SOUTHLAKE, Texas – Two NASCAR veterans well known for road racing accomplishments – Wally Dallenbach Jr. and Boris Said – have filed entries for SVRA Vintage Race of Champions Charity Pro-Am at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The VROC Pro-Am race, coming this Saturday, is part of the sixth SVRA Brickyard Invitational.

“Wally and Boris are great friends to SVRA,” said SVRA President and CEO Tony Parella. “Look for them to run up front. Boris was the overall winner at our charity pro-am last September at Virginia International Raceway (VIR).”

Said amassed myriad accomplishments beginning at the onset of his career when he won SCCA Rookie-of-the-Year in 1987. He was national runoffs champion three times, in 1989, ’90, and ’91. It wasn’t long before he asserted his prominence in sports car racing with GT class wins in the Rolex 24 in 1997 and ’98, as well as the 12 Hours of Sebring, also in ’98.

In 2004 he was crowned the Rolex Sports Car Series GT champion and followed that up by becoming the first American to score a 24 Hours of Nurburgring victory in 2005. His prowess as a road racer attracted the attention of NASCAR teams and by 1995 he began racing in the Truck series where he scored a victory at Sonoma in 1998.

He raced in all three major NASCAR series, scoring eight top-10s and two poles in Cup competition, a win in the 2010 Montreal round of the Xfinity series, along with nine top 10s and three poles in Trucks, to go along with his Sonoma win. A versatile talent, Said has also competed in the Australian V8 Supercar series and even the X Games in 2007 and 2015.

Dallenbach launched his professional racing career in the Trans-Am series in 1984. He was immediately successful, winning the Rookie of the Year title. The following year he won the championship for Jack Roush’s Mercury Capri team to make him, at 22, the series’ youngest champion. He repeated as champion again in 1986 for the Protofab Camaro team.

These championships earned him an invitation to the elite IROC invitational series in 1987. Other outstanding accomplishments include four class wins in the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Dallenbach began an eleven-year NASCAR Cup career in 1991; scoring 23 top 10s – two coming in the Daytona 500 – in 226 races.

In addition to NASCAR Cup and Trans-Am, the versatile Dallenbach has competed in NASCAR Truck, Xfinity, IndyCar, IMSA Camel GT, and a win in the open wheel division at the Pikes Peak Int’l Hill Climb. He extended his career by becoming a motorsports commentator for TNT and NBC. Dallenbach has also served as a chief steward with the Trans-Am Series Presented by Pirelli.

In addition to Dallenbach, there are seven other drivers in the VROC field with IROC on their resumes. These include Johnny Rutherford, Bobby Labonte, Geoff Brabham, Davy Jones, Roberto Guerrero, Johnny Benson, and Mark Dismore.

The VROC Charity Pro-Am presented by Chopard Watch is a Saturday feature event at the Brickyard Invitational. The cars are 1963 to 1972 vintage Corvettes, Camaros, and Mustangs of SVRA Group 6 A and B Production.  The professionals will be paired with amateur drivers. Amateurs will start the race and be required to drive a maximum of seven laps.

Forward Chris Kunitz, a four-time Stanley Cup winner, has retired after 15 NHL seasons and is joining the Chicago Blackhawks' coaching staff, the team announced Tuesday.

Kunitz spent the 2018-19 season with the Blackhawks, posting five goals and five assists in 56 games.

The 39-year-old won titles with Anaheim Ducks (2007) and Pittsburgh Penguins (2009, '16, '17) and also played for the Atlanta Thrashers and Tampa Bay Lightning. His 1,022 career games ranked 23rd among active players at the end of last season.

"I feel very fortunate to have been a part of four amazing organizations over the last 15 years," Kunitz said in a statement. "First and foremost, I'd like to sincerely thank the Anaheim Ducks, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Chicago Blackhawks. Every one of these organizations was the ultimate example, not only to me, but to my children, on what true professionalism should be."

Kunitz will work in the Blackhawks' hockey operations department as a player-development adviser.

"Chris had an outstanding professional career. His four Stanley Cups and Olympic gold medal speak for themselves," Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton said in a statement. "While coaching him last year, I recognized what an asset he would be for our staff and the organization. I'm very pleased to have him a part of our coaching group and, also, use him as a development resource for our young players in Rockford."

When Daniel Carcillo debuted in the NHL back in 2006-07, the clichés were still intact. The fourth-line goons patrolling the ice for a few minutes per game. The ridiculous and reductive staged brawls for the coliseum crowds. All of those dusty "I went to a fight, and a hockey game broke out!" jokes were still grounded in reality: 384 games featured at least one fighting major that season, or 31.2% of all games.

That NHL doesn't exist anymore when it comes to fisticuffs. In the 2018-19 season, the NHL had fewer than 200 games with a fighting major, marking the first time in the modern era that the total dipped that low. Today, the fourth-liners are cost-efficient skill players instead of goons, and staged fights are a rarity without those pugilists on the rosters.

In just more than a decade, the league that saw Carcillo amass 324 penalty minutes with 19 regular-season fights as a rookie has seen an incremental decline in fighting in every full season of the past 10. Many are saying there's no going back.

"I believe this is the new normal," said Carcillo, who had 103 career bouts and is now a leading voice for player health awareness, "and I think the game is better off without fighting, no doubt."

The final fighting tallies for the 2018-19 season were new lows across the board for the NHL in the nearly two decades of stats compiled by HockeyFights.com (with the 2018-19 season's numbers tabulated by ESPN Stats & Information). Given that the NHL didn't exactly have a pacifist streak before 2000, it's safe to assume we're seeing fighting at its nadir:

• In 1,271 regular-season games in 2018-19, there were 224 fights in which at least one player received a fighting major. That's down from 280 fights in 2017-18. The number of fights in a full season has dropped every season since 2008-09, when there were 734 fights. In 2001-02, that number was 803. From the 2000-01 season to 2009-10, the NHL averaged 669 fights per season.

• The rate for 2018-19 was 0.18 fights per game, which marks the first time that the average fights per game has dropped below 0.20. From 2000-01 to 2009-10, there were seven seasons in which the NHL had a fights-per-game average of more than 0.50.

• As stated earlier, this was the first time that the NHL had fewer than 200 games with a fighting major. From 2008 to '12, the NHL averaged 471 games with a fighting major per season.

• In 2018-19, 15.3% of regular-season games had a fight. In 2008-09, that number was 41.4%.

• Does it seem like we're seeing fewer brawl-filled games than ever? That perception is reality: Just 24 games last season had more than one fight. That's down from 41 games in 2017-18, which had been the previous low for the past two decades, at a minimum.

• Finally, 245 players engaged in a fight during the 2018-19 season. That's down from 265 players in 2017-18. This number has been declining since a recent peak of 348 players in 2010-11, which matched the totals from the fight-happy days of 2001-02.

Matthew Barnaby was one of those brawlers back in the early aughts. From 1999 to 2002, Barnaby had 59 fights while playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Like Carcillo, he doesn't think fighting is ever going to boomerang back into the zeitgeist for the NHL.

"No, I don't ever see it reversing," said Barnaby, who retired in 2007 and is now a cohost of The Instigators on WGR in Buffalo. "It's the way teams are being built. And having coached junior, it's not a part of that culture anymore, with all the rules in place."

Barnaby is correct that there's a confluence of factors at play. The NHL has changed dramatically since the 2005 lockout, as rule changes pushed the game into an offensive era with an emphasis on skill and skating, pushing out less skilled (and perhaps more fight-inclined) players.

"Assuming the cap system remains intact and the league retains something like the current rules scheme -- one that tends to foster a faster brand of hockey -- I am fairly confident that fighting will have a relatively marginalized existence in the game long into the future," said Stu Grimson, one of the most feared brawlers of his era (1988-2002) who is now an NHL Network analyst.

"Roster space is precious today. Managers are seeing the value of having an effective bottom six. So as managers attempt to populate the deeper parts of their rosters with players who can contribute in meaningful ways, they are probably acquiring players who may not have that [fighting] element in their skill set."

Meanwhile, lower leagues have instituted rules to discourage fighting. The Ontario Hockey League famously followed its "10-fight rule" -- in which a player could be suspended for fights above that threshold -- by dropping that bar to three fights, with incremental increases on the suspensions. Fights dropped by 48% in the OHL in 2016-17, the season following that change.

"The purpose of that was to eliminate the serial fighter, that one-dimensional player. An unexpected byproduct of the rule was a significant decrease in the overall fighting in our league," OHL vice president Ted Baker said at the time.

All of this is happening in an era of unprecedented awareness of player safety and health concerns, specifically when it comes to concussions, CTE and the effects of a physical and injurious game on a player's life well after retirement. Although there have been skeptics about fighting's link to the concussion epidemic -- NHL commissioner Gary Bettman wrote in a 2016 letter to the Committee on Energy and Commerce that "only two percent of video-analyzed concussions resulted from fighting" in the previous season -- Chris Nowinski of the Concussion Legacy Foundation sees the downward trend as being tied to that awareness.

"As the hockey community continues to appreciate that head impacts can have significant long-term consequences, I would expect the number of fights to continue to decline," he told ESPN this week. "That said, if the NHL perceives a ratings decline caused by lack of fights, they may push for fighting to make a comeback."

The NHL declined comment for this story.

Nostalgia can be quite the enchantment, and Barnaby said the fist-filled days of yore still have their appeal.

"I loved the era that I played in and miss the rivalries that were formed," he said. "There were a lot of afternoon naps that were filled with sweaty palms, but the game has never been better and safer. Some fans are always going to miss the way it was, but I'll take watching unreal skill over the fights."

Carcillo agrees.

"Rivalries have less importance, and the NHL can no longer actively sell hate and violence and get away with it. I don't see this trend reversing, and it's a good thing that young men don't have to play hockey with a pre-requirement being that you may have to bare-knuckle box," he said.

Even in its diminished state, a ban on fighting is something for which many continue to advocate. "A fighting ban is still an appropriate goal," Nowinski said, "but based on the choices they have made, I suspect the NHL would prefer to continue to have the threat of fighting as a way to appeal to a subset of fans."

In concert with that entertainment value, Grimson believes there is a place for fighting in the modern game from a tactical perspective.

"I continue to believe that fighting in the following context is still one of the more exciting moments you'll witness in a game," he said. "If my team is flat or trailing in a game and I go out and get into a scrape with my counterpart on the other side, more often than not, I can turn momentum. From the players on the bench to the coach to the thousands in the stands ... that moment can be electrifying because the game will often turn. And no longer are you watching a match where one team is dominating. You usually end up with a closer, more exciting spectacle.

"We don't see that enough in today's game, in my estimation. And the two -- fast, skilled hockey and physical hockey -- are not mutually exclusive."

Yet in today's NHL, we're seeing one increase -- for only the second time since 1996, teams averaged more than 3.00 goals per game in 2018-19 -- while the other continues its decade-long slide into historic lows.

Ex-Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has cited former rivals Barcelona as proof that money cannot buy success in the Champions League.

Ronaldo, who was in Madrid to pick up his Marca Leyenda lifetime achievement award, is hoping to become just the second player to win the Champions League with three different clubs.

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"It is always the year of Juventus, of Madrid, of Barca," he told Marca when asked whether the Bianconeri were among the favourites for the competition. "In a competition such as the Champions League, only one team can win.

"I'll use the example of Barcelona: look at how much money they have invested in the past five years in players and they have not won a Champions League. That is not how this works. Juve has brought in very good reinforcements and they are a team who are going to fight to win, as they always do.

"But it all depends upon many factors: the draw, the groups, the moments, the injuries, the luck. But, as I always say, you don't have to obsess over Champions League. Juve are going to win, if not this year, I hope it will be the next or in two years.

"And it will be because of our work ethic and because of the way the club is being set up. They have all of the ingredients to win it."

Meanwhile, Madrid president Florentino Perez has said he will "forever" miss Ronaldo and dubbed him the best player in the world.

Ronaldo signed for Juventus for a transfer fee of €100 million after a nine-year spell at the Bernabeu where he won two La Liga titles and the Champions League four times.

Without the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, Madrid endured a disappointing season -- knocked out of the Champions League in the round of 16 against Ajax and finishing 19 points behind Barcelona in La Liga.

"I'll miss him forever," Perez said at an awards ceremony. "I'm a Cristiano fan. He's the best and that's it. How was I not going to come [here]?"

Before moving to the Bernabeu, Ronaldo had enjoyed six years with Manchester United, where he won a Champions League title and the Premier League three times, but said that he missed Madrid more.

"I miss Madrid more than Manchester," he said at the ceremony. "This is due to life's circumstances because my children were born and grew up here and that is special."

Ronaldo also weighed in on the speculation surrounding Neymar's future at Paris Saint-Germain.

The Brazil international was left out of the PSG preseason squad to travel to China, but Ronaldo said he believes Neymar will remain in the French capital next season.

"He's a great player and I get on well with him," he said. "But there's a lot of talk about him with Madrid, Barcelona and Juve. It's the press' job because they need to sell, but I think he will stay in Paris."

Ronaldo, who helped Juventus secure an eighth consecutive Serie A title, said he left Madrid in order to reinvent himself as a player.

He added: "I needed more motivation after winning what I won. I needed a change to express myself as a footballer because I think I still have a lot to offer.

"I still feel motivated and I like what I do, but of course what I like most is winning titles."

Ronaldo scored the winning goal as Juventus beat AC Milan to claim the Italian Super Cup and he also won the Nations League with Portugal in the summer.

Juventus will face Atletico Madrid in their final preseason game on Aug. 10 before starting their domestic campaign away at Parma on Aug. 25.

Paul Pogba is a doubt for Manchester United's friendly with Kristiansund after missing training on Tuesday morning with a back problem, sources have told ESPN FC.

The midfielder, who has been linked with moves to Real Madrid and Juventus, sat out the light session at the Ullevaal Stadion just hours before kickoff against Kristiansund in Oslo.

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He is rated as 50-50 to be passed fit to face the Norwegian side in United's penultimate friendly of the summer before kicking off the season against Chelsea on Aug.11.

Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is already without striker Romelu Lukaku and defender Matteo Darmian after both failed to make the trip to Norway on Monday.

Lukaku, who is wanted by Inter Milan, is yet to feature in preseason after picking up an ankle injury during the tour of Australia and the Far East.

Darmian also missed the 2-1 win over Tottenham in Shanghai through injury. Both Pogba and Lukaku are keen to leave Old Trafford before the transfer deadline.

Pogba has said he wants a "new challenge" after three years at United.

Arsenal are expected to complete a five-year, €80 million deal for Lille winger Nicolas Pepe on Tuesday, according to ESPN FC sources.

Pepe is in London for a medical, the sources said, after Arsenal beat four other clubs for the 24-year-old's signature.

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Napoli, Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid had all agreed on the fee with Lille for Pepe, but according to sources, he agreed personal terms with Arsenal, his preferred option.

Arsenal had also been linked with a move for Pepe's Ivory Coast teammate Wilfried Zaha but were unable to agree a deal with Crystal Palace, who were holding out for a deal worth £70m.

Unai Emery has so far welcomed two new additions for next season in Brazilian teenager Gabriel Martinelli and Dani Ceballos, who joined on loan from Real Madrid.

Arsenal have also signed William Saliba from Saint Etienne, but have sent the defender back to his former club on loan.

Pepe joined Lille from Angers in 2017 and enjoyed an impressive first campaign with the Ligue 1 side as he hit 13 goals, despite battling relegation for much of the season.

However, he exploded into life in his second term as his 22 goals in Ligue 1 helped Lille finish runners-up to PSG.

Who are the best managers in the Premier League and what makes them better than the rest? Mark Ogden brings you ESPN FC's preseason Premier League Power Rankings, with each manager's trophy-winning record and career highlights part of the formula to determine this season's 1-20.

JUMP TO: Bruce | Dyche | Emery | Guardiola | Gracia | Farke | Hasenhuttl | Hodgson | Howe | Klopp | Lampard | Nuno Santo | Pellegrini | Pochettino | Potter | Rodgers | Silva | Smith | Solskjaer | Wilder

1 - Pep Guardiola, Man City

TROPHIES WON: 27 (including two Champions Leagues and eight domestic league titles)

CAREER HIGHLIGHT: La Liga, Copa del Rey, Champions League Treble in first season as Barcelona coach in 2009

The Manchester City manager is arguably the No. 1 coach in the world right now. He's won domestic titles with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and at City, with two Champions League victories on his CV, too. But Guardiola is not just about trophies; he brings a playing style that has proved to be one step ahead of the rest for a decade since starting out at Barca in 2008-09. Guardiola is the complete manager, but European glory has eluded him in both Germany and England.

2 - Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool

TROPHIES WON: 6

CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Champions League triumph with Liverpool in 2019

By guiding Liverpool to the Champions League title last season, Klopp proved himself to be one of the world's elite coaches and silenced the doubters who claimed his sides too often fell at the final hurdle. Klopp is a manager loved by players and supporters alike, and his high-intensity playing style has helped turn Liverpool into one of the most exciting teams on the planet, but to claim No. 1 spot, he has to win the Premier League at Anfield.

3 - Mauricio Pochettino, Tottenham

TROPHIES WON: 0

CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Guiding Spurs to 2019 Champions League final.

Five years at Tottenham has so far delivered no trophies, but Pochettino has transformed Spurs from underachievers to a club now established as a Champions League regular, making their first appearance in the final last season. The Argentine develops young players and has a track record for getting everything from those under his charge. The next time a superclub is looking for a new coach, Pochettino will be high on their list.

4 - Unai Emery, Arsenal

TROPHIES WON: 10

CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Three successive Europa League titles with Sevilla in 2014, 2015 and 2016

The Arsenal coach has a tough job on his hands at the Emirates in terms of making the Gunners competitive again, but his track record is beyond doubt, having won six major trophies (including three Europa Leagues with Sevilla) during his time as a manager. The Spaniard faces the biggest challenge of his career at Arsenal, a team admittedly in a transition phase, but he is certainly qualified to take it on.

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5 - Manuel Pellegrini, West Ham United

TROPHIES WON: 10

CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Premier League and EFL Cup double with Manchester City in 2014

Now managing the 14th club of his career, one that includes stints at Real Madrid and Manchester City, the Chilean has developed a reputation as a man who brings stability and order to whichever team he coaches. Three major trophies, including a Premier League title, were delivered during his three years in charge of City, and Pellegrini could be the man to take West Ham into the top seven this season.

6 - Nuno Espirito Santo, Wolves

TROPHIES WON: 1

CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Europa League qualification with Wolves in 2019 in first season in Premier League

The former FC Porto and Valencia coach has been a huge success at Wolves since taking charge two years ago. The former goalkeeper has guided the club to promotion to the Premier League and, last season, secured a Europa League spot in their first campaign back in the top flight. Having built an exciting, confident team at Molineux, Nuno is now attempting to push for Champions League qualification.

7 - Brendan Rodgers, Leicester City

TROPHIES WON: 9 (including Championship Playoff Final win with Swansea)

CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Achieving a "Double Treble" with Celtic in 2017-18 -- the first time a Scottish club had won back-to-back trebles

The Leicester manager almost guided Liverpool to Premier League glory in 2014 after building an exciting team at Anfield. Subsequent success at Celtic, where he won eight major honours in three seasons, proved his ability to deliver trophies, but the Northern Irishman also develops attack-minded teams with flair. He now has the chance at Leicester to build a team capable of challenging for honours in England at an ambitious club determined to build on their 2016 title triumph.

8 - Sean Dyche, Burnley

TROPHIES WON: 1

CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Guiding Burnley to seventh and Europa League qualification in the 2017-18 Premier League season

Now approaching his seventh year in charge at Turf Moor, Dyche has turned Burnley into an established Premier League outfit on a tiny budget after two promotion campaigns during his time at the club. Qualifying for the Europa League at the end of the 2017-18 season was a sporting miracle considering Burnley's resources, but Dyche has built a committed, hard-working team capable of upsetting the bigger clubs.

9 - Roy Hodgson, Crystal Palace

TROPHIES WON: 12

CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Taking Fulham to the 2010 Europa League final

The former England manager is the oldest coach in the Premier League and will be 72 in the first week of the new season, but he's proving that age is no barrier, having brought stability and consistency to Crystal Palace. Now in his 43rd year as a coach, Hodgson has managed Inter Milan and Liverpool in that time, and his career track record earns him a spot in the top 10.

10 - Eddie Howe, Bournemouth

TROPHIES WON: 1

CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Three promotions from the fourth tier to the Premier League with Bournemouth

Bournemouth were facing relegation out of the Football League when Howe took charge as a 31-year-old in December 2008, but he guided them to safety and has since overseen three promotions to take the club all the way to the Premier League. Now established in the top flight, Howe is regarded as one of the best English coaches, having combined eye-catching football with results at the South Coast outfit.

11 - Javi Gracia, Watford

TROPHIES WON: 2

CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Promotion to La Liga with Almeria in 2013

The Watford coach guided the club to their first FA Cup Final since 1984 last season, only to lose to Manchester City at Wembley. Gracia has turned the Hornets into a tough, physical side with ambitions of European qualification, having gained coaching experience in Spain, Russia and Greece. He was eyed by Chelsea before they appointed Frank Lampard as manager at Stamford Bridge.

12 - Marco Silva, Everton

TROPHIES WON: 3

CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Greek Super League title with Olympiakos in 2016

The Portuguese coach is now in his third Premier League job after previously taking charge of Hull City and Watford. Silva has been tasked with making the Goodison Park outfit the best of the rest outside the top six, with the club harbouring long-term ambitions and aiming to qualify for the Champions League. Regarded as a coach who brings a short-term improvement, Silva now has the resources at Everton to do that over the long term.

13 - Daniel Farke, Norwich City

TROPHIES WON: 3

CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Promotion to the Premier League with Norwich as Championship winners in 2018-19

Hired by Norwich in 2017 after two years in charge of Borussia Dortmund's reserve team, Farke overcame a tough first season in English football by guiding the club to promotion as winners of the Championship last term. The German has brought an exciting brand of football to Carrow Road as well as the success that saw the club return to the top flight.

14 - Dean Smith, Aston Villa

TROPHIES WON: 1

CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Promotion to the Premier League with Aston Villa in 2019

The Aston Villa manager secured promotion back to the Premier League last term for the club he supported as a boy after less than a full season in charge. Success in the lower leagues while managing on small budgets with Walsall and Brentford earned Smith the chance to take charge at Villa, and his team-building approach paid off with victory over Derby in last season's Championship Playoff Final.

15 - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Manchester United

TROPHIES WON: 3

CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Back-to-back Norwegian titles with Molde in 2011 and 2012

A club legend as a player, Solskjaer must now prove his worth as a manager at Manchester United though his qualifications are less than impressive. Two league titles and a cup in his native Norway with Molde count for little in the Premier League, where he was relegated as Cardiff boss, so his credentials do not stack up like most managers in a job as big as United. He has the goodwill of the supporters, which a big tick in his favour.

16 - Frank Lampard, Chelsea

TROPHIES WON: 0

CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Carabao Cup victory over Jose Mourinho's Manchester United in 2018-19

Arguably Chelsea's most illustrious former player, Lampard is an absolute rookie as a Premier League manager, with only one year's experience of management with Derby County in the Championship. Lampard narrowly failed to take Derby into the top flight last season, but he must now succeed at Chelsea after being given the challenge of replacing Maurizio Sarri at Stamford Bridge.

17 - Chris Wilder, Sheffield United

TROPHIES WON: 3

CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Guiding Sheffield United from League One to Premier League in three seasons

Wilder has been successful at every club he has managed, starting out in the non-league with Alfreton Town before winning promotions with Oxford, Northampton and Sheffield United. The 51-year-old is loyal to a core of British players at Bramall Lane, and though he faces a daunting task in the Premier League this season, his credentials as a manager are without question.

18 - Ralph Hasenhuttl, Southampton

TROPHIES WON: 1

CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Guiding Ingolstadt to German Bundesliga for first time in club's history in 2015

Nicknamed the "Alpine Klopp" as a result of his success with unfashionable teams in Austria and Germany, the Southampton manager arrived at St Mary's last December tasked with keeping the club in the Premier League. Hasenhuttl succeeded with room to spare, despite winning only eight of 25 games in charge. He will be tested to the full in the season ahead.

19 - Steve Bruce, Newcastle United

TROPHIES WON: 2

CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Promotion to the Premier League with Birmingham and Hull City

Now in his 11th job as a manager after being appointed Newcastle boss this summer, Bruce must overcome negativity and scepticism from his own club's fans before getting down to the business of keeping the team in the Premier League. Newcastle born and bred, Bruce at least knows how the supporters think, but having earned a reputation as a managerial firefighter, the former Manchester United captain will need all those skills at St. James' Park this season.

20 - Graham Potter, Brighton & Hove Albion

TROPHIES WON: 3

CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Taking Ostersund to Europa League knockout rounds before losing to Arsenal in 2018

Having made his reputation as an Englishman abroad by guiding Swedish minnows Ostersund to three promotions in five years, Potter landed his first job in English football with Swansea 12 months ago. Despite a midtable finish in the Championship, Potter was hired by Brighton to replace the sacked Chris Hughton, so the 44-year-old goes into his first season as a Premier League manager with a club who narrowly avoided relegation last term.

The Hundred team based at Cardiff could be known as "Western Fire" rather than "Welsh Fire", in an appeal to Gloucestershire and Somerset's fans, ESPNcricinfo can reveal.

Sports law firm Onside Law, the ECB's primary legal advisor, has submitted a trademark application for the name, along with another for "Northern Superchargers", the likely name of the Headingley-based franchise.

The Cardiff-based franchise will be run by Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, and Somerset, and reports that it would have a Welsh identity provoked backlash from the West Country.

Vic Marks, the former Somerset and England allrounder, told BBC Sport: "With my West Country roots I've noted the possibility of Welsh Fire. I've also noted the cast-iron certainty that this will not greatly excite people in Bristol or Taunton.

"As far as the spectators are concerned, I think they do feel a bit alienated in the West Country of England. What they really enjoy is watching those guys play for Somerset at Taunton.

"Maybe it will catch fire in south Wales, I don't know, but I just have this feeling that you will not find any spectators crossing the bridge to watch Welsh Fire playing in Cardiff."

A similar response to the mooted Leeds team name was behind the switch to "Northern Superchargers", though the Evening Standard reported the team is likely to wear a yellow and blue strip, both colours associated with Leeds United Football Club.

The remaining six team names are likely to be Manchester Originals, Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit (based at Lord's), Oval Invincibles, Southern Brave (Southampton), and Trent Rockets (Trent Bridge).

When approached for comment, an ECB spokesman said: "Team names will be announced officially in early October, before the men's player draft."