, and Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison exploited the early-morning conditions to good effect, each picking up a wicket inside the first 40 minutes.

Key wicket: a delighted Simon Jones celebrates the dismissal of Brian Lara© Getty Images

Harmison, back in the side after the back problems that scuppered his pre-Christmas trip to the subcontinent, was the first to strike. After feeling his way back into a decent rhythm, he produced an excellent full-length heavy ball that bounced more than Chris Gayle had expected and cannoned off his bat into the base of his middle stump. Three overs later, Hoggard – with a good line and inducking length – trapped Ramnaresh Sarwan lbw for an 11-ball duck, as he played all round a straight delivery that would have taken out middle-and-leg (22 for 2).The entire hopes of the Caribbean transferred to Lara’s shoulders, and he made an uneasy start to his innings, twice fencing Harmison through the slips for four. But Smith was growing in confidence at the other end, and the pair had added 51 for the third wicket when Simon Jones popped up to produce the golden moment of the day.With his 13th delivery, Jones forced Lara fence uncertainly at another well-directed ball, and Andrew Flintoff at second slip pouched the most effortless of catches. Jones’s celebration was exultant and heart-felt, and he looked close to tears as he hugged Flintoff. It has been a long and painful road to recovery, and he could not have wished for a more rewarding wicket.Soon after lunch, Chanderpaul prodded loosely at a wide delivery from Hoggard and inside-edged onto his leg stump (101 for 4), and Harmison roughed up Smith in a top-notch spell of aggression that demonstrated his eagerness for the task. But just as the floodgates seemed ready to be cranked open, Smith and Hinds carried the fight back to England’s bowlers, as West Indies regained the upper hand.But once Giles had made the breakthroughs, Jones struck for a second time to remove Ridley Jacobs, who had played well within himself for his 37. Thereafter, the new ball took over. Tino Best refused to go down without a fight, belting Giles for a straight six and swinging Hoggard for four behind square, but he was adjudged lbw to a Harmison yorker that might have missed leg, after Adam Sanford had been caught at first slip off Flintoff.England were unable to prise apart the last pair, although Harmison gave Fidel Edwards a shock when he slipped out a brutal beamer in the penultimate over of the day. It was totally accidental and Harmison apologized immediately, but he might not be relishing the prospect of batting too much after that.

HOBART, Feb 26 AAP – South Australia’s season goes on the line when the Redbacks visit Bellerive Oval for the Pura Cup cricket clash with Tasmania starting tomorrow.Redbacks captain Greg Blewett didn’t need any reminding today of the match’s importance.Defeat would relegate the Redbacks to also-rans, just as they finished the ING Cup one-day competition.”We are sitting on 22 points at the moment, so we need two outright wins to have a chance of playing in the finals,” he said.Blewett said the team’s confidence had been boosted after it picked up six points for toppling ladder leader Queensland by an innings and 125 runs inside three days at Adelaide Oval earlier this month.It was SA’s first win in either a one-day or four-day match since November 15-18, when the Redbacks defeated NSW outright in Sydney.”It’s got us up there in the mix again,” Blewett said.With two matches remaining – both against Tasmania – the skipper’s only concern was the weather.”There’s been some rain forecast for the next three days,” he said.”Hopefully we will get enough cricket in to get a result.”Tigers skipper Jamie Cox would also be hoping for a good result, sitting just 10 runs shy of a 10,000-run tally in Australian domestic first-class cricket.If he achieved the goal, he would join Australian World Cup batsman Darren Lehmann (11,095) and former South Australian batsman Jamie Siddons (10,643).Tasmania goes into the match on the bottom of the ladder with eight points and has lost Damien Wright and Ben Oliver to injury.Wright has not recovered from a back injury sustained during the last match and Oliver was suffering from a hernia.Gerard Denton returned to the Tigers’ lineup following an extended lay-off through injury, while allrounder Adam Polkinghorne had been included for the first time this season after impressive grade cricket performances.Right-hand middle-order batsman Chris Bassano will make his Tigers debut.TEAMS: Tasmania – Jamie Cox (c), Sean Clingeleffer, Michael Dighton, Michael Di Venuto, Xavier Doherty, Andrew Downton, Adam Griffith, Adam Polkinghorne, Daniel Marsh, Scott Mason, Chris Bassano, Gerald Denton.South Australia – Greg Blewett (c), Mark Cleary, Mark Cosgrove, Shane Deitz, David Fitzgerald, Mark Higgs, Ben Johnson, Graham Manou, Mick Miller, Paul Rofe, Shaun Tait, Brad Young.

We are one and one after the first two games but I know everyone inthe team would have thought we are very unlucky not to be unbeaten at thisstage of the Coca-Cola Cup.But that is the way cricket goes and if you weremaking predictions at the half way point of each game I think most peoplewould have picked opposite results.The first game against the Lankans was a case of blowing the cobwebsout, and that was evident through the high number of extras.I was criminalin that regard, bowling four no-balls as a spinner is just wrong. I washaving a few interpretation problems with the umpire about some of hisdecisions but that is all part and parcel of playing in Sri Lanka.In saying all that, I thought Chris Harris and myself pulled them back well andI was pleased with my return from my first competitive bowl in five months. Welet ourselves down a bit with the bat making the task too hard at the end.We knew the second game was must-win as there is no worse a feeling thangoing into four days of rest winless.Nathan Astle batted superbly for his 10th one day international and proved yet again why he is New Zealand’sfinest one day batsmen. Although at the end of his innings he was startingto run out of puff, along with everyone else who batted with him, and ourinnings staggered to a disappointing 212.But at the dinner interval Stephen Fleming reiterated to us that we werestill well and truly in the game and that losing wasn’t an option.Our opening bowlers in Daryl Tuffey and Kyle Mills bowled one of the bestopening spells I have seen and that set the scene for the rest of the game.Dion Nash was back to his best in everything he did and it makes a hugedifference to the team when he gets involved in the game the way he did lastnight.So now we have got four days off and since the games in Dhambulla havebeen called off, due to no one knowing who owns the ground, yes you readthat right no one knows who own the ground, we are off to Kandy for a coupleof days, just to get out of the hotel.Three weeks in the same hotel and some of the boys would come down with a case of cabin fever.I think everyone in New Zealand has heard there is a bit of unrest inColombo at the moment and although it is not far away from us, it shouldn’tcause us any problems.We had to drive through a bit of a demonstrationthree days ago, and admittedly there was a bit of tear gas being thrown aroundbut all the protesters looked to have smiles on their faces, or maybe they werejust grimacing from the tear gas in their eyes.Four days off is almost unheard of on an international tour so we willbe making the most of it getting ready for the next ODI knowing howimportant it will be if we want to fulfil our goal of winning thistournament.

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Loads of Everton fans have been running the rule over Sunday’s setback at Old Trafford, and they’re starting to worry about the form of Seamus Coleman.

Everton almost completely transformed their defence this season, signing two new centre backs and passing the left back reigns from Leighton Baines to Lucas Digne.

While Yerry Mina has yet to make his mark, the new and improved Michael Keane is a far cry from his nervous displays last season, so the defence looks completely different under Marco Silva.

Coleman has retained his place though, and plenty of fans are starting to wonder if the Irish international is next in line to be replaced.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”310054″ player=”12034″ title=”Rafa’s Pub Facts Fake Madrid & Ross Barkley Emulates… David Ngog”]

The 30 year-old is hugely popular at Goodison as he has racked up over 200 league appearances for the Toffees, despite signing for the club for a mere £60,000.

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He has looked a step off the pace since returning from injury though, and both he and Theo Walcott struggled massively down that right flank at Old Trafford.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below, where more than a few fans suspect time is running out on Coleman’s Everton career…

Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy is already having to deal with speculation over his future at the club, just four matches into his time in the dugout.

The French head coach is the first manager in the club’s history to lose his first four games in charge, but he retains the full backing of the board, per Sky Sports.

It remains to be seen if they will maintain that position if results do not improve quickly, though, which is why Nancy needs to make some key tweaks to the team.

The key changes Nancy has to make at Celtic

After the 2-1 defeat to Dundee United, dropping Johnny Kenny should be one of the priorities for the head coach after the striker missed two ‘big chances’, per Sofascore, including the dismal miss in the clip below.

The Irishman should be taken out of the side to provide another player, possibly Benjamin Nygren as a number nine, with an opportunity to see if they can be more effective in front of goal.

Nancy should also look to change the system because the 3-4-2-1 has looked incredibly ineffective against teams when they sit in a low block, as Celtic have found themselves passing side to side across their three centre-backs with little movement or options to break the opposition down.

Celtic, by nature of the way most of their domestic games go, need as many forward options as possible to break down low blocks, which is why having three centre-backs, leading to Liam Scales overlapping and putting crosses in on Wednesday night, seems counter-productive.

As part of playing those three defenders across the back, Nancy has been starting experienced full-back Anthony Ralston in a right-sided centre-back role, which may be a sackable offence on its own.

Why Wilfried Nancy must drop Anthony Ralston

After Alistair Johnston’s injury, Brendan Rodgers relied on academy graduate Colby Donovan to step up and play at right-back ahead of Ralston, who has been too much of a liability.

Martin O’Neill tried to lean on the right-back’s experience against Midtjylland in the Europa League, only for him to be torn to shreds twice by Mikel Gogorza for the first two goals, including the one in the clip above.

Ralston was given the nod to start as the right-sided centre-back in the League Cup final against St Mirren last weekend. He was given a 5/10 player rating by Glasgow World, who noted that he looked ‘increasingly shaky’ defensively.

Despite that performance, which included a bizarre hoof up in the air under no pressure on the halfway line, Nancy gave him another start in that position against Dundee United, with the same result.

ESPN content creator Andrew Miller described him as a “Kilmarnock-level player” last month, which is essentially saying that he is a bottom-half level player.

Vs Dundee United

Anthony Ralston

Minutes

90

Tackles won

1/4

Clearances

9

Touches

101

Pass accuracy

81%

Possession lost

17x

Key passes

0

Stats via Sofascore

Ralston’s performance against Dundee United last time out did little to change that narrative, as he failed in 75% of his attempted tackles and failed to create a single chance from 101 touches of the ball.

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Whilst his failure to create any chances can be put down to the three centre-back system that he was playing in, Ralston looked uncomfortable on the ball and lost possession inside his own half several times, due to dawdling on the ball.

Whilst Ralston may be an experienced player, now 27, his performances do not reflect that experience, as he was not picked by Rodgers, struggled under O’Neill, and has struggled under Nancy.

That is why continuing to play him, particularly in this system that does not seem to be working, is a sackable offence for the French head coach, because his displays are hurting the team’s performances, defensively and offensively.

Related Celtic now making enquiries for new manager in the hours since Lawwell exit

Nancy’s disastrous start became even worse in midweek.

Posts 1 ByTom Cunningham

The former MLS Cup champion should go to a traditional back four, in a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1, and bring Donovan in as a right-back, with Ralston dropped out of the starting XI completely, because of his poor performances.