Claudio Ranieri has been appointed manager of Fulham after the Premier League club sacked Slavisa Jokanovic on Wednesday. Reuters
Claudio Ranieri has been appointed manager of Fulham after the Premier League club sacked Slavisa Jokanovic on Wednesday. Reuters

Fulham appoint Claudio Ranieri as new manager after sacking Slavisa Jokanovic



Fulham have appointed Claudio Ranieri as manager after parting ways with Slavisa Jokanovic.

Jokanovic was given his marching orders on Wednesday with the club bottom of the Premier League having won only one of their 12 league matches in which they have shipped 31 goals.

The Serb, 50, had been in charge at Craven Cottage since 2015 and last season guided them to the top-tier via the Championship play-offs after beating Aston Villa 1-0 in the final at Wembley.

Fulham's return to the top flight has proved a chastening experience thus far though, with Sunday's 2-0 defeat at Liverpool their sixth league defeat in a row.

Ranieri, 67, guided unheralded Leicester City to the Premier League title in 2016, has been out of work since leaving French club Nantes in the summer.

"It is an honour to accept [chairman] Mr [Shahid] Khan's invitation and opportunity to lead Fulham, a fantastic club with tradition and history," Ranieri told the club's official website.

"The objective at Fulham should never be to merely survive in the Premier League. We must at all times be a difficult opponent and should expect to succeed.

"This Fulham squad has exceptional talent that is contrary to its position in the table. I know this team is very capable of better performances, which we will work on straight away as we prepare for Southampton at the Cottage."

The club said the former Chelsea, Juventus and Inter Milan manager had been given a "multi-year" contract.

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Khan thanked Jokanovic for his work at the club.

"I wasn't anticipating having to make this announcement related to Slavisa and wish the circumstances were such that I didn't have to, but our path this season has led me to make what I know is the correct decision, at the right time, for our players, the club and our supporters," said the Fulham chairman.

"Slavisa will always have my appreciation and respect for everything he did to return Fulham to top-flight football. I am hoping everyone in the Fulham Family shares my heartfelt sentiments for Slavisa and joins me in wishing him success and good fortune, wherever his next stop may be."

Ranieri's first game in charge will be after the current international break on November 24 when Fulham host fellow strugglers Southampton at Craven Cottage.

He will then face former clubs Chelsea and Leicester City in successive games.

Ranieri attended Leicester's 0-0 home game to Burnley last Saturday to pay tribute to late chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha who died in a helicopter crash earlier this month.

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Day 1, Dubai Test: At a glance

Moment of the day Sadeera Samarawickrama set pulses racing with his strokeplay on his introduction to Test cricket. It reached a feverish peak when he stepped down the wicket and launched Yasir Shah, who many regard as the world’s leading spinner, back over his head for six. No matter that he was out soon after: it felt as though the future had arrived.

Stat of the day - 5 The last time Sri Lanka played a Test in Dubai – they won here in 2013 – they had four players in their XI who were known as wicketkeepers. This time they have gone one better. Each of Dinesh Chandimal, Kaushal Silva, Samarawickrama, Kusal Mendis, and Niroshan Dickwella – the nominated gloveman here – can keep wicket.

The verdict Sri Lanka want to make history by becoming the first team to beat Pakistan in a full Test series in the UAE. They could not have made a better start, first by winning the toss, then by scoring freely on an easy-paced pitch. The fact Yasir Shah found some turn on Day 1, too, will have interested their own spin bowlers.

Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale

Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni

Director: Amith Krishnan

Rating: 3.5/5

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Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE squad

Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind

Fixtures

Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE


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