Findlay rejoins McInnes on loan to Hearts from Oxford

Stuart Findlay has joined Heart of Midlothian on a season-long loan from Oxford United, with head coach Derek McInnes expressing his delight at being able to work with the "domineering defender" once again.The 29-year-old centre-half was on loan to Kilmarnock for the last two seasons and now follows his manager at Rugby Park to Tynecastle.Oxford say Findlay will leave the Championship club next summer when his contract expires.McInnes told Hearts' website: "Stuart is obviously someone I know very well from the years we've previously spent working together.
"I know his attributes and every aspect of his game. He's a domineering defender, strong and athletic, and he is a real leader on and off the pitch."Findlay, who has one cap for Scotland, started his career as a youth Celtic before spells on loan to Greenock Morton, Dumbarton and Kilmarnock before a switch to Newcastle United in 2016.Having failed to break into the first-team, he return to Scotland on loan to Kilmarnock before a permanent switch in 2018.A move to Philadelphia Union followed in 2021 before joining Oxford in 2022.Despite being a near ever-present in his first season with the then League One outfit, he returned north for another spell in Ayrshire.

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Scotsman

24 minutes ago

• Scotsman

5-cap Scotland international and ex-Celtic target hailed for 'crucial' role in £116m Florian Wirtz transfer

The ex-Scotland international was targeted for a role at Celtic in 2021. Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A former Scotland international has been praised for his 'crucial' role in Florian Wirtz's record breaking move to Liverpool this summer - just three years after a move to Celtic collapsed at the final hurdle. The 22-year-old had his £116million transfer from Bayer Leverkusen rubber stamped yesterday, with Wirtz now becoming the English Premier League's record signing, surpassing the previous record transfer of £115million, which Chelsea paid Brighton for Moises Caicedo in 2023. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad According to European sports outlet Bild, the German international is in line to earn a weekly salary of at least £325,000 at Anfield, and joins ex-Celtic full-back - and former Leverkusen teammate - Jeremie Frimpong as the Merseyside giants second major transfer of the summer window. Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz will hope to win further trophies at Liverpool after departing Bayer Leverkusen this summer. | Getty Images During his official unveiling by the English champions, Wirtz explained why head coach Arne Slot had played a big role in convincing him to move to Liverpool, but also reserved high praise for ex-Scotland international Richard Hughes, who has been hugely successful in his role as the club's sporting director since his appointment almost exactly a year ago. 'The talks with the coach and Richard [Hughes] and everybody were, from the start or from the very first time, so good,' Wirtz told Liverpool's official media channel. 'It just kept going like this. Every time I spoke to one of the [people from] the club I felt like, 'this is the place I want to be' and so in the end I was really 100 per cent convinced I want to join Liverpool and it was the best choice.' Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano also heaped praise on Hughes, writing on his official X account: 'The Liverpool director has been crucial to make the deal happen. Three months of hard work behind the scenes to get Florian's green light in May and close the deal with Leverkusen on Tuesday last week.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Glasgow-born Hughes, who won five caps for Scotland in the mid-noughties, has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the game after landing the Liverpool the role last summer. Poached from a similar role at AFC Bournemouth, the 45-year-old has been lauded for his work in replacing popular former manager Jurgen Klopp with Dutch head coach Slot last summer. Richard Hughes battles for the ball as Scotland Under-21s take on Belgium Under-21s at Dunfermline FC's East End Park. | SNS Group 0141 221 3602 Beginning his career with Atalanta's youth team, Hughes enjoyed a moderately successful playing career, making over 200 senior appearances for the likes of Portsmouth, AFC Bournemouth and Grimsby Town. However, it has been his work as a sporting director that has garnered the most attention. First joining the Cherries recruitment team following his retirement in 2014, he was appointed the club's technical director just two years later. Hughes found himself lined up for a similar role at Celtic in 2021, with the Hoops former managerial target Eddie Howe said to have been desperate to bring him to Glasgow if he was appointed manager at Celtic Park.

BBC News

an hour ago

• BBC News

Why associate cricket is some of the best cricket

Three super overs in one match, five more final-over finishes, and a pitch Netherlands and Nepal's trip to Scotland has been action packed and record breaking. Six ODIs in Dundee and six T20s in Glasgow have delivered some of the most captivating cricket on offer anywhere in the is not the glitz and glamour of the IPL, nor does it have the history and prestige of Test cricket, but it is further evidence of the high-level cricket played by associate members of the International Cricket Council, despite the financial restraints they face. Nepal bring noise & drama A major factor in the series' compelling nature has been Nepal's their remarkable defeat by the Netherlands following three super overs, Scotland spinner Mark Watt asked on social media, "do Nepal ever have a normal game of cricket?"The 'Cardiac Kids' have certainly lived up to their nickname during their three-week stint in Scotland, with match after match going to the set out their stall with a dramatic one-wicket win over the hosts and have played with the same intensity and spirit throughout, winning five of their eight matches in foreign supporters have been present in both Dundee and Glasgow, with tens of thousands more watching along from home. That enthusiasm was no more evident than in a joyous pitch invasion after starting with that one-wicket win over Scotland. Nepal have made no secret of their ambition to receive full ICC membership and play Test cricket one seem to only play absorbing matches. They are superb in the field, have a varied bowling attack and do not seem to know when they are beaten."I guess it's the way we have played our cricket for the past 10 years or so," Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel told BBC Sport."Every game seems to go down to the wire,""So I think the name 'cardiac kids' comes because you never know how we can come back from a bad position to win a game. We are always fighting right until the end of a match even when the chance of winning might be small." What does the future hold? With the sport increasingly dominated by franchises, teams are often deprived of talents they have developed and at Test level, the likes of New Zealand and world Test champions South Africa do not have access to some of their best players due to more lucrative franchise series are now the domain of England, Australia and India. Opportunities are few and far between for teams outside the big three, though part of the ICC's strategy is to "give more nations a global platform".Cricket Scotland receives approximately £1.3m per year as part of the ICC's revenue share to fund all their programmes, men's and women's, approximately 10% of what a full member such as Ireland World Cup League 2 is far from the highest profile ODI cricket in the world, but to these sides it is everything - a potential route to the World Cup and a chance to prove themselves against the big hitters. Players give their all for their country, not always knowing when the next match will O'Dowd's magnificent 158 not out in Dundee helped the Dutch chase down Scotland's total of 369, the highest chase in associate history. The celebrations from O'Dowd and his teammates were joyous as they ended a four-match losing yet, they don't have another ODI scheduled in nations need more fixtures, but with that comes extra cost. Whether it comes from the ICC, governments, or commercial sponsorships, associate members argue they need more funding to build on the impressive foundations that already exist.

The Sun

an hour ago

• The Sun

Sir Alex Ferguson quickly bounces back from Man Utd axe as alternative venture secures him more than a year's earnings

SIR ALEX FERGUSON is still earning a pretty penny, despite being ruthlessly axed from his lucrative role at Manchester United. The legendary manager was the biggest casualty of Sir Jim Ratcliffe 's ruthless cost-cutting spree last season. 3 3 3 Fergie was axed from his multi-million-pound ambassadorial role with the club, with the sacking coming into effect at the end of the season. That decision from INEOS bigwig Ratcliffe saw the Scot wave goodbye to a whopping £2.1million a year salary. But the 83-year-old won't be strapped for cash thanks to a business venture he embarked upon over FOUR DECADES ago. Fergie's personal company, ACF Sports Promotions Limited, recorded profits of £2.7m last year, taking its total assets to £26.9m. That figure is up from £24.2m the previous year, although it's not known if the £2.1m Ferguson received from United was paid into the account. ACF is the company that handles all of Fergie's commercial activities, including speaking appearances. Fergie stepped down from his role as company director in 2014, handing over the reins to his son Mark. The healthy bank balance of ACF, which was set up 42 YEARS AGO, means Fergie won't have to worry about losing his ambassador's role with United. Fergie axe comes at the right time - and he knows it By Phil Thomas IT is over a decade since he left the dugout but Sir Alex Ferguson has lost none of his sense of timing. When to sell, when to buy, when to change and ultimately when to go, Fergie has always been in a class of his own. Over the years there were countless decisions which had everyone scratching their head — but Sir Alex always knew the time was right. Some were more obvious than others. Like the night Manchester United won the Treble on the back of his substitutions. Others less so, like the summer of 1995 when terrace legends Mark Hughes, Paul Ince and Andrei Kanchelskis were sold at the peak of their powers. The whole of football thought the manager had lost his marbles. But Fergie knew better, as he chose that year to unleash his 'you win nothing with kids' Double heroes. Just as he knew best when it came to right-hand men. Brian Kidd, Steve McClaren, Archie Knox and Co — an endless list of world-class coaches who all came and went. And, of course, the biggest decision of all. Calling time on 26 years in which he had gone from the brink of the bullet to English football's greatest-ever gaffer. The majority of people are convinced Ferguson stepped down because he knew United's era of dominance was over. Maybe not the nosedive to come but certainly that an almighty rebuild was just around the corner. Another mass overhaul, yet not one he was prepared to oversee. Now another end has arrived. Not as dramatic or as out-of-nowhere, admittedly, but an end nonetheless. Next summer Fergie will leave his 12-year role as global ambassador. Many see it as the most ruthless swing of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's cost-cutting axe — and they are wrong. For while he is trying to save every penny in making United great again — how's that going, Sir Jim? — Ferguson has not suddenly and callously been told he is surplus to requirements. This decision was a two-way call. An amicable parting. Football's own conscious uncoupling, in Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow lingo. And not, incidentally, a departure which means we will no longer see Fergie at Old Trafford on a matchday. That simply will not happen. He will still be there rain, wind or shine . . . Only now as a high-profile non-executive director, rather than a man with the ear — and the sway — behind the owners' biggest decisions. Like he was when urging United to re-sign Cristiano Ronaldo in 2021. Admittedly not his finest hour, rather an indication of the influence he still retained. Back then, until just before Ratcliffe and his Ineos team arrived, in fact, Ferguson had the owners' ear. Almost a hotline to the Glazer family, you could say. And those days are done. Not that Sir Alex is bereft at the thought. For a start, some of the staff sackings have enraged the Scot — long-serving photographer John Peters and kitman Alec Wylie, for example. This is not a cosy-cosy relationship with Ratcliffe being severed. If anything, it is closer to the opposite. And as Fergie the Red, in every sense The Boss — those who played under him still call him that — knows, trousering £2million or so a year in such tight times is not a good look. Fair enough, not an amount anyone would turn down in normal circumstances. Yet when many in the steerage class are losing their livelihoods, it is not something that would have sat well with him. There is also the practical side of things as well. At the end of December, Sir Alex will be 83 years old, albeit still a freakishly fit 83 years old. Yet even though the grey matter remains oh-so-sharp and the mind clear as a bell, the bones grow creakier and even Superman had to put his feet up on occasion. That does not mean you will not see shots of Fergie alongside Ratcliffe at various points — Sir Jim loves too much the associated glamour of being pictured with the greatest. But any idea of Sir Alex having an emperor's thumbs-down power has gone for good — and quite frankly that is something which suits both sides. Fergie was given the role after bringing his legendary 26-and-a-half-year reign at Old Trafford to an end in 2013. He was paid just shy of £26m for his post-managerial gig, which Ratcliffe and Co. deemed to be an unnecessary expense. Sir Alex Ferguson spotted with unlikely TV star pal at Cheltenham again as legendary Man Utd boss bags £65k winner In an interview with the BBC in March, Ratcliffe said of the cost-cutting, which has resulted in hundreds losing their jobs: "We have got a club which was in a level of financial difficulty. "Manchester United would have run out of cash by the end of this year -- by the end of 2025 -- after having me put $300m (£232.72m) in and if we buy no new players in the summer. "If we hadn't have implemented the cost programmes and restructuring that we have done over the last 12 months. "So we have to deal with all those things, and there's only so many things you can deal with at once. "We have a new management team, we have to deal with the financial restructure, then we have to move on to the squad, data analysis, and moving forward. "But we are in the process of change and it's an uncomfortable period and disruptive and I do feel sympathy with the fans. "But I am not actually surprised where we are in the league because Ruben's only got a certain size of squad he can deal with, and quite a number of those players are injured or not available to him."