We can confirm that it has been mutually agreed for head coach Igor Tudor to leave the club with immediate effect. We also acknowledge the bereavement that Igor has recently suffered and send our support to him and his family at this difficult time.
It is no surprise that Aberdeen have made major changes to their recruitment team again. Nuno de Almeida has left and Darren Mowbray has returned as head of recruitment. It was hardly the biggest surprise when the Dons announced the news on Tuesday night. Everybody knew the writing had been on the wall for de Almeida.
After missing out on the Championship play-offs last season under Johannes Hoff Thorup, the Carrow Road hierarchy initially looked to hometown head coach, Liam Manning, as the man who could replicate his top six berth with divisional rivals, Bristol City, in East Anglia. However, as proved to be the case with the aforementioned Hoff Thorup, Manning lasted just a matter of months into a four-year contract.
It is not easy to analyze a team that has just changed its coach. The system changes, but the players do not. We looked at the players and their individual performances in the last two days. Each player has a certain template, they can't change it. We focused on this kind of analysis.
BBC Sport and others are reporting that Michael O'Neill is set to take over at Ewood Park but will also continue in his Northern Ireland role for the World Cup playoffs, and this summer's finals if they qualify. Blackburn's current interim manager is the former Northern Ireland international Damien Johnson, and he will reportedly stay on as part of O'Neill's coaching staff. Rovers sacked Valerien Ismael on 2 February, with the club mired in the Championship relegation zone.
Manchester United haven't had much luck against West Ham of late. This fixture last season was the straw that did for Erik ten Hag's camel and West Ham nearly saw off Ten Hag's successor in short order when completing the league double over Manchester United towards the tail end of the campaign but Amorim held on. For a bit. He'd last barely a month after this and so now West Ham are in a position where they're facing a third Manchester United manager in 14 months.
Following words with decisive action is often a lot harder, however, in such a short and pressurised period of time, as witnessed by the fact that four clubs either sacked or lost their managers, which does not exactly speak of good planning. Finding realistic needle-moving signings is especially hard when clubs do not want to sell at this stage of a campaign, while you are eternally at the mercy of those with bigger teeth and sharper claws further up the food chain.
With all the January transfer window talk, it is sometimes easy to forget that football matches are indeed actually won and lost on that green thing. The chaotic and unpredictable EFL continues to deliver for better or worse depending on your allegiances. With West Bromwich Albion on a downward spiral, Liam Manning back in work at Huddersfield and the small matter of the first south coast derby in a league fixture at Fratton Park for more than 14 years,
Robbie Neilson will hold further talks with Kilmarnock on Monday regarding the vacant managerial position at Rugby Park. (Ewan Paton on X), external Westerlo head coach Issame Charai, formerly the assistant at Rangers, says the Ibrox club have not bid for 22-year-old left-back Tuur Rommens as yet. (Sun), external Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou has spoken to midfielder Elliot Watt, 25, about reported interest from Rangers.
1953 - The Milwaukee Braves acquire second baseman Danny O'Connell from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for third baseman Sid Gordon, outfielder Sam Jethroe, pitcher Max Surkont and four minor league pitchers. PIttsburgh also receives $100,000. 1926 - National League MVP Bob O'Farrell is named to replace Rogers Hornsby as Cardinals manager. Reports suggest that the job was first offered to Bill Killefer who turned it down out of loyalty to Hornsby. 1956 - The New York City Board of Estimate votes $25,000 for a survey regarding the Brooklyn Dodgers' proposal for a new stadium in downtown Brooklyn.
Image source, SNS/BBC Former Rangers manager Steven Gerrard, who turned down the chance of returning to Ibrox earlier this season, insists he could make the club "good again". (Daily Record, external) However, Gerrard has also said that he didn't have the "right tools", and that he "isn't a magician". (Scottish Sun, external) Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy says the timing of his arrival at the club, and not later, was so he could assess the squad before the January transfer window. (The Herald, external)
Rangers want former player Lee McCulloch, who is currently talent acquistion manager with Premier League club Brighton and Hove Albion, to join their recruitment set-up at Ibrox. Gauthier Ganaye does not have the CV required to replace Patrick Stewart as Rangers' new chief executive despite his experience with Barnsley and Nice, according to former Aberdeen and Everton and Aston Villa chief executive Keith Wyness.
1926 - Judge Landis is given a new seven-year term as commissioner with a raise to $65,000. 1974 - Arbitrator Peter Seitz rules in favor of Jim Hunter in a dispute with A's owner Charlie Finley making him a very attractive unrestricted free agent. 1982 - Tom Seaver's trade back to the Mets from the Reds is completed after Seaver comes to contract terms with the Mets. Cincinnati acquires pitcher Charlie Puleo and two minor leaguers.
Rangers have shown an interest in Freiburg left-back Berkay Yilmaz, but French club Toulouse and others in the Bundesliga, Serie A and La Liga are also eyeing the 20-year-old Turkey youth international currently on loan to Nuremberg in Germany's second tier. (Bild), external Luis Palma's good form for Lech Poznan could persuade Wilfried Nancy to end the 25-year-old Honduras winger's loan early once the Frenchman is appointed Celtic manager.
The Derby della Madonnina is upon us and the Italian newspapers didn't hesitate to highlight this on the front pages today. Indeed, Serie A will be back with a bang after the international break. After the 2-2 draw against Parma, letting Inter gain a two-point advantage, the derby has become even more important for Milan. While it can hardly be a Scudetto-decider this early in the season, many would still argue that it's very important.
1980 - Steve Carlton wins his third Cy Young Award after posting a 24-9 record with a 2.34 ERA and 286 strikeouts. Carlton joins Sandy Koufax, Tom Seaver and Jim Palmer as the only pitchers with three Cy Young Awards. 1987 - San Diego Padres catcher Benito Santiago, who ended the season with a rookie-record 34-game hitting streak, is a unanimous selection as the National League Rookie of the Year.
1991 - The Braves fall to the Twins, 1-0 in 10 innings in Game 7 of the World Series. Gene Larkin's single in the 10th is the difference. Jack Morris tosses 10 shutout innings and is named MVP. 1999 - The Yankees defeat the Braves, 4-1 to complete a four-game sweep. Atlanta joins the New York Giants as the only teams to lose four World Series in a decade. 2021 - The Braves fall to the Astros, 7-2 in Game 2 of the World Series
1945 - Branch Rickey announces the signing of Jackie Robinson and John Wright by the Brooklyn Dodgers organization to a contract with Triple-A Montreal of the International League for 1946. The two will be the first black players to play in Organized Baseball this century (with a couple of brief exceptions) and Robinson will be the first in the National League or American League since 1884, paving the way for integration.
