Tag Futebol

Rajasthan Royals legspinner Pravin Tambe, and a host of players from various other countries, who participated in a private T20 tournament in New Jersey that also featured banned Bangladesh player Mohammad Ashraful, could avoid penalties because of the nebulous state of affairs at the USA Cricket Association (USACA).A day after ESPNcricinfo revealed that Tambe, who has also represented Mumbai in the Ranji trophy, had played with Ashraful in the Laurel Hill Cricket Twenty20 tournament in the last week of July, officials familiar with the code of conduct set up by the ICC watchdog ACSU said Tambe had not breached any regulations. Both the Mumbai Cricket Association and the BCCI have not yet given a formal reaction though.”He has not violated any code of conduct,” a BCCI official well versed with the anti-corruption code said. Though the ICC did not want to comment on the matter, a source revealed the prevailing view was that Tambe had not broken any code by playing alongside Ashraful.The BCCI official said that normally the blame for Ashraful’s participation would lie with the host country, but because the USACA had been suspended by the ICC in June, the case was not so straightforward. “Normally it is the responsibility of the host association to ensure that no banned player participates in any match organised by them. In this case it is not known if this match was played under the aegis of USACA.”According to him the BCCI or ICC communicates information on bans imposed to the affiliated associations only. “Hence there may be occasions when players are actually not aware of every player they are playing with or against.”He said Tambe could not be blamed directly. “If it was local club cricket and Tambe claims he did not know that Ashraful was participating, then we have to take Tambe’s word for it unless proved otherwise.”When asked if Tambe was at fault for not seeking a no-objection certificate from the MCA, the official said that it would not have been aware of Ashraful’s presence in any case. “Even if MCA had given him a NOC, MCA themselves would not verify the players playing. It is the duty of the host association to see no banned players are participating in the tournament.”On June 26, at the end of its annual conference in Barbados, the ICC announced it was suspending the Associate membership of USACA. The ICC thus became the adjudicator for sanctioning official tournaments in the USA. Other than the overseas players, when asked whether any of the USA or Canada players picked for an ICC Americas tryout scheduled for September in Indianapolis could face local sanctions for playing in the same tournaments as Ashraful, an ICC spokesperson replied in the negative.”The ICC is aware of the issue you have raised and will be reminding its members and other relevant parties of the regulations regarding players who have been banned by other boards,” an ICC spokesperson said in an email. “This matter will not affect players selected in the [Indianapolis] Combine.”

It wasn’t pretty, but Arsenal got back to winning ways on the road last night.

The Gunners ran out 1-0 winners against Everton and, in the process, secured their place atop the Premier League table for Christmas.

It was a crucial match for the under-fire Viktor Gyokeres as well, as, even though he still left a little to be desired, he did bury the all-important penalty and end his goal drought.

However, with a League Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace on Tuesday, Mikel Arteta has to make several changes, including dropping a starter who was even more underwhelming than Gyokeres against Everton.

The Changes Arteta could make for Crystal Palace

Starting between the sticks, and while David Raya has been brilliant this season, it’s only right that Kepa Arrizabalaga comes back into the team after starting the last two rounds.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Expand Collapse

Things get a bit more interesting when it comes to the defence, as injuries and availability might force the manager to start a couple of players he’d otherwise leave out.

However, one player who simply has to come into the side is Myles Lewis-Skelly, who was instrumental in one of the goals in the last round.

Moving into the middle of the park, it should almost go without saying that Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice should be rested for this game.

The two internationals are vital to the club, and with Mikel Merino and Christian Norgaard ready to step in, what would be the point in risking them ahead of a jam-packed Christmas schedule?

It’s a similar story on the wings, as Noni Madueke would be the perfect replacement for Bukayo Saka in this game, and Gabriel Martinelli could come in for Leandro Trossard.

Finally, perhaps the most interesting choice Arteta will have to make for this game is who leads the line.

On the one hand, Gabriel Jesus has generally looked impressive coming off the bench in recent weeks and could do with the game time.

On the other hand, Gyokeres finally got his goal against the Toffees, and therefore it might do him good to keep his place and build on that.

With that said, whatever the manager decides to do up top, there is another player who he should be taking out of the side, someone who underwhelmed on Saturday night.

The Arsenal star Arteta should drop

With most of the team already covered, it should come as no surprise that the player in question is Martin Odegaard.

Now, before the pitchforks and torches come out, the captain wasn’t terrible against Everton and is often scapegoated by fans, but he also wasn’t particularly good either.

In fact, the Norwegian international was probably the most underwhelming of Arsenal’s starters, including Gyokeres.

Odegaard vs Everton

Minutes

88′

Expected Assists

0.13

Assists

0

Big Chances Created

0

Crosses

1

Dribbled Past

1

Shots

0

Dribbles

0

Tackles

0

Duels (Won)

3 (0)

Fouls

1

All Stats via Sofascore

For example, in his 88 minutes of action, the former Real Madrid gem produced an expected assists figure of just 0.16, played one cross, failed to create a big chance, was dribbled past one, failed to take a shot and lost 100% of his duels.

Subscribe to the newsletter for smarter Arsenal match analysis Want deeper context? Subscribe to the newsletter for focused Arsenal coverage, tactical breakdowns, lineup alternatives and player-form analysis that clarify selection debates and team strategy so you stay informed and engaged. Subscribe Subscribe to the newsletter for smarter Arsenal match analysis Want deeper context? Subscribe to the newsletter for focused Arsenal coverage, tactical breakdowns, lineup alternatives and player-form analysis that clarify selection debates and team strategy so you stay informed and engaged.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

In all, it was just a frustrating display from the 26-year-old as fans know just how good he can be when he’s in the swing of things.

Therefore, his lacklustre showing and the need to protect him should see Arteta drop him for Tuesday night’s game.

Fortunately, the Spaniard has two excellent players who could come in to replace him.

Should he prefer more experience, he could opt for Eberechi Eze, who has already scored against his former club this season.

However, should he want to inject some more energy and unpredictability into the side, the manager could go for Ethan Nwaneri, who needs more minutes this year.

Ultimately, Arsenal are still on track for a stellar season, but Odegaard still needs to do a bit more in games.

Related 116 touches & 87 passes: Arteta's 8/10 Arsenal star was better than Saka

It was yet another stellar performance for the Arsenal star, who played even better than Bukayo Saka.

Posts ByJack Salveson Holmes

	“In a nutshell, it comes down to concentration. Are you switched on for every ball? © Getty Images

The pain of being labelled a “backstop” has helped drive Adam Gilchrist from being a gloveman who had to swap states to get regular first-class games to the world-record holder for dismissals. Gilchrist overtook Mark Boucher’s 413 on the second day against India and then spoke of his constant battle to prove himself to a small band of critics.”With my keeping I’ve always had to maintain the highest standards and if I didn’t people pounce on it very quickly,” he said. “I’m not sure if that’s because of my batting, people suggesting I’m just a batsman and a backstop. I’ve used that as incentive to help motivate me and feel like I’vemaintained a high standard.”Gilchrist’s work has slipped during the series and he has dropped four catches and missed two stumpings, including a regulation offering from VVS Laxman on the first day in Adelaide. He blamed himself for setting the poor tone in the field – Australia grassed seven chances as Indian reached 526 – but is not downbeat.”I’m probably the main culprit,” he said. “In Sydney I dropped about three or four and another one here [on day one]. That was disappointing. Sometimes they stick, sometimes they don’t, and it’s not something that’s a great concern.”His simple advice for improvement was to “close your hands around the ball” but he admitted his focus had left him down. “In a nutshell, it comes down to concentration,” he said. “Are you switched on for every ball? Very rarely, if ever, can I remember dropping a catch or missing a stumping, and when asking myself whether I was concentrating 100%, have I been able to sayyes. Normally I’ve had something on my mind and wandered off. You just get exposed.”Retirement is something Gilchrist, who is 36, is being asked about more often these days. He refused to open up on when he will step down or if he will reduce his duties. “It’ll be my decision,” he said. “At the end of the day you might try not to listen to comments and someone will text you and say: ‘don’t listen to them’. Then you listen and get angry. At the end of the day it’s got to come from within.”Gilchrist chose to leave his home state of New South Wales in 1994 to switch to Western Australia, unseating the popular Tim Zoehrer. When he replaced Ian Healy in 1999 there was similar angst from the home supporters, but he won most of them over as he redefined the role of the wicketkeeper-batsman.”I’m thrilled to be the world-record holder,” he said. “It’s a really nice, satisfying achievement. I might have got there a bit quicker if I’d gloved a couple a bit more cleanly.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Chaminda Vaas gave Sri Lanka their first breakthrough © AFP

Sri Lanka steadfastly resisted the temptation to do what India did, which is to play below par against, at least on paper, a much weaker opponent. Showing no signs of shakiness whatsoever they blanked out Bangladesh in their match at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. The match was, for all practical purposes, sewn up when Sri Lanka scored 318 after being put in to bat, but even the second half, interrupted by rain as it was, gave Bangladesh little hope as they caved in to a 198-run loss.Habibul Bashar’s decision to put Sri Lanka in was not the most straightforward one, and it’s now hard to see why he chose that way. Upul Tharanga and Sanath Jayasuriya seemed dead set on putting a big score on the board from very early on, when the ball was doing a bit in the air and off the pitch, especially for Syed Rasel.Tharanga punches well through the off side, and is equally comfortable opening the face of the bat and slicing the ball over the infield, and he was off the blocks early. Jayasuriya, of course, has every shot in the book, and on the day he was toying with the bowling. He focussed on picking off the ones and twos, and this encouraged the bowlers to attack. When they did, Jayasuriya countered beautifully, pulling fiercely, cutting hard, and thumping back down the ground for boundaries.Before Bangladesh were quite sure how to adjust tactics and control the flow of runs, Sri Lanka were off to a bright start, reaching 50 off 54 balls. There were a couple of close calls for run outs, but Bangladesh’s failure to hit the stumps direct cost them dear. It was not until the 15th over that they broke the opening stand, when Tharanga fell. Mohammad Rafique, coming into the attack first-change, dropped one a touch short and wide outside the off, and Tharanga could not keep the cut shot down. Aftab Ahmed juggled the catch but held onto it at point and Tharanga was gone for 26, with Sri Lanka on 98.Jayasuriya traipsed on merrily, interrupted first by the rain, and later by an injury, but never by the bowlers. When he turned quickly for a run, stopping awkwardly, Jayasuriya strained his left knee, and walked off the field on 83. That was a temporary blip in the radar for Sri Lanka, but Mahela Jayawardene ensured that the scoring rate did not dip. He began to take a few chances, and went after the spinners, clouting sixes straight back over the bowlers’ heads.But Jayawardene’s impetuosity would cost him. On 46 he walked down the pitch and chipped a catch to long-off, losing his wicket in a soft dismissal. Sangakkara relied less on touch than Jayawardene, striking some beefy blows across the line, but he too would not go on to make a big one, falling softly, lofting to long-on when on 56.In the meantime, Jayasuriya had recovered sufficiently to come back on the field, and he quickly raced to his half-century. A pick-up shot off the pads over square-leg for six got the blood flowing. Abdul Razzak was then launched over long-on to bring up the century, and was followed immediately by a six over long-off. But, off the next ball Jayasuriya played one big shot too many, attempting a reverse sweep and only managing to bob the ball up to fine-leg. Jayasuriya made 109.Chamara Silva capped the Sri Lankan innings with a typically audacious knock, hitting an unbeaten 52 off 48 balls. He went after the bowling with total freedom, and his knock ensured a score of over 300 for Sri Lanka.

Sanath Jayasuriya led the way for the other Sri Lankan batsmen to attack the Bangladesh bowling without mercy © AFP

When Bangladesh replied, it was bad news from the word go. Shahriar Nafees was the first to go, trapped in front of the stumps by Vaas for just 1. Tamim Iqbal, the young star of Bangladesh’s win against India, who turned 18 just yesterday, fished at one just outside the off when Malinga banged one in a touch short. Kumar Sangakkara snapped up the catch.Aftab, one of the players Bangladesh look towards to bat out long periods of time, could not do the job on the day. With only 20 on the board three wickets were down, and the road ahead looked bleak. Farveez Maharoof, coming into the attack first-change, prised out the fourth wicket, that of the doughty Mushfiqur Rahim. Maharoof dropped one short and Mushfiqur chopped hard and ball flew straight to Tillakaratne Dilshan at point. The smart offering was pouched and Bangladesh were 26 for 4 from 11.1 overs.Then, for a time, Bangladesh resisted, but Muttiah Muralitharan is the sort of bowler who you can’t resist for too long. Saqibul Hasan had batted all of 20 balls for 4 runs, but he failed to pick a doosra and had his leg stump pegged back. Soon after there was more trouble as a mix-up in the running left Habibul Bashar well short of his crease. From there to oblivion it was a short, if not swift, road. Bangladesh were all out for 112, and Sri Lanka had swept to victory.

Duncan Fletcher: ‘I was very impressed with what I saw of Cook in Pakistan and that is why we got him back this time’ © Getty Images

Duncan Fletcher has praised the inexperienced England team for their performance in the first Test at Nagpur. The side included three debutants – Alastair Cook, Ian Blackwell and Monty Panesar – while none of the players were over 30 and the team was led by Andrew Flintoff, captaining England for the first time.”What is so pleasing is that these guys look as though they have really got a desire not just to play for England but to do well for England.” Fletcher confirmed that Flintoff will continue to lead England for the remainder of the tour, but he still has concerns over the workload for the allrounder.Flintoff bowled 46 overs at Nagpur and there are just three days between the Tests. However, Fletcher has talked to Marcus Trescothick in recent days and says there is ‘a very good chance’ that he won’t return for either the remaining Tests or the one-day series, while Michael Vaughan is unlikely to return for the one-day matches.”At the moment it is a lot to do,” said Fletcher. “Just as an all-rounder he had a lot to do. Adding the captaincy could be – you never know with the individual – what he needs to step his game up to another level. We will only find that out later on.”Fred, at this stage, will captain for the rest of the tour. He captained well. Considering the circumstances it wasn’t an easy game, being thrown in he had to grab hold of the reins straight away, which he did. You can see immediately he is a guy who wants to lead from the front.”England’s reshaped side performed above all expected with two of the debutants – Cook and Panesar – having outstanding games, while Paul Collingwood, who probably wouldn’t have played if Vaughan and Trescothick had been available, struck his maiden Test century.”I was very impressed with what I saw of Cook in Pakistan and that is why we got him back this time,” said Fletcher. “As for Monty, I was surprised with the control he had right from the word go, he didn’t seem to show any nerves. He has a good classical action and that is what we have been trying to get out of our bowlers instead of these mechanical actions which leave you fighting to get consistency.”Collingwood’s performance did not surprise Fletcher, who has always been a fan of England’s established stand-by batsman. Now he is demanding a position in his own right.”He is one guy who has shown some character. He has been given very few chances and yet he has grabbed them on nearly every occasion. He played two great innings in Pakistan and to come out and get that knock shows why I have wanted him around the side for some time. He has got that buzz about him which is very important. He has done a hell of a job and we have to take note of that.”The one negative of England’s performance was two dropped catches by Geraint Jones, the first of which would have broken the 128-run stand between Mohammad Kaif and Anil Kumble in the first innings, while the second came against Rahul Dravid on the final morning.But Fletcher, a big fan of Jones, has again fully supported him. “As I have said on numerous occasions, I have seen other guys put down chances. From our point of view he kept magnificently in Pakistan, he came here and missed two difficult chances. If he was putting down nine-to-five jobs then you probably would be worried but they were two difficult chances.”In a pleasing change of events for Fletcher, the England squad is all fit in the build-up to the second Test, which starts at Mohali on Thursday. Kevin Pietersen has been cleared of any serious problem after an x-ray on his elbow, which caused concern after a dive in the field on Sunday.

Inzamam-ul-Haq: a close shave© Getty Images

The Pakistan cricket team received a minor shock when they reached Ranchi as an unidentified person hurled a stone at their team bus. According to Saleem Altaf, the team manager, the stone narrowly missed Inzamam-ul-Haq, who was sitting near the window, as the bus came out of the airport complex in Ranchi.”The stone thrown by a miscreant shattered the window and the mood of the team,” Altaf was reported as saying in . “We were scheduled to have a nets session on Thursday in preparation for the third one-day international in Jamshedpur on Saturday. But after this incident Inzamam suggested we cancel the nets and allow the boys to take complete rest for the day.”The players were forced to alight at Ranchi as there was no airport at Jamshedpur, the venue for the third game of the series. The Pakistan players were already unhappy with the travel arrangements made for the one-day series with matches scheduled all over the country. However, the Indian board had defended their itenerary saying that smaller venues had to host the one-dayers according to the rotation policy.

A show-cause notice has been issued to Abhijit Kale, the cricketer accused of attempting to bribe two national selectors for a place in the Indian team.According to the , the three-member BCCI Disciplinary Committee went through the report submitted by DV Subba Rao, the inquiry commissioner, and “found a prima facie case against Kale and framed charges against him”, BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya told reporters. He said that the committee decided to “issue a show-cause notice to the cricketer”.To a query, a member of the BCCI’s legal team said Kale would be given 15 days’ time to submit his reply. Commenting on the court case filed by Kale, he said it was a different issue as the case had been filed challenging his suspension, whereas the Disciplinary Committee was considering the overall charge against him.Kale was accused by Kiran More and Pranab Roy of offering them a bribe of Rs 10 lakh [approximately $22,000] each, and then suspended from the game by the BCCI. The board then appointed Rao, chairman of the Bar Council of India, as inquiry commissioner to look into the matter.The three-member Disciplinary Committee was constituted after Rao submitted his report on December 5 following a day-long hearing at Visakhapatnam on November 29, during which he heard Kale, More, Roy and Sanjay Jagdale, a national selector from Central Zone.

Opener Sohail Idrees struck a fine 154 Tuesday as Lahore Blues put ona big second innings total against Islamabad on the third day of theirQuaid-e-Azam Trophy match at the KRL Stadium.Lahore finished the day on 382 for eight and are likely to bat on forsometime Wednesday morning in order to give Islamabad a difficulttarget to chase on the last day. The home side has a first inningslead of 64.The Islamabad bowlers toiled on a pitch helping the batsmen andLahore’s Sohail made full use of the conditions to crack 15 fours anda six in his 239-ball innings. Along with his skipper Bazid Khan whoscored 88, he was involved in a 189-run partnership for the thirdwicket.Sohail’s marathon knock was finally ended by pacer Rauf Akbar, whofinished the day with five for 63. He also put the brakes on Bazidwhose 88 from 150 deliveries had nine fours. Ali Naqvi had three for98.Meanwhile controversy gripped the match when play ended as the Lahoremanager Hafeez-ur-Rehman complained to the referee Rizwan Khateeb thatone of the groundsmen had dug up a bit of the pitch as covers werebeing brought on. But in actual fact it was Lahore’s Humayun Farhatwho while batting did the damage in the danger area which led to hebeing ordered by umpire Sadiq Mohammad to have his spikes changed.The move of the Lahore manager of wrongly blaming the groundsman tocover up a wrong of one of his players upset the Islamabad officials.They felt that the damage done was intentional and calls for a highlevel probe. They even threatened not to bat Wednesday.

Cricket in Hong Kong enjoyed perhaps its greatest moment to date,qualifying for both next year’s Asia Cup and Friday’s final of the ACCTrophy with a convincing 179 run win over Nepal in Sharjah on Tuesday.Hong Kong recovered from a disastrous early start to score 268-3 fromits 50 overs, before removing Nepal for 89 in just 25 overs in thesemi-final at the Sharjah Stadium.”I am very pleased,” Hong Kong coach, Adam Hollioake said. “That’swhat we came here to do – firstly qualify for the Asia Cup and makethe final of the ACC Trophy. We did the simple things well.”Captain, Stewart Brew, was equally happy.”It is the best Hong Kong team we have put out and I am really proudof the way the boys have played.”Hong Kong was in early trouble, at 11-2 in the sixth over after thedismissals of openers, Saleem Malik (3) and Charaparambil Manoj (4).However, Hollioake said he was unconcerned.”It was very early in the game and we tried to attack in first 15overs and this time it didn’t come off.”After taking 30.3 overs to pass 100, the Hong Kong batsmen, led byRahul Sharma, who remained unbeaten on 145 not out, thrashed 168 inthe last 20 overs to set Nepal a daunting target.Tight bowling, backed up by what was at that stage, sound groundfielding, put pressure on the Hong Kong openers, who were looking toattack in the first 15 overs.Malik, who had uncharacteristically scored three from 12 balls, wasstranded after hesitating when looking for a single and was run out byKiran Agrawal after trying to return to his crease.The situation worsened when Manoj advanced down the wicket to MehboobAlam and got an inside edge on to his leg stump.Nepal to that point, were bowling a good line, and fielding tightly.Hong Kong’s most experienced two batsmen, captain, Stewart Brew, andSharma, were now at the crease and they proceeded to patiently repairthe innings with singles and the occasional boundary.From about the 10th over, Nepal’s intensity seemed to drop with theoccasional misfield and wide creeping into their play.Without taking risks, Brew and Sharma accelerated the run-rate,doubling the score from 15-2 in the eighth over to 32-2 in theeleventh.Brew played the dominant role as the partnership developed, pickingoff singles with shots to fielders and waiting for the loose ball tohit.Sharma played more of a support role to Brew initially, scoring 19 toBrew’s 29 when the 50 partnership came up.Opening bowler, Raju Khadka, had bowled good line in his first spellconceding 15 from six overs, while the quickish Alam took 6-1-18-1,including Manoj’s wicket.The tempo of the innings began to increase with the introduction ofleft arm spinner, Pawan Luniya, into the attack. Luniya bowled a goodline and length but had little on his deliveries to test the Hong Kongbatsmen, and gradually the run-rate increased.Also, Nepal’s ground fielding, which earlier had been near faultless,began to feature the odd misfield.Brew went on to score his 50, including two sixes and fours fours from85 balls.On 63, the Queensland-born veteran played a shot totally in contrastto the rest of his innings when he advanced to smash Sharraf out ofthe ground, and was stumped by Ganesh Thaku, with the score at 135-3.The entire nature of the Hong Kong innings was changed when Alamdropped a sitter at the long off boundary. Rather than Hong Konghaving two new batsmen starting their innings’, the chance was thesignal for Sharma to launch an assault on the innocuous Nepaleseattack.Sharma had been joined by Mark Davies, and together the pair reached50 from 41 balls. Sharma, a former Ranji Trophy player, reached hiscentury soon after, from 124 balls, with three sixes and five fours.He had not scored a six before the chance from Alam, but would scoresix sixes in the last 10 overs in addition to 11 boundaries. Hong Kongbelted 114 runs in that time. Sharma scored 88 runs after the droppedcatch.Khadka, who had earlier been economical, had 40 runs from his lastfour overs, while Das, who was perhaps Nepal’s best bowler, had 38taken from his last two, including 25 from his last.Alex Davies (36 n.o) batted well to support Sharma during their 133run partnership.According to Nepal captain, Pewan Agrawal, the top order batsmendidn’t play to the team plan. “At the lunch break we said that weshould play positively but bat out the 50 overs. The players threwtheir wickets away,” Agrawal said. “I think they got carried away bythe occasion.”Paresh Lohani (0) edged a ball from Brew, bowling medium-pace, andapart from an over from paceman, Mohammad Zubair, who again hadtrouble controlling his inswingers, Nepal lost regular wickets.Zubair’s first over, the second of the innings, stretched to 16deliveries, due to eight wides and two no-balls.It was the biggest ‘partnership’ of the Nepalese innings, as itsbatsmen chased quick runs and threw away their wickets.Extras (26) was Nepal’s highest scorer, with middle-order batsman andall-rounder, Raju Khadka (18) hitting two fours in his 15 ballinnings.

Celtic are now reportedly making enquiries in pursuit of a new manager just one day one from Peter Lawwell’s decision to leave the club and yet another defeat for Wilfried Nancy.

Lawall admits "abuse and threats" became "intolerable" at Celtic

It has been a disastrous season for Celtic. The Bhoys looked to have steadied the ship when they hired veteran manager Martin O’Neill on an interim basis and it looked as though their title defence was far from over. The decision was then made to hire Nancy ahead of a crucial period, however, and those in Glasgow have been made to regret their choice ever since.

Following defeat against Dundee United, Nancy became the first Celtic manager since 1978 to lose four games in a row at the club. In short, it has been a nightmare start for the new manager and fans are already beginning to turn.

Nancy’s start to life at Celtic Park hardly helped club chairman Lawwell, who announced that he will be stepping down from his role in Scotland at the end of the December amid “intolerable” abuse.

The 66-year-old told the club website: “I believe I have shown my ability to meet and overcome challenges on many fronts, but abuse and threats from some sources have increased and are now intolerable. They have dismayed and alarmed my family.

Related Celtic still plotting move for Serie A target who Lawwell tried to sign in summer

It’s been a tough start for Nancy.

Posts ByTom Cunningham

“At this stage in my life, I don’t need this. I cannot accept this and so I leave the club I have loved all my life. The motivations and aims of these detractors can be investigated by others. I prefer to look back on my career at Celtic with deep gratitude and satisfaction.”

It seems as though there’s every chance that Nancy follows the chairman out the door, too. According to TeamTalk, Celtic are now making enquiries in pursuit of a new manager.

Celtic making enquiries as pressure grows on Nancy

Every game should be seen as a must-win as far as Nancy is concerned in the coming weeks. Up next, the Hoops play host to Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership and defeat may make the new manager’s position untenable after just five games in charge.

Parkhead chiefs are already concerned and surprised by Nancy’s disastrous start, so much so that they’ve quietly commenced their search for a contingency plan and are already ‘sounding out’ options after yet another disastrous day on Wednesday.

The Frenchman, however, has remained optimistic and told reporters after defeat against Dundee United: “It’s new for me to have four losses in a row. This is also new for the players.

Subscribe to the newsletter: Celtic managerial insight Get the newsletter for in-depth coverage of Celtic’s managerial turmoil and clear, expert analysis on what it means for the club and the wider football landscape. Subscribe to receive focused context and perspective on these developments. Subscribe Subscribe to the newsletter: Celtic managerial insight Get the newsletter for in-depth coverage of Celtic’s managerial turmoil and clear, expert analysis on what it means for the club and the wider football landscape. Subscribe to receive focused context and perspective on these developments.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

“I can understand they are upset. But the only thing that I can tell them is that I think we had a good performance. We are missing the goals that could have been good for us and we are still working on that to win the next game.

“We don’t have a lot of time to work but when we work, we do it well. And again, that was a good performance. But the result was not there.”

He was as bad as Kenny: Nancy must drop Celtic flop who lost 100% duels