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Former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan has urged Celtic to make the most of their arch-rivals’ current slump after Steven Gerrard’s exit as manager across Glasgow.

The Lowdown: Celtic on the up

It was painful for Hoops fans watching on as their biggest rivals won the Premiership at a canter last season, with the Bhoys being denied 10 league titles in a row in the process.

Rangers currently hold a four-point advantage over Celtic this time around, but their Scottish League Cup exit at the hands of Hibernian on Sunday suggests that all is not well since Gerrard left.

Meanwhile, Ange Postecoglou’s side have picked up five wins and a draw from their last six league outings, finding a rich vein of form in the process and progressing to the final of the aforementioned competition, thus giving them the opportunity to strike first in the domestic trophy stakes in 2021/22.

The Latest: Pundit makes Celtic plea

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan claimed that Celtic need to be ruthless during this current period, making the most of Rangers potentially taking their eye off the ball.

Those comments come amid recent reports that the Hoops plan to bring in major reinforcements in the  January transfer window, with the possibility of multiple signings as they plan to reclaim domestic supremacy. Whelan said:

“They will be smelling blood for sure after what they saw from Rangers at the weekend. There’s a trophy which they will absolutely be favourites to win in December, barring a catastrophe.

“It’s a really good sign for Celtic, they’ll be fighting all the way to bring the title back to Celtic Park.

“On the pitch, they are keeping pace. They’ve scored a lot of goals this season, their goal difference is already superior to Rangers’.

“They need to take advantage from now and into the January window. They can really hurt them in these early stages of Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s tenure.”

The Verdict: Big chance to take advantage

This could prove to be a pivotal point in the season come next May, with Rangers arguably at their most vulnerable at the moment following their recent managerial upheaval.

New manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst may take time to make his mark at Ibrox and Celtic have winnable, albeit not necessarily easy, league games coming up against Aberdeen, Hearts and Dundee United.

January reinforcements could only help in that respect, with major additions being mooted, as Whelan alludes to, giving Postecoglou’s men that extra push before the business end of the season arrives. This could be the ideal time for an upwardly mobile Celtic to really push on and reclaim the edge on their biggest rivals.

In other news, a journalist has made an exciting claim regarding one Celtic player. Find out who it is here.

Plays of the day for the fourth day of the Australia-West Indies Test in Adelaide

Alex Brown and Brydon Coverdale07-Dec-2009The Chris Gayle shuffle
Proof that Chris Gayle is cooler than Mawson’s Hut was evident in his celebration of his maiden Test century against Australia. Triumphant waves of the bat bookended a short dance sequence that featured the kind of rhythmic sashaying that would have proven a hit in the nightclubs of Kingston. Gayle looked decidedly less graceful several overs later when he was struck by cramp. Gayle’s nickname among team-mates is “crampy”, a Jamaican expression for slow movement, and his seizing muscles served to decelerate his scoring rate for a time, but he picked it up at the end of the day.Brother, can you spare a wicket?
Australia’s inability to take 20 wickets proved a curse in recent losing campaigns against India, South Africa and England, and the lack of an enforcer returned to haunt them on Monday. Without the services of the incapacitated Peter Siddle, who has a hamstring problem, for much of the day, Australia struggled for impact against a resolute West Indies batting unit on a benign Adelaide surface. Nathan Hauritz could not replicate the bounce or bite of Sulieman Benn the previous day, while Mitchell Johnson lit up the start and the end, but not in the middle. It was a tough time at the office.Tall tales of Big Benn
Sulieman Benn said it wasn’t until he was about 14 that he began getting taller than most of his friends, but at 28 it seems he’s still enjoying a growth spurt. The story of his success on the third day in Adelaide turned into a tall tale – but just how tall depended on whose story you read. His profile page on Cricinfo lists him as 6ft 7in, which equates to 200cm, but in the he had grown to 204cm and in the he had shot up to 207cm.Save the umps
The Gould League is an Australian organisation that, among other things, aims to protect the environment. Umpire Ian Gould might just need his own group if he keeps getting in the way of Gayle drives. Gayle crunched a straight one that clipped the fingers of the bowler Marcus North, but that didn’t take much of the pace off the ball. It promptly ricocheted into Gould’s ankle, sending the umpire hobbling in pain and denying Gayle a boundary.

Colin Gibson is leaving the ECB to replace Brian Murgatroyd at the ICC as head of media and communications

Cricinfo staff14-Dec-2009Colin Gibson is leaving his position as head of corporate communications at the ECB to replace Brian Murgatroyd at the ICC as head of media and communications, after Murgatroyd resigned from the post in September.Gibson was previously sports editor of the and in London and director of communications with the Football Association (FA) in England, after which he joined the ECB in 2005, ahead of the Ashes.”I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the ECB and I am grateful to the senior management, the England team and my communications colleagues for the support they have generously offered in the past five years,” Gibson said. “I am now looking forward to working with some extremely talented people at the ICC as we take on the exciting challenges that lie ahead.”Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, said: “The ICC is fortunate to attract an experienced Colin Gibson. I welcome him to the headquarters and look forward to his contributions for the benefit of world cricket.”

Newcastle United are reportedly now leading the chase to sign Chelsea ace Ross Barkley.

The Lowdown: Howe knows all about him

The 27-year-old is a player that Eddie Howe knows all about from his time managing Bournemouth, but probably for the wrong reasons.

The midfielder has scored three goals and provided a further three assists in eight games against the Cherries, winning four of those (Transfermarkt).

However, Howe could now have the opportunity to work alongside Barkley, should he make the move to St James’ Park.

The Latest: Newcastle leading the chase

As per TEAMtalk, Newcastle are now understood to be ‘leading the chase’ to sign Barkley, but they face competition from both Leeds United and Everton for his signature.

He may be available on a loan-to-buy option from Chelsea once the January transfer window opens, which could present an ideal scenario for the Tyneside club should they end up getting relegated from the Premier League.

Barkley has just over 18 months left on his current deal at Stamford Bridge, so if he impresses during a prospective loan spell at Newcastle, he could be signed for a cut-price transfer fee.

The Verdict: No-brainer

That the Magpies could sign a player with Barkley’s experience on a loan deal, given the predicament in which they find themselves, makes this potential move a no-brainer.

The Englishman already has 230 Premier League games under his belt, and his 28 goals and 31 assists show that he is composed in front of goal (Transfermarkt).

It would also present a potentially mouth-watering link-up with Callum Wilson, who dubbed him an ‘unbelievable’ and ‘unreal’ player, and one with whom he would like to play, on The Super 6 podcast (via The Chronicle) earlier this year.

At 27 years of age, Barkley still has a lot to give, and his signing would provide little risk for the new owners given that he is a proven Premier League operator potentially available on the cheap.

In other news, this speedster who Lionel Messi dubbed ‘frightening’ has ‘an offer on the table’ from NUFC

Anil Kumble has blamed Royal Challengers Bangalore’s opening day defeat to Cape Cobras in the Champions League Twenty20 on a couple of dropped catches

Cricinfo staff09-Oct-2009Anil Kumble has blamed Royal Challengers Bangalore’s opening day defeat to Cape Cobras in the Champions League Twenty20 on a couple of dropped catches. He also praised JP Duminy, who made a classy unbeaten 99 to help Cobras pull off a stiff chase.”When you have 180 on the scoreboard, it’s always disappointing to lose. JP Duminy batted really brilliantly,” Kumble said. “We dropped a number of catches that might be one of the reasons, but there are other things to be looked after.”The ball was coming on a lot quicker on this pitch. We thought that the pitch may play slower and spin later, but Duminy put up a great fight.”The match had gone down to the last over, with Cobras needing nine off it. Kumble had then handed the ball to inexperienced R Vinay Kumar, though Jacques Kallis still hadn’t completed his quota of overs. “I thought the slower ball would work and that’s why I gave the task to Vinay, but it didn’t work.”Andrew Puttick, the Cobras captain, said his side backed themselves despite facing a daunting target, and playing in front a large, partisan crowd. “We were confident of chasing the target,” Puttick said. “We should have restricted them much earlier. We had a bad start, but Duminy was superb with the bat. If you get one batsman to play throughout the innings, then you can chase any target.”New Zealand’s Otago are the other team in the group, and they start their campaign with a game against Cobras on Saturday.

Celtic have been dealt a fresh injury blow ahead of their upcoming Premiership fixture.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by Sky Sports, Ange Postecoglou revealed that, following the midfielder’s first-half substitution in the 3-1 win over Hibernian in midweek, Tom Rogic now looks set to miss the next two to three weeks of first team action after pulling his hamstring, starting with today’s visit of Livingston.

Speaking about the condition of the 28-year-old prior to the clash against the Lions, the Celtic manager said: “He had a scan on his hamstring. It’s going to put him out for at least two to three weeks.

“It’s not a major one but he definitely won’t be involved in these games. Then obviously we have the international window, and if everything goes to plan, he should be available once we get back from that.

“All injuries are frustrating, but the flip side of that is Tommy has probably played more football in the first couple of months of the season than he has for quite a while. He was probably due a spell anyway.

“Him and Dave Turnbull in particular, because Cal [McGregor] had a bit of time out with injury, have been carrying the burden of the midfield. To be honest, even if he had come through, I probably wouldn’t have played him [on Saturday] anyway.

“Hopefully, if nothing else, this freshens him up for another run at it. But he was outstanding, he has been all year, but in the first half against Hibs he was at the centre of all the good stuff we were doing.”

Fans will be gutted

Considering just how impressive Rogic has been for Celtic so far this season, the news that the midfielder looks set to miss up to three weeks of action is sure to have left fans of the club gutted.

Indeed, the 28-year-old has formed an impressive trio alongside David Turnbull and Callum McGregor over his 11 Premiership appearances this term, with the £1.35m-rated man bagging one goal, registering two assists and creating five big chances for his teammates. He has also taken 1.2 shots and made 1.5 key passes per game, with these returns having seen the Australia international average a SofaScore match rating of 6.97.

As such, the news that Rogic will miss not only the Livingston clash, but also the Hoops’ Europa League crunch match against Ferencvaros as well as the trip to Dundee in November, is sure to come as a big blow to Postecoglou, who will undoubtedly be hoping that the £16k-per-week midfielder can pick up where he left off upon his return from injury.

In other news: Ange must unleash Celtic’s “top-class” £2.7m-rated ace on Saturday, he’s being wasted

A number of Sheffield Wednesday supporters have laid into Barry Bannan’s performance after the Owls’ 1-1 draw at home to Lincoln City.

Darren Moore is now finding himself under increasing pressure after another disappointing result on Saturday afternoon.

Wednesday had to settle for a point against Lincoln at Hillsborough, with Dennis Adeniran’s opener cancelled out by Lewis Montsma’s late equaliser.

The draw leaves Moore’s side sitting ninth in League One but they should be higher had it not been for continually blowing leads this season, yesterday’s result their third consecutive draw.

One player who was poor against Lincoln was Bannan, with the Scot losing possession a total of 19 times in the match.

The midfielder is often a crowd favourite who is considered one of Wednesday’s most important players – he is their second-best performer this season according to WhoScored metrics – but that wasn’t the case on Saturday.

Sheff Wed fans lambast Bannan’s performance

These fans took to Twitter to criticise Bannan’s performance against the Imps.

“While DM is in charge and/or Bannan is a regular starter we are only going one way”

Credit: @mark1867bryan

“Please, please, please stop Bannan taking all the set pieces, he’s rubbish”

Credit: @johnellison

“Petition to get Barry Bannan off corners”

Credit: @AndrewC997

“Laughable when there’s shouts for Bannan ‘best player in the league’. He’s not even best midfielder in our team”

Credit: @JBH_swfc

“It’s now 54 corners since Barry Bannan found a Wednesday player’s head”

Credit: @Andyb3n

“He has gotta go. Drop him. We’re better than Barry Bannan”

Credit: @Richard30044063

In other news, some Sheff Wed fans have hailed one player after a recent award win. Find out who it is here.

Newcastle United could now hire Erik ten Hag as their next manager, if Marc Overmars is appointed the new Director of Football (DoF) at St. James’ Park.

The Lowdown: Manager search

The North East club have been linked with the likes of Roberto Martinez, Steven Gerrard and Matias Almeyda in recent days, as their manager search continues following the departure of Steve Bruce.

Graeme Jones will be taking temporary charge of the next couple of games until the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium find the person that they want.

The Latest: ten Hag and Overmars combo

As per De Telegraaf (via Sport Witness), Overmars, who is currently the DoF at Ajax, would be ‘comfortable’ taking the same role on Tyneside, and ‘will poll’ ten Hag if he is appointed.

It will be interesting to see which role the new owners of the Magpies fill in first, as one could well dictate who is hired for the other.

The Verdict: Get both in

There is no doubt that a lot of the recent success Ajax have had is down to Overmars and ten Hag.

Off of the pitch, the former has been responsible for selling players for big profits and then helping rebuild with quality replacements, while ten Hag has won five major trophies during his time at the club, and famously guided them to the UEFA Champions League semi-final in the 2018/19 season.

Jurgen Klopp dubbed him as an ‘exciting’ manager back in December, which is high praise indeed, and getting both in would prove to be a real coup from the Toon.

In other news, find out which ‘extraordinary’ ace NUFC are ‘preparing’ a £67.7m bid for here!

The ICC has confirmed its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) received a report from the Australian team management after one of their players was approached by a man suspected of links to illegal bookmaking

Alex Brown19-Aug-2009Australian captain Ricky Ponting is satisfied with the manner in which his team handled an approach from a suspected illegal bookmaker after the Lord’s Test. As revealed by Cricinfo on Wednesday, a member of the Australian squad was approached in the bar of the team’s London hotel, the Royal Kensington Garden, and immediately raised the matter with the team management.Australia’s team manager, Steve Bernard, filed a report to the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, and the matter is now under investigation. Ponting said the issue was now the ICC’s to resolve.”As the players and as a team we did everything that we were supposed to do by the letter of the law,” Ponting said. “We reported it to the ICC. It’s now under ICC investigation. There’s no more that we can say about it because of the investigation going on. I don’t want to talk about it too much because of the investigation happening at the moment. We’ve got other things to worry about than that. We’ll let the ICC look after it.”The ICC has since confirmed its investigators have received the report from the Australian team management on the approach to the player. The ICC said that there was “no evidence of any illegal activity” and praised the player concerned and the Australian team management for reporting the issue.”There is no indication that any matches in the current Ashes series or the ICC World Twenty20 2009 have been affected by corruption in any way and the ICC is confident the issue is under control,” it said in a statement. “The ICC does not intend to reveal specifics of any approaches to players because doing so would have the potential to be counter-productive to any investigations and also to relationships of trust the ACSU has developed.”Dave Richardson, the ICC’s general manager, stressed the need for ongoing vigilance in defending the game from corrupting influences. “Cricket is more popular than ever before and with that popularity comes the opportunities for growth but also challenges such as the one highlighted by the approach to an Australian player,” Richardson said.The ACSU is investigating a number of approaches made to players during the World Twenty20. newspaper reported on Thursday that a member of the Australian Twenty20 squad was approached by a man with suspected links to illegal bookmaking during that tournament.

Andrew Miller presents West Indies’ marks out of 10 following their 2-0 series defeat against England

Andrew Miller19-May-2009Fidel Edwards: blazing speeds, but little support•Getty ImagesFidel Edwards – 9An outstanding, if somewhat puzzling, display from the quickest bowler on either side, and maybe even in the world game. At Lord’s Edwards’ figures of 6 for 92, although magnificent, failed to take into account three dropped catches that could and should have set him up for an eight-for. At Chester-le-Street, he reserved his best and most venomous spell for James Anderson, of all the unlikely targets. Quite why he couldn’t rouse himself for more obvious targets, such as Kevin Pietersen, is a mystery. Perhaps he was just fed up at his lack of support.Sulieman Benn – 7Cruelly under-rewarded for his efforts. Bowled with attacking intent and cunning varieties, and from a height that had the potential to turn every ball into a hand-grenade. Pietersen certainly didn’t enjoy the best of the battle, and he wasn’t alone, as the combative cricketer who had taken eight wickets in the Jamaica triumph returned to something approaching his best form. Had fun with the bat as well at times, and wasn’t shy in dishing out the verbals either. West Indies could have done with more of his spirit.Ramnaresh Sarwan – 6Not quite the superhuman who cracked 626 runs in the previous series, but away from the featherbeds of home, Sarwan still helped himself to his fourth century in six Tests, which was quite some achievement for a man who never got going in his other three innings. His strength through the covers was diminished by the threat of the moving ball, although with the sun on his back on the fourth day at Chester-le-Street he made hay impressively to record West Indies’ only hundred of the series. Nevertheless, he was dismissed twice in the same day in both matches, which was something of an unwanted ignominy.Denesh Ramdin – 6Caught the eye with two free and easy half-centuries, the second of which, at Durham, had England’s bowlers on the run when they thought they were going for the kill. His glovework was still prone to untimely lapses, however, not least the leg-side drop off Alastair Cook that condemned his bowlers to yet another long and fruitless day in the field.Brendan Nash – 5Enhanced his credentials with a pugnacious 81 at Lord’s, but either side of that innings he was swept away in West Indies’ tide of futility. Out-thought at Chester-le-Street, first by a bouncer barrage that made him susceptible to a loose under-edged drive, then by Bresnan’s booming swing in the second dig. And then there was his dropped catch at square leg on the first afternoon at Lord’s – the error that arguably transformed the momentum of the series.Chris Gayle – 4Led by example, which is not meant as a compliment. His late arrival ahead of the Lord’s Test set the tone for a hideously forgettable series, and not even his fourth-day fireworks could atone for his divisive comments about the future of Test cricket. He is entitled to his opinion of course, but there’s a time and a place for expressing sentiments, and this, sadly, was neither.Devon Smith – 4Two starts, two failures, and no surprises. At times in the first Test at Lord’s, Smith looked the most accomplished batsman in the side, but then would come the inevitable error, and all his hard work would unravel. He attracted the odd good delivery, it has to be said, not least the Onions yorker at Lord’s, but his travails against Swann became the subject of ridicule when Strauss elected to open the bowling with his spinner for West Indies’ first innings of the series.Shivnarine Chanderpaul – 4Equalled Viv Richards’ record of 121 Tests at Chester-le-Street, and overtook his runs tally in the very same game which was a spooky coincidence. But aside from a futile 47 in the follow-on, there was little for the ICC World Player of the Year to cheer. At Lord’s he made 0 and 4 as Swann got his number in both innings, and though things improved in the second Test, he found simply being a barnacle wasn’t sufficient to get his team back into the contest.Lendl Simmons – 3His temperament at times seemed unflappable, which meant that his series haul of 55 runs in four innings was a crushing disappointment. Simmons is unquestionably a name for the future – anyone who can score 282 off an international attack, as he did in St Kitts for West Indies A against England in February – has to be worth investing in. Somehow his returns failed to stack up, but watch this space, he’ll get it right soon.Jerome Taylor – 3 Innocuous and superfluous, and a dreadful shame it was too. What has become of the man who rampaged through Sabina Park back in February? A combination of injuries and ennui seems to have set in ever since, for Taylor’s pace was powder-puff at times, not least in a critical first over to Kevin Pietersen in the second Test. Taylor is in need of a long lay-off and recharging of the batteries.Lionel Baker – 3Bowled one superb delivery to castle Ravi Bopara, and that was that, really. With a lithe, whippy action that is designed to be repeated, Baker really ought to be a line and length merchant, the steadying influence around which a team can build. Instead no two deliveries ever landed in the same place. Four-balls were only ever a matter of time.