'Bolton poised to beat League One rivals to Dalby'

Bolton Wanderers are set to beat League One rivals Wigan Athletic and Blackpool to land Sam Dalby on a free transfer after the 25-year-old striker left Wrexham following his loan to Dundee United. (Football Insider), externalRead Sunday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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‘Brucey was crying' – What Pep Guardiola said to Steve Bruce about Lionel Messi left him in tears

PEP GUARDIOLA left Steve Bruce in tears of laughter during a conversation about bringing Lionel Messi to Manchester City. A reunion between the pair was on the cards in 2020 when Messi's contract with Barcelona started to wind down. 4 4 Messi was said to have been convinced by his old manager to move to the Etihad but performed a U-turn due to his belief Barca would offer him a new deal. That deal didn't end up coming to fruition and he ended up joining Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer in August 2021. The prospect of Messi moving to the Prem quickly became the talk of players and managers alike. And at Premier League meeting with all the managers present, former Burnley boss Sean Dyche quizzed Guardiola about his pursuit of the footie icon while getting a cup of tea with Bruce. During an appearance on talkSPORT, he recalled: "I said, 'What was that thing about Lionel Messi?' "He (Guardiola) goes, 'Sean, Steve, I tell you this. Lionel, he said no way can he come to Manchester City. "Because I tell Lionel it rains. 'It rains and rains. And when it stops raining, it rains again.' "Then he goes, 'Lionel, on a Monday night, you have to go to Burnley, Sean's team. JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS 4 "And they go bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.' Brucey was crying!" Dyche, 53, added: "I went, 'That's exactly what we're going to do, Pep You warned him correctly.' Lionel Messi gives rare insight into his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo "Me and Brucey were crying, honestly. It was genius. Pep, brilliant." The prospect of eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi rocking up at Turf Moor tickled Dyche, who said: "Imagine that. "His face turning up at Turf Moor going, 'What on earth? " "Absolutely smashing it down with rain, wind blowing across and knocking you over." Messi spent two seasons with PSG before upping sticks to the MLS to join David Beckham co-owned Inter Miami.

Daily Mail​

40 minutes ago

• Daily Mail​

Revealed: 'Why Ruud van Nistelrooy is STILL at Leicester' despite club deciding to sack him after hapless relegation campaign

Leicester City 's decision to keep Ruud van Nistelrooy in charge for now, despite their relegation from the Premier League, has finally been explained. The Dutchman oversaw a disastrous run of results having replaced Steve Cooper last November, meaning the Foxes will play in the Championship next season. Last month, Mailsport the former Manchester United striker will depart after less than a year in charge of the club. However, weeks after Leicester's final game of the season, van Nistelrooy's exit has still not officially been confirmed. According to The Sun, the 48-year-old is still in the job because the club is waiting to enter its next financial accounting period — a move that would reduce the cost of terminating his contract. Speaking last month, Van Nistelrooy was hopeful of resolving his future at the club as soon as possible. He said: '(I am) still hoping to find out. The quicker the better, in the best interest of the club. We're all hoping to find out soon. 'There's 70 people working at the training ground who want to evaluate the season (and start) looking forward to the next.' Van Nistelrooy's disastrous spell in charge saw Leicester suffer 17 defeats in 19 matches. The Foxes endured a nightmare run of form at home, going nine consecutive Premier League games without scoring a single goal — and losing every one of them. Their relegation from the top flight was officially confirmed on April 20, capping off a calamitous campaign under the former striker. With less than seven weeks remaining until the start of the new Championship season, Sean Dyche is said to be among candidates to replace Van Nistelrooy at the King Power. The 53-year-old has been out of working since being sacked as Everton manager in January following a poor run iof results.

The Guardian

an hour ago

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Counties to vote on radical shake-up to cut matches from domestic cricket

The 18 first-class counties will this week finalise plans to cut the County Championship and Twenty20 Blast to 12 matches in each competition next season in a significant restructure of the domestic game. The most recent attempt by the England and Wales Cricket Board to cut the fixture list was thwarted three years ago, when a review led by Sir Andrew Strauss for a 10-match Championship season was rejected by the counties, but after three months of talks there is now widespread agreement on reducing the volume of cricket despite complaints from county members. The counties are already understood to have agreed to cut the T20 Blast from 14 group stage fixtures to 12, allowing finals day to be brought forward to the end of July before the start of the Hundred, with this week's meetings to focus on a restructure of the County Championship. A consultation process led by the ECB's Professional Game Committee (PGC) gave the counties five different options for next season, with two to be put forward following meetings of the counties this week before a final decision next month. The Guardian has been told that both proposed options to be taken forward will involve cutting the Championship fixture list to 12 matches. The most radical proposal involves creating a 12-team Division One, split across two pools of six, with a six-team Division Two underneath. Each team in the two Division One pools would play 10 games against each other home and away, plus two additional fixtures against sides from the other pool. The winners of both pools after 12 matches would then play off in September for the County Championship title, with the bottom county in each pool being relegated. The six Division Two teams would also play 12 matches, with some playing each other three times in a lopsided fixture list, and the winners of the league being promoted automatically. The second and third-placed teams would also play off at the end of the season for the right to be promoted. The alternative option to be put forward would maintain the existing 10-team Division One and eight-team Division Two format, but with a cut to 12 games. There would be no playoff title decider, but the second and third-placed teams in Division Two would face each other for the second promotion places. Other options proposed by the PGC, including three conferences of six followed by playoffs, a mid-season split similar to that used by the Scottish Premier League and keeping the current 14-game two-division structure, are set to be rejected. Sources involved in the discussions told the Guardian that the 12/6 split is regarded as the favoured format to be adopted, with the final decision to be made next month. Sign up to The Spin Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week's action after newsletter promotion A two-thirds majority of counties is required if the matter is put to a vote, although if a consensus emerges that may not be necessary. Removing two rounds of Championship fixtures would also enable the One-Day Cup to be split, with five rounds taking place in April and another five in August during the Hundred, giving more players the opportunity to play 50-over cricket. The County Championship schedule was last cut from 16 to 14 matches before the 2017 season, but with the volume of global franchise cricket having increased significantly since, and the Hundred now taking up the whole of August, there is a growing acceptance that a further reduction is required. The players are strongly in favour of less cricket, with 83% of respondents to a Professional Cricketers' Association survey published in May citing physical concerns over their current workload, and 67% believing the schedule is detrimental to their mental health.