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Almost a week and a half on from Brendan Rodgers’ shock resignation from Celtic, the Scottish champions appear no closer to naming a permanent successor, with this manager saga likely to run and run if recent history is anything to go by.

While the abrupt nature of the Northern Irishman’s exit has no doubt put the club hierarchy on the back foot, there is little evidence to suggest that those at the helm will secure a replacement swiftly.

You only have to look back to the chaos surrounding the Eddie Howe and Ange Postecoglou developments back in 2021.

The fear is that despite a positive week or so on the pitch, the Hoops may well take the easy route until the end of the season, with recent reports suggesting that 73-year-old interim boss Martin O’Neill is in line to see out the campaign.

The enigmatic and much-loved coach has already done a creditable job with two wins from two, although the head should surely rule over the heart. A younger, more long-term appointment needs to be made.

Finding such a figure may well prove tricky mid-season, although a range of targets are already being considered…

Latest on Celtic's manager search

As already stated, the somewhat worrying whispers are that O’Neill could be given the reins until the summer, despite the fact that the treble winner had been parachuted in after a six-year absence from the game at managerial level.

Turning to the veteran coach may well be the only option if Dermot Desmond and co are unable to acquire their top targets, however, with it yet to be seen if the likes of Kieran McKenna can be prised from Ipswich Town.

With a potential return for that man Postecoglou also deemed to be ‘very unlikely’, a clear favourite for the vacancy has yet to emerge, with the Scottish Sun suggesting that the Parkhead outfit have now put together an eight-man shortlist of possible candidates.

Manager Focus

Who are the greatest coaches in the land? Football FanCast’s Manager Focus series aims to reveal all.

As per that report, among the names who is being considered is 37-year-old Efrain Juarez, with the Mexican coach touted as something of a shock appointment having come out of the blue as a new managerial target.

Currently at the helm of Liga MX side Pumas UNAM, the promising coach previously had a brief spell as a player at Celtic between 2010 and 2012, albeit while making just 21 appearances in total during that forgettable stint.

Also previously an assistant coach to ex-Hoops boss Ronny Deila at New York City FC, Standard Liege and Club Brugge, Juarez does have something of a Celtic connection, with his name thrown into the ring as the Premiership side prepare interviews with prospective targets.

A wildcard move it would certainly be, although similar gambles have paid off in the past for the Glasgow giants…

Why Celtic could appoint their next Postecoglou

As already stated, Celtic are no strangers to chaos when it comes to seeking out a new manager, with the summer of 2021 – in the wake of Neil Lennon’s second Parkhead exit – seeing a protracted pursuit of Howe prove fruitless.

With time running out ahead of the new campaign, a surprise pick was selected in the form of Postecoglou, with the Greek-Aussie later quipping that he was seen as a “joke” by many when he arrived in Scottish football.

Following initial struggles – including a run of three away league defeats in a row – the attack-minded coach quickly quashed the doubters after overseeing two seasons of stunning success, romping to five domestic trophies with a brand of football that has hardly been seen before or since.

Fluid, relentless, breathtaking – Celtic under Postecoglou’s watch were a joy to behold, regularly putting the likes of Rangers to the sword with an almost unstoppable level of performance.

That remarkable stint in charge emphatically extinguished any concerns over his lack of Celtic connection or prior experience in European football, with such a left-field appointment no doubt paying dividends for those at Parkhead.

While Juarez does have brief experience of the club, like Postecoglou he is yet to manage a European side in his embryonic coaching career thus far, having taken over at Pumas in March following a successful stint at Colombian club Atlético Nacional before that.

Like Postecoglou, Juarez has had to fend off the doubters and has done so to notable effect. Indeed, question marks over his lack of experience as a manager were quickly put to bed in Colombia, as he claimed the league and cup double last year.

From 27 games in charge of his former side, he won 15 games and enjoyed a points per game ratio of 1.93. For context, while it is a small sample size, that record exceeds what Postecoglou has achieved in any of his career stints, barring his time at Celtic, where he achieved a 2.31 points per game ratio from his 113 games in charge, as per Transfermarkt.

A passionate coach with a style of play noted for its “quick transitions” – as per journalist Esteban Cristancho Medina – the 4-2-3-1 manager certainly has shades of Postecoglou about him, ensuring he could be a risk worth taking.

While, unlike ‘Ange’, Juarez does not boast a wealth of experience as a manager to date, he has already proven his credentials amid his exploits in Colombia, cultivating a winning formula that could be translated into success in Scotland.

No stranger to being something of an underdog when appointed at his former employers, he would no doubt relish the chance to silence any critics at Celtic – just as Postecoglou did so before him.

Celtic can make Tierney completely unplayable by hiring 4-2-3-1 manager

Celtic could make Kieran Tierney unplayable by hiring this reported managerial target.

By
Dan Emery

Nov 6, 2025

The Philadelphia Phillies landed arguably the biggest bullpen prize available at the 2025 MLB trade deadline.

On Wednesday afternoon, Philadelphia is finalizing a trade to land Minnesota Twins closer Jhoan Duran in what will prove to be a major upgrade to the team's bullpen. ESPN's Jeff Passan had the report.

The 27-year-old righty, who’s ranked No. 4 on Sports Illustrated’s list of trade candidates, is 6–4 with a 2.01 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 53 strikeouts in 49 1/3 innings this season. He has 16 saves in 18 chances, and will be under team control through the 2027 season.

Phillies relievers currently rank 23rd in baseball with an ERA of 4.33, and their closer-by-committee approach has produced mixed results at best. That shouldn't be a problem moving forward.

In exchange for Duran, the Twins will be acquiring two prospects, Eduardo Tait and Mick Abel. Tait is the No. 4 prospect in Philly's system according to MLB Pipeline, and is an 18-year-old catcher who is already in High-A ball and has promising power. Abel, a 23-year-old right-handed starter, was the No. 15 pick in the 2020 MLB draft. He made his big league debut this season and in six starts is 2-2 with a 5.04 ERA, and a 1.36 WHIP.

They hadn’t conquered Asia since 2014, and following their series win in Bangladesh, South Africa are setting sights on higher honours

Firdose Moonda31-Oct-2024It still matters. Winning away from home matters. Winning in the subcontinent matters. Doing both those things as a country that is now seen as one of the Test nations matters most of all, as South Africa have just experienced.Don’t buy into the talk that it’s only Bangladesh, a place where South Africa have never lost a Test and look at the bigger picture. For the last ten years, the subcontinent has been all but insurmountable. Between September 2014 and September 2024, Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies collectively played 35 series in the subcontinent and won just six. Of those, England were responsible for three series (Sri Lanka 2018 and 2021 and Pakistan in 2022) while South Africa lost all four series they played.To be able to finally change that is something South Africa’s stand-in captain Aiden Markram described in an understated way as “very special,” while also recognising the significance it has in serving as a marker of progress.”For us as a group of players, we’ve never won a game or a series in the subcontinent so that makes it very special. It’s been a tough journey at times and to slowly be progressing is a really good thing for us,” he said.Related

• South Africa's batting close to finding the 'sweet spot' again

• Shanto laments top-order failures after Bangladesh slump to innings defeat

• BCB chief: Shakib unlikely to play ODIs against Afghanistan

• Jansen, Coetzee set to make T20I return against India

• Spinners, Rabada's complete performances hand South Africa their biggest innings win

The last time South Africa conquered Asia was in 2014, at the latter end of a dream run that saw them go nine years unbeaten on the road. At the time, Markram was fresh off captaining the under-19 side to the age-group title in the UAE and the future looked bright. They didn’t know it then, but things were already changing.Big-name retirements started with Jacques Kallis in 2013 and every year since then someone else who was considered essential to success stepped away. As recently as last December, former captain and stalwart opener Dean Elgar called it a day which means South Africa have been in transition for almost ten years. The subcontinent became an impossible place to win as South Africa experienced in India in 2015 and 2019, in Sri Lanka in 2018 and in Pakistan in 2021. Of course, it’s not as though SENA countries hadn’t been making use of their own home advantage for decades so they had nothing to complain about, but it didn’t make the losses hurt any less.South Africa’s batting has paid the highest price for that. Since May 2018, they do have a single Test batter with an average over 40 which includes all of the current squad. Tony de Zorzi, thanks to his 177, and David Bedingham, with a hundred and three fifties, are close but both have only played eight Tests.What that means is that South Africa didn’t often have hundreds, which is something they had to play down and Markram is still singing from that hymn book.”As for numbers, it’s all quite relative. You look at different surfaces that you play on, wickets around the world are so different from each other and have so many different types of challenges that you face as a batter so it can be tough to pump that average up but we don’t speak about numbers,” Markram said. “We just speak about making an impact on the game and there can be a time where scoring 60 or 70 is match-winning and then there will be times where big hundreds runs are match-winning.”In this series, the latter was the case. From Kyle Verreynne in Mirpur to de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs and Wiaan Mulder in Chittagong, South Africa’s wins were built on big runs which gave their attack a lot to work with. And while there is some sense in what Markram said in that an individual stacking up hundreds may not necessarily equate to a successful team, he also recognised the need for a collective progression in performance.”I’m certainly not too fazed about numbers and I don’t think the rest of the guys are either. It’s one of those things that will take care of itself if you put in good performances consistently. Naturally the numbers will lift. We’re all definitely striving towards that but trying to be more consistent and trying to have a good impact on the game.”With South Africa’s batters focused on the efficacy and not the amount of their runs, it was hardly surprising to hear the leader of their attack, Kagiso Rabada, also play down his own importance. Asked about being back at No.1 on the ICC rankings or taking 300 wickets in his post-match interview, Rabada glossed over that the game “moves on”.Aiden Markram believes South Africa have the players required to reach the WTC final•AFP/Getty Images”You have to keep working hard. don’t look at where I am on the rankings,” he said, acknowledging it is a “good motivator to keep going.” His highest praise was for his team-mates, who he said are all “willing to put their hands up,” to drive success.And they can see the rewards in front of them. Despite playing fewer Tests than almost anyone else in this cycle, they’re in with a chance of making the final. They see the potential to make that happen as brimming with possibility. “We don’t really know what the ceiling is because we haven’t managed to lift the trophy,” Markram said.That’s also one way of South Africa looking at their empty accolades cupboard and wondering whether it will ever fill up. They’ve taken the approach that the things they are capable of are still coming and this year has shown them that.They reached the final of the T20 World Cup in June and now their chance to reach the WTC final lies in their hands. It’s proof that something is working, that the talent pool is starting to play to their potential and that maybe, the impossible could become possible.”We believe that we have the players in the country to be able to do so but by no means will it be easy,” Markram said. “The journey itself has been incredibly difficult but worth the fight, worth the hours, worth the sacrifice. That’s pretty much how we see it.”

South Africa will look to continue building their white-ball brand of cricket under all-format coach Shukri Conrad

Firdose Moonda01-Sep-2025

Big picture

Have you caught your breath? Had a cuppa? Realised that barely 40 hours have passed since Joe Root was playing in the Hundred final and he will be at it again, this time for England in a 50-over contest against South Africa? It’s still (sort of) summer, England, and even though the rains have started to roll in, this is your swansong.South Africa are back, with far less at stake than was the case three months ago, when they competed in the World Test Championship final. Then, everything was on the line, including their reputation as bottlers. Now, with a mace in the cabinet and a captain who is celebrated as a national hero, there is relief and expectation that the next trophy they lift will be the 2027 ODI World Cup, at home.Of course, the small matter of next year’s T20 World Cup remains and, of course, South Africa will be among the contenders but the longer white-ball format is in focus now, especially after they completed a fifth straight successive series win over Australia. South Africa have travelled 16,500 kilometres from Brisbane to Leeds to continue their process of building their white-ball brand of play under all-format coach Shukri Conrad.Related

• Brook challenges Crawley, Cox to push for England white-ball call-ups

• Sonny Baker set for England ODI debut against South Africa

• Jamie Overton out of Ashes amid 'indefinite break' from red-ball cricket

• Miller 'within the mix' in South Africa's ODI plans

Much like his counterpart, Brendon McCullum, Conrad believes in giving his players freedom to play fearlessly and encourages them to be bold in their decision-making. Two sides with that kind of mindset is a recipe for entertainment, so expect the next two weeks could be explosive, especially given the history.The last time these sides met in a bilateral series, South Africa had to pause the inaugural edition of the SA20 and win the contest to secure their spots at the 2023 ODI World Cup. It’s not exactly the same situation for England, but you would argue there are similarities. Next season’s Hundred will be the first played with private investment, and there are whispers of a format change to bring it in line with other T20 leagues, while England currently sit eighth in the ICC’s ODI rankings. The top eight teams (excluding co-hosts South Africa, who are sixth, and Zimbabwe, who are 11th) qualify automatically for the 2027 tournament and England will want to be careful they don’t get too close to the bone as the event draws nearer.Much more immediate is the SA20 auction, which takes place next week. While no one from the England ODI squad is on the list, many South Africans, including opening batter Aiden Markram, left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj and seamers Lungi Ngidi, Nandre Burger and Kwena Maphaka, will be hoping to put in performances that can sway franchise owners into giving them a big payday.Harry Brook and Brendon McCullum will oversee the white-ball series against South Africa•PA Photos/Getty Images

Form guide

England WWWLL (last five ODIs, most recent first)
South Africa LWWLW

In the spotlight

All eyes will be on Jacob Bethell, who will become England’s youngest captain on their T20I tour of Ireland later this month but has had a quiet summer so far. Bethell had a tough time at the Hundred. In eight matches, he only got into double figures three times. But he offers an all-round package: dynamic in the field and effective with the ball. His left-arm spin picked up several key wickets, including Andre Russell’s at a crucial stage in the first T20I against West Indies in June. With leadership around the corner for him, he will want to use this series to show he is ready to take on the challenge of seniority so early in his career.Jacob Bethell will want to use this series to show he is ready for bigger challenges•Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Late last week, South Africa’s batting coach Ashwell Prince called Tony de Zorzi “on the fringes” of the first XI and said de Zorzi would be “a little bit disappointed with himself” for his recent performances. Scores of 38 and 33 in Australia would ordinarily not have been enough to keep de Zorzi in the team but Matthew Breetzke is managing a hamstring concern, which gives him another opportunity. De Zorzi has got starts and usually looks organised in the middle but will want to watch out for how he handles the short ball in particular, as he tries to make a case for a longer run.

Team news

England confirmed a debut for 22-year-old quick Sonny Baker, who will play just his 12th List A match. Baker will partner Jofra Archer, who has been injury-free this summer and played in six out of eight matches in the Hundred. The two seamers are the only changes from the last time England played an ODI, against West Indies in June, and replace Saqib Mahmood and Matthew Potts. The batting line-up is unchanged.England: 1 Jamie Smith, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Joe Root, 4 Harry Brook (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Jacob Bethell, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Brydon Carse, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Sonny Baker.Codi Yusuf has been added to the South Africa squad•PA Photos/Getty Images

Kagiso Rabada has not completely recovered from the ankle inflammation that kept him out of the Australia ODIs and will not be risked at the start of this tour. Codi Yusuf, currently playing for Durham, has been called up but not named for the first match. That leaves it to Ngidi to lead a four-man pace pack that includes Burger, Corbin Bosch and Wiaan Mulder. Captain Temba Bavuma, who is managing his workload after sustaining a hamstring injury at the World Test Championship final in June, will start the series, though he may not play all three games.South Africa: 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Ryan Rickleton (wk), 3 Temba Bavuma (capt), 4 Tony de Zorzi, 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Dewald Brevis, 7 Wiaan Mulder, 8 Corbin Bosch, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Nandre Burger, 11 Lungi Ngidi.

Pitch and conditions

Headingley is known as one of the best batting pitches for white-ball cricket in the UK, with an average first-innings score of 274 since 2005 and only one score of under 200 (in a rain-affected match) in that time. Both line-ups boast batters capable of keeping those numbers high. This will be the first ODI played in England under the new regulations, in which the fielding team must choose one ball to use after 34 overs and it will be interesting to see how that affects run-scoring. It’s also worth keeping an eye on the weather, with rain expected from 3pm and again at 9pm.

Stats and trivia

• Bavuma is 69 runs away from 2000 in ODI cricket. He will be the 22nd South African batter to reach the landmark.
• The sample size is small but, eight games into his captaincy, Harry Brook currently has the best ODI average by an England captain who led in at least five games: 73.83.
• Two of the last three bilateral series between these two sides have been drawn, and the third was won by South Africa. The last time England won a bilateral series against South Africa was in 2017.

Quotes

“We’re trying to create an environment where we are working towards something, like Morgs [Eoin Morgan] did when he took over years ago. South Africa will be a new challenge to play against, slightly different to West Indies, and we have got to try and assess situations and execute our skills as well as we can.”
“This series will give us another opportunity to improve on the facets within our game. For the younger guys, it’s giving them more opportunities to see the extent of the role that they can fulfil within the team. Then, just make sure we keep winning as a team and making sure we are where we need to be.”

No bowler before Jasprit Bumrah has got to 200 wickets with an average of less than 20

Shubh Agarwal29-Dec-2024For a bowler whose Test career is laden with breathtaking dismissals, Jasprit Bumrah’s 200th wicket was relatively tame – Travis Head flicking straight to midwicket. Bumrah, however, got to the landmark with incredible numbers, reiterating his status as one of the greatest bowlers.Of the 85 bowlers to have taken 200-plus Test wickets, 12 got there in fewer games than Bumrah, who was playing his 44th Test at the MCG.