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Following defeat in the Old Firm derby, is is now reportedly more “realistic” than ever that Celtic replace Wilfried Nancy with a key managerial target.

Chris Sutton: Nancy will be "fortunate" to survive Rangers defeat

It’s been an utter disaster for Nancy ever since his arrival. The Frenchman had the tough task of following on from Martin O’Neill’s excellent interim spell in charge, which saw the 73-year-old lose just once, and to say that he has not picked up where the veteran manager left off would be an understatement.

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Defeat in the Old Firm derby may well be the nail in the coffin for his tenure. Celtic initially came flying out the blocks, racing into a 1-0 lead, but their fragilities soon came to the fore.

One Youssef Chermiti goal signalled an almighty collapse and Rangers had their rivals on the ropes before Mikey Moore delivered the knock-out blow to seal a 3-1 victory. The Bhoys were out for the count and there’s now every chance that Nancy’s tenure is waved off, according to Chris Sutton.

It’s hard to argue against Sutton’s verdict and Parkhead chiefs are already reportedly considering Nancy’s future, with a “realistic” replacement now emerging.

Postecoglou's Celtic return now more "realistic" than ever

According to TEAMtalk, Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic return is now more “realistic” than ever in the summer after Parkhead chiefs met to discuss Nancy’s immediate future at the club.

The Australian, who favours a 4-3-3 formation, would reportedly need a number of promises to seal his return in the summer, but those are promises that the Bhoys should do everything to match. In terms of options, Postecoglou is arguably the best that Celtic have even after his difficult spells at Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest.

Postecoglou at Celtic

Record

Games

113

Wins

83

Draws

12

Defeats

18

Trophies

5

His record speaks for itself and there’s no doubt that Postecoglou’s return would be worth the wait. In the meantime, however, Celtic must find a solution.

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Whether that means a second return for O’Neill this season is the big question. The 73-year-old almost had a perfect record in his first interim spell this season and could get the chance to pick up where he left off.

The other option, of course, is that Celtic stick with Nancy in the hope that he finally turns a corner in Scotland. But after fan protest and Old Firm derby defeat, that corner is beginning to become more and more impossible.

Newcastle United will be heading into 2026 hoping for a major change of fortunes in the Premier League.

At the moment, with seven league defeats next to their name, Eddie Howe’s Magpies are loitering in the bottom half of the tense division.

Still, they can push back into the top half of the ever-changing standings, with a win over a relegation-threatened Burnley later on.

With January also coming into view, a slightly disgruntled Howe will know he has plenty of opportunities to improve his squad in the hectic transfer window, as the Toon already begin to be linked with several intriguing names in attack…

Newcastle place Bundesliga forward on their radar

Unfortunately, Newcastle’s attack just wasn’t at the races whatsoever on Boxing Day versus Manchester United, as a 1-0 defeat angered the travelling Tyneside masses.

To solve some of their issues up top, with only a weak 23 goals scored in the Premier League so far this season, Newcastle could look to the sky blue half of Manchester to try and pick up reserve Manchester City winger Oscar Bobb, who they’re rumoured to be keen on.

He isn’t the only option down the flanks that has piqued Newcastle’s curiosity, however, with a new report from Caught Offside revealing that the underperforming top-flight club are among the sides interested in for in-demand Hoffenheim forward Bazoumana Toure, having begun carrying out ‘background checks’ regarding the teenage talent.

The report states that the Ivorian is a hot commodity as we edge closer to January, with the aforementioned Red Devils, Arsenal and Brentford all placing the 19-year-old prospect onto their radars, after a breakout season to date in the Bundesliga, alongside Howe and Co.

The report further elaborates that Hoffenheim aren’t looking to sanction a sale in January, but could well entertain a sale if a £39m bid were to come their way – a significant fee for any teenager.

However, Newcastle have shown that they aren’t afraid to splash the big bucks on some major attacking reinforcements from Germany in recent windows, with Toure perhaps going down as a sensational Nick Woltemade repeat, as the £69m centre-forward continues to light up the Premier League for Howe’s men.

Why Toure could be a Woltemade repeat

Newcastle supporters would have been taken aback somewhat by the millions splashed out on Woltemade, with the forceful 6-foot-6 attacker never being exposed to the bright lights of the Premier League before a club-record move was finalised.

Thankfully, he has made that transition from Stuttgart to Tyneside look smooth, after powering home a stunning 18 goals from only 36 appearances at the ex-employers, before adding 11 goal contributions and counting at St James’ Park.

Toure has also begun to generate a lot of hype around his name, lining up for Hoffenheim, with journalist Bence Boscak lauding him as a presence that’s “very exciting to watch”, like Woltemade has become instantly in England.

He also has the goals and assists to back up his entertaining performances, much like the Bremen-born striker, with his sudden emergence into the spotlight in Germany, after also starring at Hammarby, potentially standing him in good stead if he tries to navigate that tricky next step to the Premier League.

Toure’s league numbers for Hoffenheim

Stat – per 90 mins*

Toure

Games played

14

Goals scored

2

Assists

4

Touches

43.5

Accurate passes*

17.1 (76%)

Key passes*

1.4

Big chances created

4

Ball recoveries*

4.6

Total duels won*

5.8

Stats by Sofascore

Indeed, the table above shows off a star who will likely be unfazed by the challenges of the Premier League, with Toure instantly acclimatising to the Bundesliga after a move from Sweden, with a standout six goal contributions next to his name from 14 league appearances this season.

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But, there is a reason why Bocsak deems him to be “one of the most exciting young wingers in European football”, with the gung-ho number 29 a very well-rounded figure on the pitch, with ball recoveries and duels won aplenty this campaign, too, while also regularly bombing forward with weaving runs.

Across his last three Bundesliga contests, before going out to the African Cup of Nations, the 19-year-old would complete a stunning six dribbles, two of which came against German behemoth Borussia Dortmund.

Woltemade has also been praised for what he can offer the Toon, away from just his output, having been hailed as “mesmerising” for his link-up play by Sky Sports’ Andy Sixsmith.

It would likely cost Newcastle a pretty penny, but for £39m, they could land another very interesting import from Germany, like their unique number 27.

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	Gloucestershire are trying to keep hold of Hamish Marshall for the new season © Getty Images

A number of counties are waiting anxiously for the outcome of an ECB meeting on Wednesday that will determine the fate of player registrations which have been affected by the Indian Cricket League (ICL).Five players – Wavell Hinds, Andrew Hall, Johann van der Wath, Hamish Marshall and Justin Kemp – were rejected by the ECB due to their links with the ICL. Northamptonshire have said they won’t appeal against the Hall and van der Wath judgement, having signed Johann Louw as a replacement, and Derbyshire have moved on from Hinds.However, Gloucestershire are still trying to secure the services of Hamish Marshall who they signed on the basis of his Irish passport. He has continued pre-season preparations despite the uncertainty surrounding his future. “We have been given the right to make representation to the ECB on Hamish’s behalf and we’ve done just that,” chief executive Tom Richardson told the . “Of course it’s a difficult situation for him, but he continues to train very hard and I gather he’s batting extremely well in the nets.”Kent are also trying to overturn the decision against Kemp, who is still taking part in the current ICL tournament. Graham Ford, the Kent coach, told BBC Radio Kent: “Looking at Justin’s case I’m reasonably optimistic the decision will go our way – I’m really hopeful.”Meanwhile, Hampshire are hopeful that Shane Bond will be allowed to take up his deal after Mushtaq Ahmed and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan were both cleared having received No Obligation Certificates from the PCB. “We have got a form of words now from the New Zealand Cricket Board which we think will fulfil the expectations of the ECB for registration,” Rod Bransgrove, the Hampshire chairman, told BBC Radio Solent.Jason Gillespie’s future at Glamorgan is also under the spotlight even though Cricket Australia have said he is now nothing to do with them after retiring from state cricket.Surrey are still waiting to hear whether Saqlain Mushtaq will be cleared after his participation for the Lahore Badshahs. They also don’t know if the deal with Pedro Collins will go through. Although he hasn’t been involved in the ICL, Collins has had to go for an interview with the ECB ahead of his Kolpak registration. Collins turned down a place in the West Indies squad to face Sri Lanka because of his deal at The Oval.

The fighting spirit of West Indies’ lower order – including Daren Powell – at Lord’s pleased the coach David Moore © Getty Images

David Moore, the West Indies coach, has asked his players to keep up their hard work for the second Test against England at Headingley after a solid finish to the first Test at Lord’s. Moore wants better consistency from his side but said there were plenty of positives to take into the match starting on Friday.However, he was keen to dispel the theory that the draw at Lord’s could be viewed as a win for West Indies. “It’s not a victory, it is a draw,” Moore said. “We have done some great work which is good for the boys’ confidence but we are aware that every game is a different game and we have to start again.”We have to take the good things out of the first Test and work on the other things. Headingley is a different kettle of fish to Lord’s, we all know that and we’re going to be very focused on our task here.”Moore said it was a credit to his players that in the first innings they took the score from 187 for 5 to 437. “That’s something that we can take heart from,” he said. “All the batters contributed and down below we got 25-run partnerships from number nine and ten. I was very pleased with our batters particularly during that second innings when Chris Gayle and Daren Ganga got through unscathed.”He was also impressed with the bowling in the second innings, when only two England players passed fifty, compared to four making centuries in the first. West Indies had only one three-day warm-up game before the Test series began – and that match was severely rain-affected – and Moore was confident the squad now had more idea of what to expect from English conditions.”We’ve got a little bit [of practice] under the belt but we still need a lot more and the boys are getting used to every ground that we play on,” he said. “Only a few of them have played over here before, particularly the bowlers so every ground that we go to is a new experience for them.”

James Sutherland: ‘Scalpers using eBay are a disgraceful insult to normal, loyal cricket fans’ © Getty Images

Cricket Australia has apologised for the delays in its ticketing scheme that left thousands of dedicated supporters without seats. The race for spots in the Australian Cricket Family allocation has sold out the first three days in every Test venue except Melbourne, which at 4pm still had about 1000 spaces for Boxing Day.Sydney, Adelaide and Perth will be full houses for the opening four days as more than 280,000 tickets have been snapped up. About 3500 day-four tickets are available for the first Test at the Gabba, and another 2100 for each day are due to go on general release from June 19. The initial sale has been swamped by users who have complained of problems accessing the ticket companies’ websites and telephone operators that were set up to cater for the 128,500 members of the priority system.Scalpers have also cashed in by immediately placing their buys on eBay for prices thousands of dollars more than their retail value. “Scalpers using eBay are a disgraceful insult to normal, loyal cricket fans who should have access to these tickets at face value,” James Sutherland, Cricket Australia’s CEO, said. Organisers have told people purchasing black market tickets to beware and say they have asked experts about tracking the passes.Cricket Australia has been criticised by members of its “family” for not ensuring easy acess for buyers. A Cricket Australia spokesman said ticket agencies had been working at full capacity to cope with the high demand. “There have been delays during the ticket sales process for which we apologise,” he said, “and Cricket Australia thanks Australian Cricket Family members for their patience and perseverance.” The spokesman said tickets were available for most ODIs, including the game at the SCG between Australia and New Zealand, and there were large vacancies for days two to four at the MCG.Emma McCracken, the Ticketmaster spokeswoman in Sydney, said the company expected the demand and despite repeated busy messages – the company one and server error notices – she was convinced the system never crashed. “Both the Ticketmaster website and phones performed exceptionally,” she said. Thousands of cricket fans disagree.

Back in December 1959, Australia were, as they are now, the finest team in the world, having routed England 4-0 in the previous Ashes series. And when they thrashed India by an innings and plenty at the Ferozshah Kotla in Delhi, the Indian selectors knew that changes were needed to prevent total annihilation.Three years earlier, Richie Benaud’s legspin – his match figures of 11 for 105 remains the best by an Australian in India – had helped clinch victory in a hard-fought game at the Eden Gardens as Australia won their first series on Indian soil 2-0. The drawn match at the Brabourne Stadium had also been dominated by the visitors, with Burke and Neil Harvey scoring big hundreds. India’s riposte had been led by Gulabrai Ramchand’s 109, and three years later, he found himself leading the side against a team that could boast of the talents of Benaud, Harvey, Norm O’Neill and Alan Davidson.

Richie Benaud: spun Australia to victory in their first series on Indian soil© Getty Images

Ramchand needed a secret weapon, and he found one in the unlikely figure of Jasu Patel, an offspinner, whose relatively undistinguished career was thought to be almost over at 35. Patel’s quirky action flummoxed the Australians, and despite Davidson bowling superbly for match figures of 12 for 124, it was Patel – with 9 for 69 and 5 for 55 – who spun India to a historic 119-run victory.It was to be an engrossing five-match rubber, decided at the Corporation Stadium in Madras where Les Favell’s only Test century inspired an innings-and-55-run triumph. But Benaud’s men were more than just a great side, and despite touring conditions that were nothing like as comfortable as they are now, they won admirers everywhere for the manner in which they conducted themselves.Honours were shared five years later, as another Australian win at Chepauk was offset by a tremendous rearguard action from Chandu Borde at the Brabourne as India eked out a two-wicket victory. Bill Lawry made significant contributions with the bat on that tour, batting with typical cussedness against the spin of Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Bapu Nadkarni, but it would be as captain that he would garner the headlines five years later.Unfortunately for Lawry and Australia, their 3-1 triumph would be overshadowed by the public relations disasters that dogged the tour at every step. A controversial umpiring decision on the penultimate day at Bombay – Srinivas Venkataraghavan was adjudged caught behind after his flail at an Alan Connolly delivery had missed the bat by about a foot – resulted in rioting in the stands, and projectiles being thrown at the Australians after Lawry refused to lead his team off the field.Australia won that game by eight wickets, and after a draw in Kanpur, the teams proceeded to Delhi where Bishan Singh Bedi and Erapalli Prasanna bowled India to victory despite a marvellous 138 from Ian Chappell. India were left to score 181, and Ajit Wadekar saw them home with an accomplished unbeaten 91. It was all to play for when the teams arrived at the Eden Gardens, but sadly – not for the last time in the stadium’s annals it must be said – events off the field would cast a pall of gloom over what happened in the middle.A surge in the demand for tickets caused a stampede on the final day, and India’s meek capitulation led to further unruly behaviour in the stands. After Lawry had a mid-pitch altercation with a local photographer during a hold-up in play, Australia knocked off the 39 needed for victory. But any thoughts of celebration were stifled by the anger of the local population which pelted the Australia team bus as they left for the airport.

Bill Lawry fought hard for victory, but lost the respect of the Indian population© Getty Images

A 77-run win in Madras clinched the series 3-1, but Lawry’s team for South Africa – where they would be routed 4-0 by Ali Bacher’s side – having won few admirers. They haven’t won in India since. The golden generation that followed never toured India, thanks to the vagaries of the international schedule and World Series Cricket, and as a result, Indian spectators never got the chance to watch the likes of Dennis Lillee, Greg Chappell and Rodney Marsh in action.After a weakened Australian team was pummelled 2-0 in 1978-79, India had to wait until 1986 for the next group of Australian visitors. Despite being rated as one of the poorest teams to leave Australian shores, Allan Border’s men left their mark, with the first Test in Madras ending in the most dramatic of ties.With India needing 348 on the final day, Greg Matthews trapped Maninder Singh leg before in the final over to steal the limelight from Dean Jones, who had batted over eight hours in oppressive heat and humidity for his 210 before being taken to hospital to be administered a drip.The rivalry intensified in the 1998 when Australia – who had been thrashed in a one-off Test at Delhi in 1996 – were routed in Chennai and Kolkata, before they salvaged some pride with a Michael Kasprowicz-inspired coup at Bangalore. Sachin Tendulkar gave Shane Warne nightmares, smashing 155 (191 balls) at Chennai and following up with an awe-inspiring 177 (207 balls) at Bangalore.In 2001, even he would be eclipsed by VVS Laxman, who matched and then eclipsed Ian Botham’s Headingley heroics of 1981 with a glorious 281 at Kolkata after India had been asked to follow-on. Thrashed out of sight in Mumbai after Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist had slammed imperious centuries, India were down and out at the Eden Gardens despite Harbhajan Singh’s first-innings hat-trick. But Laxman and Rahul Dravid, who made 180, gave their team the kiss of life, and another devastating spell from Harbhajan, backed up by the legspin of Tendulkar, on the final afternoon saw Australia surrender a match that they should at least have drawn.And though Hayden battered his way to a splendid 203 in the decider at Chennai, a Tendulkar hundred gave India the buffer they needed as Harbhajan, with 15 wickets for the match and 32 for the series, spun Australia out. Jason Gillespie and Glenn McGrath bowled magnificently on the final afternoon with India needing only 155, but Harbhajan was on hand at the finish, with Sameer Dighe, as India closed out the most celebrated series victory of modern times.Steve Waugh, who had carved out a gutsy 110 in front of an adoring crowd at Kolkata, would retire two years later, and his dreams of crossing what had been called Australian cricket’s final frontier would remain unfulfilled. When Adam Gilchrist and his men take to the field on Wednesday, they will need to draw inspiration from Benaud and his team of long ago, who not only mastered Indian conditions, but did so without antagonising the locals like Lawry was to a decade later.

Hampshire 353 and 154 (Kaneria 5-68) beat Essex 158 and 235 (Napier 51*, Taylor 5-73, Udal 4-55) by 114 runs at Chelmsford
ScorecardHampshire wrapped up their fourth Championship win of the season shortly after tea on the third day, thanks to a dominant bowling display that never allowed Essex into the match. Hampshire, cricket’s yo-yo team with two relegations and one promotion in four seasons, will be confident of bouncing back up again: but for Essex, it was a demoralising defeat. They have yet to win in eight Championship games, and will be fighting to avoid the wooden spoon with Derbyshire, Durham and Somerset.Hampshire’s strength lies in their bowling. Without the injured Alan Mullally, their attack looked thin on paper, but Billy Taylor, an inspired signing from Sussex in the winter, took his first five-wicket haul and was well supported by the seamers Chris Tremlett and Dimitri Mascarenhas. As for the spinners, Shaun Udal seems to have recaptured some of the form that landed him an England one-day place in the mid-1990s, while Shane Warne remains one of the best bowlers in the world.If Hampshire are to push for the top spot, however, then their batsmen need to support the bowlers. John Crawley – out for 97 in the first innings – hasn’t scored a century since his double-hundred on debut for Hampshire in 2002, while Michael Clarke, who showed what he is capable of with a dominant 69 in the first innings, is still a few big knocks away from fully justifying his hype.Essex needed early wickets to mount any kind of challenge, and Darren Gough has always been the man for a challenge. Fresh from his 27th five-wicket haul in the first innings, Gough belied his age to pick up Nic Pothas and Taylor with two world-class deliveries; Pothas’s defences were beaten by pace while Taylor got stuck in Geoffrey Boycott’s favourite corridor and James Foster took a simple catch. But Warne’s 34 from 29 balls, including four fours and a six, took the match away from Essex.Will Jefferson and Alastair Cook set off in pursuit of the 350 needed to win as if they were chasing 50, and rushed to 48 in a flurry of boundaries as Taylor and Tremlett took the punishment. With only 15 minutes to go before lunch, the Essex faithful would have been thinking of the stirring run-chases that had been the feature of their promotion in 2002.By lunch that season was a distant memory, and so were the top three, who were dismissed in the space of eight runs. Jefferson was first to go, lbw to a straight one from Taylor. Andy Flower soon followed without scoring, edging behind to Michael Brown off his first-innings tormentor, Udal. And Cook, who hasn’t passed 25 since his maiden Championship century six innings ago, fell to Taylor just before lunch.And it was Taylor who also did the damage after lunch, removing Foster and James Middlebrook with successive inswinging deliveries that both piled into the stumps. Udal took the last three wickets, with only Graham Napier hanging in defiantly for an unbeaten 51. The Hampshire attack was so dominant that Warne gave himself only four overs. He’ll be hoping that this will be a luxury he can afford for the rest of the season.

Four years ago when Australia visited the West Indies, Corey Collymore took on the Aussies and looked to be the genuine article.Four years on the world champions are on their way back to the region and Collymore is still waiting for his second West Indies Test cap.The tall, accurate seam bowler has struggled with injury, but this has not fazed him. His aim for now is to do well for Barbados in the upcoming Carib Beer International Challenge matches and take it from there. The Bajans meet Trinidad and Tobago in tomorrow’s semifinal at Kensington Oval."I’m focused on doing well for Barbados and helping my country to win the tournament," Collymore said in a rare interview after yesterday’s training session at Queen’s Park."I just want to put in my best performances and leave it up to the selectors. I know what it is like at the top [in West Indies team] and my aim is to stay there, but I’ll just take it step by step."Since recovering from a near career-ending back injury three years ago, the 25-year-old Collymore has been selected only for One-Day Internationals by the West Indies selectors.He was a member of the ill-starred West Indies side at the recent World Cup in South Africa, but did not bowl in his only match against Bangladesh at Benoni.He has chalked up 32 One-Dayers and this has left him branded as a "One-Day player" and not suited to the longer version of the game."I rate myself as a cricketer in the true sense of the word, not a One-Day cricketer," he said. "I have taken over 60 wickets in about 16 matches for Barbados in four-day cricket so that speaks for itself."In his career he has managed 90 wickets in 28 first-class matches since his debut five years ago. His best figures are six for 109 against Guyana at Kensington Oval."I have fully overcome my back injuries, but this has caused me to be more chest-on and as a result I have lost a bit of my pace. I still move the ball around and I feel good about the way I’m bowling right now."I need to put in a bit more work to get everything in the right place and by Friday I’ll be ready."

Canada’s cricketers have done the nation proud. Junior and senior players have qualified from their respective tournaments. The senior team qualified for the 2003 World Cup in South Africa but faces a battle to adequately prepare to compete against the best in the world. The U-19 team similarly won the tournament in Bermuda and will lead the Americas into the World Cup in New Zealand in January 2002.The irony in these successes however, is that Canada does not have the finances to adequately prepare our cricketers for international competition. Canada has now been forced to turn down two invitations from the West Indies Cricket Board. We have been forced to withdraw from both the West Indies U-19 competition and from the 2001 Red Stripe competition in Jamaica, because of crippling costs in preparation for, and in staging the International Cricket Council Trophy competition in June and July 2001 in Metro Toronto.Hosting of the ICC Trophy 2001 was predicated on the staging of the five Sahara Cup games and extra support from India, Pakistan and IMG/TWI. Cancellation of the planned two years’ events and the inability to replace these games have had horrific implications for Canadian junior and senior cricket development programmes. Failure to attract any sponsorship, private, public or personal has not improved our chances or choices.Canada on December 16, 2000 indicated that ” CANADA CANNOT HOST THE ICCT 2001 WITHOUT Financial ASSISTANCE..” and also that “Canada shall be forced …. to formally withdraw from any plans to host ICCT 2001 within a matter of days.” (A repeat is very unlikely.)Canada is in worse shape now. We have requested assistance from several sources and we shall need your assistance to get Canadian cricket to the World Cups in 2002, 2003, … 2007, for starters. How can you help? Get involved. Call your Federal and Provincial Parliamentary representatives for renewed support.Your donations to the Canadian Cricket Association are federally tax-deductible. We need your help now! Sponsor a player or a team. Volunteers are vitally needed in fundraising and in other activities.Canada, Namibia, Holland and Kenya NEED extra support for training, coaching and player support from their ICC Associate and Full Member countries if they are to be competitive and to provide a marketable on-field product! We must not and cannot field a devalued product. $250,000 per Associate cannot cover minimum costs: in fact several times that amount is essential even for nominal preparation or for success!Scotland was forced to go to the 1999 World Cup without a sponsor! Canada competed in the ICCT 2001 without a sponsor and without adequate financing. Scotland at least could drive to the World Cup in1999.Canada and the others cannot drive to South Africa and to New Zealand, however. We face tough unavoidable choices. “When the going gets tough, the tough get going!” Let’s go Canada! World Cups’ Funds need your active support.

Goa chased down the highest total of their Ranji Trophy league matchagainst Kerala at Panaji to win the game by eight wickets on thefourth day.Chasing 213 for victory, Goa’s opening bats put on 113 runs for thefirst wicket before Sudin Kamat fell, having made 71 off 143 balls.When Kiran Powar also fell, for the addition of just one run, acollapse looked in the offing.Tanveer Jabbar and opener Vivekanand Kolambkar, however, played wellto see their side through to victory without any more losses.Kolambkar remained unbeaten on 74 off 209 balls, striking 11 fours anda six. Jabbar made 57 off 80 balls, with eight fours and a six. Goapick up eight points by virtue of this outright win.