All posts by h716a5.icu

Reliable reporter Alan Nixon has answered a Celtic fan’s concern on the Hoops’ ongoing pursuit of Eddie Howe.

The Lowdown: Howe waiting for Bournemouth’s season to finish?

It appears as if the 43-year-old has agreed to take over at Parkhead, becoming Neil Lennon’s long-term successor in Glasgow.

That’s what reports suggested last week, with one of the reasons for the delay down to Bournemouth’s participation in the Championship playoffs.

Howe wants to take some staff members from the Cherries to Celtic, however, Bournemouth could well book their spot in the playoff final this weekend, with the Wembley showdown set for May 29.

The Latest: Nixon addresses backroom staff question

Nixon, who writes for The Sun, was asked by a Celtic fan on Twitter about the backroom staff situation.

He was quizzed if Howe couldn’t get his staff, if a deal would fall through, or if it was more a financial standpoint.

Nixon replied, confirming Howe wants his own backroom team. However, he seemingly stated that the Cherries backroom staff aren’t a dealbreaker.

“Howe wants a backroom team. He’s got these guys he prefers. If they don’t come he will have to get others. It can only go on so long though…”

The Verdict: Good news for McKay?

Nixon’s claim should be good news for new CEO Dominic McKay.

If Howe cannot bring members from the south coast to Bournemouth, he will have to look elsewhere. Nixon doesn’t suggest a deal would be off if he can’t take them with him, which can only be a positive.

With a potential squad rebuild on the cards, the last thing McKay needs in his new role is to wait until May 29 for the playoff final and then the deal for Howe fall through due to disputes about his staff.

However, as Nixon mentions, talks can only go on so long, so we feel the next few weeks are crucial in regards to getting a deal officially over the line.

In other news: Odsonne Edouard closing in on Celtic exit, find out more here. 

Essex will need a further 332 runs if they are to beat county champions Surrey when play resumes tomorrow although they do have all their second innings wickets intact

Paul Hiscock27-May-2001Essex will need a further 332 runs if they are to beat county champions Surrey when play resumes tomorrow although they do have all their second innings wickets intact.The home side had declared at tea on 206-5 to set their opponents an unlikely target of 405 runs for victory although Paul Prichard and Paul Grayson batted sensibly through the 32 overs of the evening session to reach 73 without loss at the close.There was some surprise when Alec Stewart decided not to enforce the follow-on after his side had mopped up the last three Essex first innings wickets in the first hour of play for the addition of 35 runs to the overnight score.Stuart Law guided his side to their third batting point as he reached 150 that included 21 boundaries but with his score on 153, he became one of two wickets for leg-spinner Ian Salisbury as the home side gained a first innings lead of 198 runs.Opting for further runs, Surrey lost Ian Ward for 3 when the opener had his middle stump knocked back by Andrew McGarry but Mark Butcher and Mark Ramprakash added 100 for the second wicket before Peter Such took a firm control on proceedings for Essex.The off-spinner bowled unchanged from the pavilion end throughout the afternoon session and was rewarded with four wickets.Butcher, having completed a second half-century in the match, was well caught at deep mid-on before the wily 36 year-old bowler lured Ramprakash – who had just reached his fifty – and Ali Brown down the wicket to be stumped by the impressive James Foster.Ben Holliaoke was another Such scalp, edging indecisively forward to give Foster another victim. That gave the bowler wicket to wicket figures of 4-36 before Stewart declared at tea.

According to Il Messaggero (via Sport Witness), Tottenham have made contact with Paulo Fonseca in regards to becoming their next manager.

The Lowdown: Spurs continue search

Tottenham are continuing their search for a new manager after Jose Mourinho was sacked as boss by Daniel Levy last month, with links to the likes of Julian Nagelsmann and Erik ten Hag coming and going, as names like Graham Potter and Brendan Rodgers still repeatedly crop up.

The Portuguese has already found himself a new position at AS Roma (bloomberg.com) however, replacing the outgoing Fonseca, who is seemingly set to draw plenty of interest in the summer.

The Latest: Spurs eye Fonseca

With Fonseca now out of work, it seems Spurs are interested in giving him the reins in north London, with reports in Italy (via Sport Witness) claiming Levy and co have actually made contact already.

They are not the only clubs eyeing him, though. Both Benfica and Zenit St. Petersburg have been mentioned alongside him, while the report claims he would prefer to stay in Italy for his next role.

The Verdict: Good target

Fonseca has done a relatively good job with the Giallorossi. This term, they reached the semi-finals of the Europa League before losing 8-5 to Manchester United on aggregate. However, with them sitting seventh in the Serie A table, Roma are unlikely to be playing in European competition next season.

Perhaps more impressively however, he made his name with Shakhtar Donetsk before making the switch to Roma, transforming them into Champions League regulars.

He averaged 2.37 points per game across three years with the Ukrainian outfit (Transfermarkt), helping them win the top flight title on three separate occasions.

He even earned big praise from Pep Guardiola when the two met in the Champions League in 2017 (The Times) with the Spaniard admitting he and his coaching staff were blown away by their play style – Shakhtar were victorious in one of the two clashes with the Premier League champions that season.

He could be a very good outside candidate for the Lilywhites.

In other news, Levy wants this Champions League winner at Spurs.

The National Cricket Academy (NCA) Committee will meet at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) in Mumbai on May 4

02-May-2001The National Cricket Academy (NCA) Committee will meet at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) in Mumbai on May 4. According to BCCI sources on Wednesday, the NCA Chairman Raj Singh Dungarpur, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) president AC Muthiah, BCCI treasurer Kishore Rungta and NCA Director Brijesh Patel along with NCA committee members Sunil Gavaskar, Polly Umrigar, S Venkataraghavan and Hanumant Singh would attend the meeting.Meanwhile, the Head coach of the North Zone Cricket Academy Yashpal Sharma, today dismissed the controversy over the appointment of a fifth coach as mere “confusion” which had been sorted out amicably. “I am answerable only to National Cricket Academy’s Chairman Raj Singh Dungarpur or Director Brijesh Patel regarding coaches or trainees and I don’t see any controversy regarding the fifth coach Gursharan Singh,” Sharma told PTI in New Delhi.”I got a letter today from NCA about Gursharan’s appointment and I took him on and till then he co-operated with us from the sidelines and did not interfere. He is now very much a part of the coaching team,” Sharma said. Sharma added that “training was going on smoothly and “this morning it was exercises, running and jogging, after which fielding was practiced.” And it was during the fielding practice that Cricket Board consultant Geoff Marsh joined them on the ground, Sharma said.With Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) president Arun Jaitley a keen observor of the proceedings, Marsh interacted with the boys and was satisfied with what he saw remarking “they are spot on”, Sharma said.The evening sessions will involve batting drills. “Lessons on how to play each shot particularly the pull, cut and hook, will be given to remove misapprehensions about Indians being wary of playing these shots,” the coach said.The batting practice will be followed by a swimming session. There will be a variety in the daily programme with the schedules also including yoga classes, gym and weight training. The trainees will be shown video clippings also of important matches, Sharma said.”Our players need to work hard on fielding and running between the wickets so we will emphasise on both. Our top priority, of course, will be physical fitness. “A strong body, strong will power and stamina to survive for six hours on the field are what we intend to focus on,” Sharma said.DDCA vice-president CK Khanna also said the confusion had been sorted out amicably. All the other zonal academies have only four coaches but confusion prevailed when DDCA vice-president CK Khanna insisted on the inclusion of the former Delhi-Punjab batsman Gursharan Singh in the coaches team citing approval from Dungarpur. Sharma, on the contrary, maintained that he would not go for an additional coach unless he got specific directions from NCA.

Ben Jacobs has dropped a claim on the potential takeover of Newcastle United as an update emerged involving Mike Ashley and the Premier League.

The Lowdown: Ashley files anti-competition lawsuit

As per The Shields Gazette, the Magpies and Ashley are looking to take the top flight to court for what they believe to be anti-competitive behaviour in their decision-making process on the proposed takeover by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium.

The North East club have also adopted the anti-competition case presented to them by Newcastle Consortium Supporters Limited (NCSL), as the EPL were given fresh case legal papers with Ashley looking to force them to wave through the bid.

The Latest: Jacobs drops worrying takeover claim

Jacobs, someone who has been following the whole takeover saga very closely, has since claimed that Ashley’s lawsuit against the division is “not just a ploy to further punish EPL, but a very personal battle to gain something from what increasingly looks like a failed takeover.”

He also added that “the timing of the new damages case doesn’t bode well,” given that there is still an arbitration hearing between Ashley and the league yet to take place and it seems odd that he now wants to claim damages, suggesting that he may not be confident in winning the arbitration case.

The Verdict: Takeover could be in jeopardy

Given the fact that Ashley is now trying to claim damages against the Premier League, despite the fact we are still awaiting the result of the pending arbitration hearing, the takeover could be in real danger of going under.

Still, there is hope if a positive outcome comes out of the case, but for now it seems as if a potential takeover at St. James’ Park is looking increasingly unlikely, and to make matters worse for fans, Jacobs seems to think Ashley has seen opportunity in a process which is destroying their dreams.

In other news, find out what big blow NUFC have received before Leicester City here!

Sunderland have all of a sudden hit a brick wall.

A few weeks ago they looked certain to creep into the automatic promotion places, but three negative results have dealt a massive setback to Lee Johnson and his men in that chase. The Mackems drew with Peterborough courtesy of an Aiden McGeady free-kick but have since tasted defeat to Charlton and Wigan.

Losing to the latter was particularly disappointing as the Latics are battling relegation and, against a teamof the Black Cats’ quality, they should have been dispatched relatively comfortable.

Instead, Sunderland were made to rue a succession of errors from set plays. With that in mind, how will Johnson change the team when they face Blackpool on Saturday?

Here’s our predicted XI…

We’re tipping the manager to make three changes from the side which lost to Leam Richardson’s team.

The first replacement is an enforced one as Dion Sanderson has been ruled out for a number of weeks with a back problem. Fortunately there is no fracture, so there is still hope that he’ll be fit before the season concludes.

As a result, Luke O’Nien shifts into the middle of defence again, with Max Power moving to right-back.

There are changes in midfield as a consequence. Carl Winchester comes in for Sanderson while Josh Scowen is dropped from the line-up.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-sunderland-transfer-rumours-and-news-grigg-denayer-louis-dreyfus-sanderson-melamed” title=”Latest Sunderland transfer news and views!”]

He was particularly poor in the defeat to Wigan, being dribbled past on three occasions; so with that in mind, Grant Leadbitter gets a start. The veteran hasn’t particularly impressed in recent months but deserves another go after Scowen’s mishaps of late.

There is a final change in attack, where Aiden O’Brien comes back into the starting XI. Jack Diamond started last time out and caught the eye with his energy. However, he wasn’t the creative force that Aiden McGeady usually is on the left.

Diamond didn’t provide a single key pass for Charlie Wyke last time out, so Johnson could improve his chances of winning by moving his Irish talisman back out wide. After all, he has 13 assists to his name this season.

Unfortunately for Sunderland, they will still be without Tom Flanagan.

AND in other news, SAFC flop has seen his value rise by £7.2m after leaving, he’s “excellent” in Europe…

If you were asked to write down all of the problems with Celtic right now, you’d probably run out of paper and ink.

The Hoops have an endless supply of issues that the hierarchy and coaching staff are struggling to amend.

They can’t find a new manager and neither can they address issues at board level where they’re seeking a new director of football.

The biggest thing they need to resolve is the playing squad. The likes of Kristoffer Ajer, Odsonne Edouard and Ryan Christie to name a few have all been linked with the exit door.

Though, when it comes to addressing the team, it’s the defence they’ll need to sort out quickly.

The Bhoys conceded a grand total of 19 goals in just six Europa League outings while they have shipped 13 more than Rangers in the Premiership.

Individual errors have plagued their campaign, no more so than between the sticks.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-celtic-manager-and-transfer-news-howe-lampard-klimala-ajer-gossip” title= “Read the latest Celtic manager and transfer news!”]

Scott Bain is the preferred choice at the moment but he’s not been shy of mistakes this term. Neither has Vasilis Barkas.

After Celtic failed to secure the services of Fraser Forster again, it was the Greek stopper who Nick Hammond turned to.

A fee of £4.5m was agreed with AEK Athens but he’s had a disastrous first year in Glasgow.

Like Bain, he has been guilty of poor goalkeeping, something that particularly shone through in Europe. Barkas was at fault when the Hoops were inexplicably knocked out of the Champions League in the group stages at the hands of Ferenvaros and didn’t cover himself in glory against AC Milan either.

With that in mind, signing a goalkeeper in the summer should be right at the top of their agenda.

Dundee United ‘keeper Benjamin Siegrist has been touted with a move but another name mentioned in the last few weeks is Aston Villa’s Tom Heaton.

He’s slid down the pecking order with the Premier League club after they signed Emi Martinez from Arsenal but despite that, he’d be a great addition for any new manager at Paradise.

Speaking to Football Insider, Paul Robinson said: “Tom Heaton is a possibility. Logistically, would he be willing to move to Glasgow? I’m not sure. He might be very settled with his family.

“It would be a great signing for Celtic. Heaton would be a great signing for any club. He is a top-class, reliable goalkeeper who would be perfect for Celtic next season.”

The words reliable and top-class should be music to the ears of supporters at Parkhead.

Those are two attributes that have been completely redundant when assessing the club’s goalkeepers this term.

Heaton, on the other hand, is a proven international. Standing at 6 foot 2, he knows how to command his area and like Forster who was such a hit in Glasgow, he’s capable of producing extraordinary saves.

What Celtic need is someone proven with plenty of experience and leadership skills. The 35-year-old would be that player in a nutshell.

AND in other news, Forget Howe: Desmond could revive Celtic by hiring 58 y/o Rodgers dubbed “world-class”…

Manchester United have received a timely fitness boost ahead of their UEFA Europa League clash with Granada with Eric Bailly’s return to Manchester.

The Ivorian defender has recently been back in his home country overseeing a period of self-isolation having tested positive for COVID-19.

He has missed the last three matches in all competitions as a result but journalist Jonathan Shrager has suggested on Twitter that Bailly will return to the UK in time for the Red Devils’ UEFA Europa League quarter-final second-leg with Granada.

His return is, of course, a considerable boost to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who has endured huge problems in defence and initially looked to be hampered for the upcoming game at Old Trafford.

Harry Maguire is suspended for the clash having picked up a booking in the first-leg in Spain, whilst Victor Lindelof has been suffering from a persistent back issue throughout the 2020/21 season.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/the-latest-man-united-transfer-rumours-and-news-old-trafford-macheda-solskjaer-lingard-ousmane-dembele-anthony-martial-injury-rabiot-van-de-beek” title=” The latest Man United transfer rumours and news from Old Trafford…”]

Bailly’s return though allays those worries with the £13.5m-rated centre-back able to partner either the Swede, or indeed Axel Tuanzebe, at the heart of the Red Devils’ defence as the club look to progress to the next round of the competition.

So far, the 27-year-old has not played a great amount with just 15 appearances in all competitions, just eight of those being starts. However, in those games, United have claimed six clean sheets – a figure they will surely be aiming to add to by building on their 2-0 first-leg success in Spain.

It remains to be seen whether Solskjaer will elect to start the former Villarreal man upon his return but his inclusion in the Manchester United squad for the match gives the Norwegian considerable options and is a huge boost for their chances of progressing in the competition.

AND in more news, take a look at why the form of on-loan Manchester United star could benefit the Red Devils in a number of ways…

Eddie Howe is edging ever closer to being appointed the next manager of Celtic Football Club…

What’s been said?

Speaking on this week’s ‘The Celtic Huddle’ podcast, reliable Daily Mail journalist Ian McGarry delivered an encouraging six-word update on the 43-year-old.

“It’s down to the minor details,” he claimed.

The former Premier League boss has emerged as the front-runner to take over from Neil Lennon this summer, following discussions behind-the-scenes with majority shareholder Dermot Desmond.

Great news incoming

This latest update should have many at Parkhead absolutely buzzing as it puts to rest several doubts that had started to creep in over the last week or so.

Football Insider suggested on April 3rd that Crystal Palace were plotting a late raid to seal Howe from Celtic’s grasp. They wanted him to replace the out-of-contract Roy Hodgson at the end of the season.

Similarly, it was thought that another factor holding up the move was the 43-year-old’s desire to have his trusted Cherries right-hand man Richard Hughes as Nick Hammond’s replacement for the director of football role.

But McGarry’s claim suggests that Howe’s move is all but done, barring that eagerly-awaited official announcement.

Despite being sacked by Bournemouth following relegation to the Championship, Howe would bring many qualities to Celtic Park. It’s easy to forget that he steered them from League Two to the Premier League in the first place.

As the Bhoys look to embark on a new era, he would surely be the perfect candidate to spearhead any rebuild.

“He is meticulous,” explained Simon Francis to the Daily Express. “He does not leave any stone unturned. And he instils that work ethic into the players. Because you know that he is buying into it. Not turning up late, not strolling out onto the training pitch late, he is always the first. You can never question anything he does.”

A stark contrast from Neil Lennon, who reportedly didn’t shift away from Brendan Rodgers’ methods, which is a little lazy, to say the least.

Also considering the club have been mooted with some very uninspiring names, such as Roy Keane and Steve Clarke, the Parkhead faithful have every right to get immensely excited for this appointment.

AND in other news, Howe could instantly save Celtic millions by unleashing THIS “special” 18 y/o gem…

Speaking to French newspaper L’Equipe, via Sport Witness, Eric Abidal has lifted the lid on Tottenham Hotspur and Daniel Levy’s failed coup for Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong – with the former Catalan technical secretary revealing that Spurs ‘made good progress’ but were ultimately beaten.

De Jong, who was a highly sought after midfield prodigy at the time, with Manchester City, Paris-Saint Germain and Bayern Munich all chasing his signature at one stage, also attracted keen interest from Spurs.

Abidal exposes failed Levy coup for de Jong

Indeed, speaking to L’Equipe, Abidal has sent a Tottenham transfer message revealing Levy’s failed coup for de Jong – going on to say that Spurs ‘made good progress’ on the matter but his ‘dream’ was the Nou Camp.

“I was already following Frenkie before arriving at the club. We had to recruit for this position and that was our priority.

“Manchester City, Paris, Bayern and Tottenham made good progress on the matter. But we are Barca and we knew that his dream was to play for us. We therefore decided to attack and first contact Ajax, with whom Barca has always had good relations, then his representative.”

Transfer Tavern take

As this revelation emerges that Spurs were genuine contenders for de Jong, Lilywhites supporters may be wondering what might have been with the 23-year-old ace.

Lauded as an ‘extraordinary footballer’ by Catalans legend Xavi, speaking on the 2022 World Cup’s Instagram account, the Dutchman also attracted praise from none other than former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino.

Quizzed on the midfielder by football.london back in 2019, Pochettino heralded the ‘fantastic’ de Jong as a key player for Ajax – going on to say he fully understood why Barca paid £65 million for his signature.

In other news: Tottenham could lose this talent, find out more here.