Durham 262 for 8 (Watling 104*) v Glamorgan

Glamorgan's slim hopes of promotion took a huge hit thanks to the weather and BJ Watling in their Division Two clash against Durham at Chester-le-Street.

Only 15 overs of play were possible on day two due to heavy rain, although the home side were able to record two batting bonus points, while Watling notched his 17th first-class century to frustrate the Glamorgan attack.

Marchant de Lange took the two wickets to fall on day two, but Durham were able to grind out a strong platform for the rest of the game.

Glamorgan need to win the contest and hope Gloucestershire are unable to claim enough points from their clash against Northamptonshire to earn the final promotion spot to Division One. However, the rain has left their margin for error next to nothing heading into the final two days of the match.

"We're obviously frustrated with the weather around," said de Lange. "We knew it was coming. We would have loved to have scooped up the four wickets this morning. It didn't go that way for us, but we're still in it, and there's still two days left so we'll see how it goes.

"Everyone here and around the country is watching the points system, but at the same time we know what we need to do. We need to go session-by-session and get as many points as we can for bowling and batting we know that we need to put up a good total and hopefully it will come down to the last day.

"You never what can happen in this game."

The hosts resumed on 197 for 6 with Watling and Ben Raine at the crease. However, it took only three deliveries for Glamorgan to make the breakthrough. Raine got caught in two minds whether to leave a de Lange delivery and played on to his own stumps to fall for 26.

Leg byes brought up the 200 for the home side and the first batting point of the game before Brydon Carse upped the run rate as he pierced the off side with regularity to find the fence. He was looking comfortable at the crease, scoring a brisk 27, but then fended a rising ball from de Lange through to Chris Cooke behind the stumps.

Watling worked his way through the nineties and took his opportunity on 99 to send a quick single into the leg side, notching his first hundred for Durham from 201 deliveries. The home side secured their second bonus point after passing the 250-run mark, solidifying their position in the match before rain brought a premature to the day.

Ali Asfak Thara, the owner of Belagavi Panthers, one of the franchises in the Karnataka Premier League (KPL), has been arrested for allegedly betting on the tournament. Thara was arrested on Monday by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) in Bengaluru and booked for gambling under the Karnataka Police Act.

According to Sandeep Patil, joint commissioner of police (crime), there was enough evidence to establish Thara was involved in betting during this KPL.

"The team owner was found to be indulging in betting during the matches," Patil told ESPNcricinfo. "We have sufficient evidence to show that he was betting."

The Panthers lost in Qualifier 2 against Hubli Tigers in the recently-concluded eighth season of KPL. The tournament, the first T20 league conducted in India by a state association, is organised by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA). Among the players that are part of Panthers' squad is India batsman Manish Pandey.

According to Patil the police will, during their investigations, also probe whether Thara, who informed them that he was in contact with a bookie, was involved in any form of match-fixing.

"He placed bets with a bookie who is allegedly in Dubai. If a team owner bets we have to see if the was any kind of match-fixing also."

ALSO READ: BCCI ACU launches inquiry into alleged approaches in TNPL 2019

Patil said the police would also be speaking with players and team officials as part of the investigation. "Ali was in touch with players of other teams during KPL. The players are being enquired."

The CCB is in touch with both KSCA as well as BCCI's anti-corruption unit (ACU) which provides cover for the KPL. "Based on the police report the ACU will check what all violations have been conducted under our code," Ajit Singh Shekhawat, the head of ACU, said.

Incidentally this is the second state-conducted T20 league which has come under the corruption cloud. Recently the BCCI ACU said it had begun an inquiry into approaches made to players from alleged corrupt elements during this year's Tamil Nadu Premier League.

Bangladesh and Afghanistan shared the T20 tri-series trophy after rain ruined the final in Dhaka. The weather stayed true to forecasts, as it began to rain at around 5pm local time, an hour before the scheduled start, and continued to rain till the umpires called off the game at 9pm. By then, both sides were milling around the ground for the latest updates, and upon being informed by the umpires of their decision, they shook hands.

The covers never came off although the crowd nearly filled up the stands by the time of the scheduled start at 6.00pm. There was definite hope among the spectators that despite the incessant rain, play would be possible. Three years ago during the Asia Cup final, even a storm and heavy rain for nearly an hour didn't cause the match to be abandoned. However, this time it was steady rain which usually doesn't stop easily.

Bangladesh finished with three wins in the four games, but they never looked too comfortable. Coach Russell Domingo said on the eve of the final that they were yet to play their perfect game. Afghanistan won two games, and lost the last two that snapped their record-breaking 12-match winning streak in T20Is.

They will leave these shores happy though, after having won the one-off Test in Chattogram earlier in the month, and dominated a more established cricket nation overall on tour.

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings are re-signing wide receiver Laquon Treadwell four weeks after parting ways with the former first-round pick, league sources tell ESPN.

Treadwell, 24, was among the 37 cuts Minnesota made upon finalizing the 53-man roster at the end of August.

The move reflects concerns the Vikings have over their wide receiver depth after Chad Beebe suffered an ankle injury in Sunday's 34-14 win over the Oakland Raiders and Josh Doctson was placed on injured reserve early in the season.

Beebe tore ligaments in his ankle in Week 3, according to a league source. While it doesn't appear the receiver will need surgery, sources said the team is going to reevaluate Beebe's injury in a week to determine further steps, including whether he'll be placed on injured reserve. While there is no concrete timetable, Beebe is expected to miss several of the Vikings' next games while he recovers.

Those injuries had Minnesota down to three healthy receivers -- Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs and Olabisi Johnson.

But depth concerns have been mounting for some time. Late last week, the Vikings worked out former Philadelphia Eagles receiver Jordan Matthews, former New York Jets WR Deontay Burnett and former Chicago Bears WR Tanner Gentry, sources told ESPN.

Treadwell, a 6-foot-2, 215-pounder, never panned out to the level of expectations set forth when he was drafted 23rd overall in 2016 as a big, physical outside receiver who could also line up in the slot and create mismatches while running underneath routes. Treadwell was passed up by others on the depth chart and failed to grab hold of the No. 3 receiver position behind Thielen and Diggs during the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

Now, he's being given a second chance to ignite his NFL career in the place where it started.

The Vikings were already on the hook for the guaranteed portion of Treadwell's 2019 salary ($1.15 million) due to the fact that he hadn't signed with another team after he was initially released, and were set to incur a total of $2,506,360 in dead cap money between the guarantees and proration of his signing bonus ($1,356,360 million).

The home run ball that marked the 2,000th career RBI for Albert Pujols has finally landed in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Ely Hydes, the Detroit Tigers fan who wound up with the ball at Comerica Park on May 9, at first decided he wanted to keep it. Then, after a few days, he narrowed it down to giving the ball to either Pujols or the Hall of Fame.

Last month, Hydes made his choice and hand-delivered the ball to the Hall of Fame, he told the Detroit News. He received nothing in return despite offers from suitors -- including one for $50,000 -- and the Los Angeles Angels.

Finally, a resolution on that @PujolsFive 2,000th-RBI baseball.

Detroiter Ely Hydes turned down lots of cash and a whole bunch of other stuff, and last month hand-delivered the baseball to the @baseballhall.

He donated it in memory of his late son, Cy.https://t.co/LBnkv0pqV7 pic.twitter.com/IP0s7orFCp

— Tony Paul (@TonyPaul1984) September 24, 2019

The ball is significant because Pujols became only the third player in Major League Baseball history to drive in 2,000 or more runs in a career -- joining Hank Aaron (2,297) and Alex Rodriguez (2,086).

Rather than take criticism on social media for keeping the ball or profiting from selling it, Hydes instead donated it -- in the memory of his late son, Cyrus Arlo Maloney, who was 21 months old when he died in June 2018. He was named after Cy Young.

"I'll want to show her and tell her the story, just the whole thing," Hydes said of his infant daughter, Violet. "The good things that happened ... and the cautionary tale of social media."

For his donation, the Hall of Fame gave a lifetime pass to Hydes. In addition to honoring the memory of his late son, the display will also honor the "people of Detroit" for the donation.

All winter, the baseball world tracked the free agency of Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, with the two stars eventually settling in Philadelphia (13 years, $330 million for Harper) and San Diego (10 years, $300 million for Machado).

So how did the first years in their new homes work out? Do their teams have buyer's regret? And what do their futures look like? We asked ESPN baseball writers Eddie Matz, Sam Miller and David Schoenfield to weigh in.

Bryce Harper's first year with Phillies

What grade would you give Bryce Harper for his first year in Philly?

Eddie Matz: He has stayed healthy, which is a win. He's hustled, which is another W. And his defense has been way better than it was last year, probably because he was less concerned about getting hurt heading into free agency and more concerned with impressing a new fan base. But that's not why you pay Bryce Harper. You pay Bryce Harper to crush baseballs and put butts in seats. He currently has an OPS-plus of 123 (below his career average of 136), but attendance is up nearly 30% in South Philly. As a former high school math teacher (in Philly, no less), I feel comfortable giving Harper a B-minus.

Miller: Just Year 1? Not what Year 1 says about Year 2, or Year 13, but just Year 1? I'd give it an A-minus. He's seventh in the majors in win probability added, thanks to the highest clutch score in the National League. That's certainly not a skill the Phillies should bank on, but it means that, in clear and demonstrable ways, Bryce Harper did a ton to help the Phillies win this year. The rest of the Phillies were the problem.

Schoenfield: Harper's clutch numbers have been very good and he did very well against the first-place Braves, slugging .606 with seven home runs against them. His OPS+ is the same as Ronald Acuna Jr.'s, and Acuna might finish in the top five of the MVP voting. On the other hand, he's only 43rd in the majors in OPS, behind Trey Mancini, Hunter Dozier and Bryan Reynolds, and his 3.6 WAR ranks tied for 60th among position players. Even with extra credit for clutch performance, I can give him only a B.

What has surprised you most about Bryce's first year in Philly?

Matz: That he didn't make the All-Star Game. I have no clue what the odds on that would've been prior to the season, but I'm guessing it would've been roughly equivalent to the odds of a rookie hitting 50 home runs.

Miller: That the Phillies have been as bad around him as they have been. The Astros and Cubs made tanking to win look so inevitable, especially for a big-market team, but the Phillies have made it look like a huge gamble: They're two full years out of the trough, they made all the go-for-it moves, they've drawn down the value of the farm system they built, and they're still only a .500 team with a negative run differential and no real teamwide strengths. One could imagine them getting much better next year. One could also imagine Harper spending the next half-dozen years wondering whether he made a big mistake turning down the Dodgers so he could permanently attach himself to this organization.

Schoenfield: How little we've spent talking about him on a national level. The Phillies were in first place through early June, but Harper didn't hit that well the first two months (he was at .227/.355/.438 on May 26). Harper's best month was August (11 home runs, 1.025 OPS), but the Phillies went just 13-14 that month and kind of fell out of the race as the Braves surged. After the first few weeks, Harper was simply never in the regular discussion as one of the most riveting players of the season.

What does Bryce's first year with the Phillies say about the next 12?

Matz: It says that if the Phillies plan on being regulars in the postseason, then given what's going down in The Dirty (i.e., the success of the young Braves), they'd better get used to the whole wild-card thing.

Miller: The best thing it says is that his glove isn't a liability, as it looked like a year earlier. His defense in 2018 was disastrous, according to various advanced metrics, but has been somewhere between slightly above average and well above average this year. We all know that you sign a player like Bryce Harper hoping he hits 50 home runs, but the real threat to his value was that his defense would stay collapsed and he'd start every season needing to hit like an MVP to have value.

Schoenfield: It's looking more and more like his age-22 MVP season was a complete outlier and that even his very excellent injury-shortened 2017 season was a bit of an outlier. He's a good player who gets on base and hits some home runs (so did everybody in 2019), but the strikeout rate continues to rise and he has had one elite offensive season in the past four. Bottom line: He may be the straw that stirs the drink, but I'm not sure he's the best player on a playoff team anymore.

Manny Machado's first year with Padres

What grade would you give Manny for his first year in San Diego?

Matz: During Machado's first few seasons in Baltimore, he suffered two knee injuries and had the look of a star-crossed talent whose career could be torpedoed by health issues. But since 2015, nobody in baseball has played more games than Manny. That includes another 147 this year. So at least the Padres have been able to count on their $300 million man posting up. Beyond that, Machado's OPS+ is currently 106, which is depressingly close to league average (100). Some of that has to do with leaving Camden Yards, but still. And Machado's defense -- which is supposed to be his calling card -- has been good but not great. I'm issuing a C-plus.

Miller: B. Machado always looks terrifying at the plate, but he has really been great as a hitter for only three years, out of eight, and never transcendent. I keep waiting for him to turn into a 1.000 OPS player -- he was still only 26 for most of this season -- but he keeps gravitating toward the high .700s. His defense still makes him very valuable, a star, but the odds that he'll never win an MVP award are increasing.

Schoenfield: I miss the younger Machado, who sprayed line drives all over the place and played third base like Brooks Robinson. He has morphed into too much of a one-dimensional hitter (the player who once hit 51 doubles has hit just 20 this year) and that one dimension -- home runs -- doesn't play as well in San Diego as it did in Baltimore. He's still above average in the field, but he has lost a step from his all-world days when he first came up. Besides that 106 OPS+, he also leads the NL in double plays grounded into. Meh. C-plus.

What has surprised you most about Manny's first year with the Padres?

Matz: The freakishly low number of doubles. For a guy who led the American League in two-baggers his first full season and has always been a big doubles guy, 20 almost looks like a typo. But it's not. As of Wednesday night, of the 51 players who had at least 600 plate appearances, Machado had the fewest doubles of anyone. You might not think that's important, and truth be told, I'm not sure that I do, either. But it's definitely surprising.

Miller: That, within maybe three months of his first game as a Padre, it was clear that he's not the best player on the team; Fernando Tatis Jr. is. That's good. Machado is a great player, but we've seen that even Mike Trout can't carry a team all by himself. And Machado is no Mike Trout. (Tatis might almost be.)

Schoenfield: I attributed the slow start in April to the new team, big contract, trying to do too much and so on. When he had a monster June, it appeared he was finally settling in and would once again be one of the best all-around players in the game. But he has totally gone in the tank the final two months. In fact, he has been so awful you can hope he's been playing through some nagging injuries or something. Because if he simply has lost focus and interest because the Padres were out of it, that's not a good sign.

If given the chance for a do-over, do you think the Padres would still sign Machado for $300 million?

Matz: Sure. In the seven months since San Diego inked Machado, nothing has really changed inside the front office. So I have no reason to believe that Padres brass wouldn't make the same decision again.

Miller: Probably. Machado's future looks a little less promising now than it did 12 months ago, but the Padres' future looks really strong. They're going to be in good-player-collection mode for the next few years, and it's not as easy to get those good players as we sometimes assume. The Padres' outlook, at least for the next five years or so, is stronger because Machado is on the team.

Schoenfield: I think so. He's durable, plays good D and hits home runs. He was a 5.7-WAR player as recently as 2018 and next year he'll be just 27, so there's no reason he can't bounce back and be a 5-6-WAR player for several seasons to come.

Who ya got, Manny or Bryce?

After one year for the duo in their new homes, which of the two mega-contracts do you think will prove to be a better deal?

Matz: According to FanGraphs, Machado's WAR (2.8) is a full win lower than Harper's (3.8). Using the average annual value of their contracts, the Padres are paying $10.7 million per Manny win, while the Phils are dishing out $6.7 mil per Bryce victory. San Diego's attendance hasn't spiked nearly as much as Philly's. However, the Padres' TV ratings over the first half of the season were up 81%, best in the majors. And we all know that's really where the money is. But, as the commercials say, past performance is no guarantee of future results. So I'll just go with my gut and say ... Nolan Arenado.

Miller: As Bryce Harper said at his introductory news conference, "You're always remembered for winning." At the time, I thought the Phillies were positioned to be really strong for a half-decade. Now I'm not sure. I wasn't sure the Padres were, but now I'm pretty confident. I think Machado's signing will be a better deal, because I think it'll end up covering more playoff appearances -- at least, during the players' peak seasons.

Schoenfield: I think Sam nailed it. The Phillies were in win-now mode and the Braves absolutely crushed them. The Braves are younger, have more stars, more payroll flexibility and a better farm system. The Padres have to deal with the powerhouse Dodgers, but I would take their next five years over Philly's and I think Machado is the better bet to produce more WAR over the next five seasons.

Which player do you think will play a playoff game with his new team first -- and when?

Matz: Tie. The Padres and Phillies will face each other in the 2021 NL wild-card game.

Miller: I like the Padres to make another big move this offseason, to benefit quickly from their still-elite farm system, to have an MVP candidate in Tatis next year, and to clinch a wild-card spot in approximately 368 days.

Schoenfield: The Padres still have some major holes to fill on offense -- they don't score enough runs because they're last in the NL in batting average, last in strikeouts and 13th in OBP -- and I don't yet have confidence that they've proved they can develop all this young talent as successfully as, say, the Dodgers have with their young talent. But Tatis is a stud and there is talent to groom. So I'll say the Padres win a wild card ... in 2021. (Or 2020 if they hire Joe Maddon to replace Andy Green as manager.)

Ireland are continuing to monitor the fitness of fly-half Johnny Sexton in the build-up to Saturday's World Cup Pool A match with Japan in Shizuoka.

Sexton did not train fully on Tuesday but skills coach Richie Murphy said on Tuesday that they expect him to be fit to play against the tournament hosts.

"We expect him to train fully on Thursday," said Murphy.

Murphy revealed that Bundee Aki and Peter O'Mahony have passed their head injury checks and are training fully.

Both players retired hurt during Sunday's comprehensive 27-3 win over Scotland but have successfully come through all three phases of their Head Injury Assessments and are available for selection for the encounter with Japan.

Sexton sustained a minor quadriceps niggle in the victory in Yokohama.

The Ireland skills coach insisted it "wouldn't be unusual" for Sexton to sit out a training session just 48 hours after playing in a Test.

"Johnny went through rehab today, but he had also done some work with the team; but he's being monitored," explained Murphy.

Robbie Henshaw continues to step up the recovery from his hamstring problem that kept him out of the World Cup opener.

Murphy revealed the Leinster centre is back running, and will be reviewed again in the next 48 hours.

While Henshaw is unlikely to be ready to face Japan this weekend, Ireland continue to make positive noises about his recovery.

"Robbie was in training today; he's in his return to play phase now," said Murphy. "He did a lot of running today and came through that no problem.

"We'll see what he's like on Thursday and make a decision on him them."

Keith Earls, Rob Kearney and Joey Carbery are all fit and available for selection for Japan, leaving Henshaw Ireland's only major injury concern - should Sexton recover from his thigh knock.

"Earlsy, Rob Kearney and Joey have all made really good progress, and it's a good situation," added Murphy.

"They were all at the point at the end of last week where they were effectively ready, but we didn't want to take any risks."

Six-day turnaround means 'some rotation'

Ireland can move a long way towards a quarter-final with victory over Japan on Saturday, but Murphy insisted Joe Schmidt's men were taking nothing for granted despite the hosts ranked being just ninth in the world.

Ireland are likely to mix up selection to face the Brave Blossoms, but Murphy insisted changes are not expected to be wholesale.

"The first thing is, we've a lot of respect for Japan. They are a very, very good side and they've proven that over the last couple of years," said Murphy.

"The team we pick will be the team we believe will be the right team to play a Test match six days after the last one.

"There could be some rotation in it but it will be fully focused on beating Japan."

Hands up if you're loving every second of Barcelona's ever-deepening crisis of faith, hapless away form and evident bewilderment, as every rival now plays them with the conviction that Spain's champions are there for the taking.

You won't be alone. It's one of sport's most enduring storylines, as teams that have lain waste to all opponents before them with absolute inevitability then wane, decline and get pulverised. It's not a matter of "maybe," only a matter of how well you prepare and cope. "Nothing's more certain than death, taxes and the collapse of possession football if it's not properly cared for," as Benjamin Franklin surely meant to say.

So, there will be widespread glee about Barcelona's sudden vulnerability, far further than among Madridistas, Espanyol fans and anyone of a Manchester United, Juventus or Arsenal persuasion who still resents either the manner or just the pain of those four Champions League final defeats since 2006.

- Hunter: Ansu Fati proves 'Barca DNA' as strong as ever
- Marcotti's Musings: Catch up with the weekend action
- Ogden: Why Man United's owners won't care about bad results

People find it fascinating, even enjoyable, when mighty edifices crumble and fall. They call it "Schadenfreude" in German, a deliciously malicious enjoyment of someone else's woes. Football has, metaphorically, become such a bloodlust sport that many will think that the only feasible remedy is to accept Ernesto Valverde's mea culpa on Saturday night after Barca lost in Granada for the first time since 1972 and sack him.

(A fun stat: Barca has lost there five times in club history, and every time it happened, they failed to win La Liga that season.)

During the buildup to Tuesday's Camp Nou meeting between La Liga's highest scoring teams thus far, with Villarreal matching Barca's 12 goals after five games, Valverde accepted the reality of his side's malaise. "Coaches are always fighting against the sack. That's not a novelty for me or any of my peers. Given the job I've got, it's results that dictate [my fate]. If Barca aren't leaders, then the manager's under intense scrutiny. But two good results can end a 'crisis.'"

A couple of weeks ago Messi admitted, "I think everyone worried that the coach might be sacked at the end of last season because we didn't meet our objectives, but it was more the players' fault than his."

The problems with Valverde

Three things are true of Valverde. First, while Barcelona were bristling with steely ambition and their key leaders were fit and on form, his "light hand on the tiller" approach to management was perfect. Just look at the good haul of trophies since he took over.

Secondly, now that the seas are extremely stormy, his style of coaching -- specifically the "pact" he struck with the squad leaders that rather than him being the outright boss (like an Alex Ferguson), he'd be primus inter pares, aka "first among equals" -- will need an upgrade. That he struck such a deal with Messi, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique and Luis Suarez made sense: His was the ultimate responsibility, but it was an extremely benign, consultative dictatorship.

It's a long way of saying that Valverde reckoned, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." It worked a treat ... up to a point. Now it's out of date. Things are broken. They're fixable but cracked.

The third thing that's true of Valverde, I'd argue, is that he isn't enjoying his work as much as he once did.

Yeah, I hear you: boo-hoo-hoo. He's well paid, and he knew the stresses and potential indignities of managing a huge, often self-destructive and deeply divided club such as FC Barcelona. You're playing the world's smallest violin in sympathy for him, right? But this is a decent, hard-working guy who's respected by the large majority of his squad, simply doing the same things that won him six trophies (and a UEFA Cup runners-up medal with Espanyol) before he took over at Barca.

He's not a dud. He is not someone to be dissed lightly, nor is sacking him the real solution to what's been going wrong.

The flaws are easy to list and interdependent. Fundamental to Barcelona's producing a brand of football that was hellish to combat and made them if not unique then brand leaders was positional play. Intricate, demanding and intelligent play that required both discipline and intelligence. Yet it has been abandoned by the club, in the first team at least, for some considerable time.

Eventually, under someone such as Xavi perhaps, it'll be restored, but will there be competent students to impose it?

That's an intriguing question for the future. Positional play helps possession play, as does the availability of Xavi and Andres Iniesta. Gradually, Barcelona's actual amounts of possession have declined, but much more startling has been the decline in strategy for why possession is important: what you can do with it to punish the opposition. In the cases of some players, "possession" has begun to mean "running with the ball" rather than letting the ball do the work. It's anathema to the Frank Rijkaard, Johan Cruyff, Pep Guardiola and Tito Vilanova school of thought.

Barcelona are not anywhere near as tough -- whether physically, spiritually, athletically or competitively -- as they were in the era when they could count on Puyol, David Villa, Samuel Eto'o, Iniesta, Xavi, Dani Alves, Pedro, Seydou Keita, Yaya Toure or Eric Abidal. Gradually -- and I think this is an inescapable truth -- they've gotten a little softer. The mix of technique, brains, character, strength, athleticism and height declined across the first-team squad.

There's also less pace. Several of those players who would feature in most people's "best XI" of the current squad are actively short of pace, either in explosive sprints or over a foot race. When the ball isn't moving quickly, this becomes a far greater Achilles' heel.

President Josep Bartomeu has been pretty obsessed with passing the buck, whether it existed or not, to the guys who did his football planning: Andoni Zubizarreta, Robert Fernandez, Pep Segura and the exceptional Joan Vila, three of whom should have been retained. Now he's left with an imbalanced squad in which two of the three full-backs, Junior Firpo and Nelson Semedo, aren't good enough, when there's that lack of pace and in which no one seems to have planned for the fact that the only centre-forward turns 33 in January, carries extra weight, struggles to get away from defenders and hasn't scored away from home in the Champions League in four years.

Luis Suarez remains an astonishingly clever, competitive and successful footballer, but the lack of strategy to replace him or make him compete for his place has shown either incompetence or fear of upsetting his major stakeholder, Messi.

Barcelona need to change formations

Let me propose a solution for Barcelona supporters. It's a good one too. Hopefully Valverde is reading this.

Apart from the instincts that Pique, Busquets, Jordi Alba and perhaps Arthur are still imbued with, the whole position-possession-pressing thing that made the modern Barca famous, admired and successful has pretty much departed, meaning that the 4-3-3 they currently play is out-of-date. It's a touchstone of the philosophy that, in due course, Victor Valdes, Puyol, Xavi and perhaps even Jordi Cruyff could reinstate, but right now, it's a relic.

Barcelona, away from home, simply do not possess the means to make that formation effective. It's a strength turned weakness. The solution is a 4-2-3-1. That formation, not a magical formula in itself, is a good fit for Barca's playing staff while addressing current weaknesses and turning them into strengths.

Frenkie De Jong was always going to require time to settle in and develop. He's 22 with only 12 Champions League matches and fewer international caps. But most of his impressive football at Ajax was part of the pivotal partnership in a 4-2-3-1. Let him enjoy that role next to Busquets (on rotation with Arthur/Rakitic and so on).

Busquets benefitted hugely from Ivan Rakitic playing as a "double-pivot" next to him for large parts of the past two seasons. In fact, Valverde's Barcelona were often lined up in a 4-4-2 last term. De Jong can be Busquets' bodyguard now.

Another new signing, Antoine Griezmann, doesn't like playing as a winger or very much as centre-forward. But right now, he could easily play as a No. 9 in front of Ousmane Dembele, Messi and Ansu Fati until Suarez trains away a kilo or two. After that, Suarez at No. 9 with permutations of Messi coming in off the right, Griezmann in the middle of the three and Ansu or Dembele on the left. That not only could augment the chance creation but also would offer Valverde the option of installing a high press.

The 4-2-3-1 formation probably asks the full-backs to fly forward far less than, say, Alba currently does. But with Alba and Roberto edging forward into midfield to flank Busquets and De Jong, a mixture of Pique, Jean-Clair Todibo, Clement Lenglet and Samuel Umtiti as the alert, high-line centre-backs and Marc-Andre ter Stegen happy to play the "sweeper-keeper" role, there are far more solutions than new problems.

Valverde has had the chutzpah to try to find solutions by dropping Busquets, promoting Ansu and Carles Perez and mysteriously giving Rakitic the kind of limited minutes that suggest he was either caught swearing in church or singing the Real Madrid anthem in the showers.

The burning question now is whether Valverde also the chutzpah to accept that 4-3-3 is now making his team weaker and change formation.