Thompson on 'embarrassing' Rangers
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Daily Record
5 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Jamie Vardy to Celtic transfer can't be ruled out amid 'box office' endorsement
The Leicester City legend is a free agent and is still to decide his next move after departing the Foxes at the end of last season Andy Walker believes Jamie Vardy would be a 'box office' addition to Celtic and would not rule out his old club making a swoop. The Leicester City hero remains on the hunt for his next club and new chapter in his career after bringing his 13 seasons at the King Power Stadium to a close at the end of last season. During his time with the Foxes he earned legendary status and lifted the English Premier League title, FA Cup, Community Shield and two English Championship crowns. He's also experienced Champions League football - an attractive option Brendan Rodgers and Co could have on the table once more if they successfully negotiate their two-legged play-off tie. Rodgers - formally of Leicester - has been vocal on his need for quality additions and a new striker is high on the wish list. Over the years the likes of Jermain Defoe, Craig Bellamy and Robbie Keane have swapped England's top flight for stints north of the border and Walker wonders if Vardy would be next to fancy a year in Glasgow's east end. Speaking on Go Radio, he said: "I also wonder about Jamie Vardy. Obviously Brendan Rodgers knows him well and he's been linked with Rangers. "You remember years ago when the likes of Jermain Defoe came up to Rangers and showed what he was all about and still had the quality. "He's starting XI ready and has all the experience and I think he still has the fitness. "Would he fancy a year up here with Champions League football? I wouldn't rule it out. He would be box office. Great player. "Robbie Keane had a spell at Celtic as well and scored a few goals. "I think the attraction of Champions League football and this mystique that they have down south of Celtic and Rangers going head to head. "I think we are all expecting it to be a bit closer and tighter this year. "Celtic will still be favourites, I have no doubt about that, but it is a great sell for anyone." You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We're also WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here.
Telegraph
6 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Donald Trump tees off at his new Scottish golf course
Donald Trump celebrated the opening of his new golf course in Scotland with a star-studded guest list that included former Premier League footballers and a Ryder Cup captain. The US president cut the ribbon on the new course at his Menie resort in Aberdeenshire on the final day of his visit to Scotland. Mr Trump then teed off at the first hole and played a quick round, before returning to Washington to 'put out fires all over the world'. He was accompanied in a four-ball round by son Eric, who oversaw the construction of the new course, Paul McGinley, the former Europe Ryder Cup captain, and Rich Beem, a previous PGA Championship winner. Among the other celebrities who attended the opening and played a round were Gianfranco Zola, the former Chelsea footballer, and Robbie Fowler, the ex-Liverpool striker. Andriy Shevchenko, the former Ukrainian striker, and Jim Leighton, the ex-Manchester United and Scotland goalkeeper were also present. Political figures attending included John Swinney, the Scottish First Minister, and Anas Sarwar. The Scottish Labour leader, an avid football fan, appeared starstruck talking to Zola. Zola and Shevchenko played their four-ball match alongside Warren Stephens, the US Ambassador to the UK, and Stephen Gallacher, the professional golfer. Mr Trump led a pipe band to the first tee, where a grandstand had been erected for dignitaries to observe the opening ceremony, and was an ebullient mood, even praising the assembled media. 'The media has been terrific, believe it or not. I didn't use the word fake news one time, not one time. Today they're not fake news, they're wonderful news,' the president said. He also paid tribute to his granddaughter Chloe's golf skills and she and her brother Tristan appeared to be delighted to be travelling in a golf cart driven by their father, the President's son, Donald Jr. The president built the first course on the site after Alex Salmond's SNP government controversially allowed him to build the development on an unspoiled stretch of sand dunes. The planning application was called in and approved by John Swinney, who was then the Scottish Finance Secretary and is now First Minister. He also attended the opening, after holding a private 15-minute meeting with Mr Trump. The US president asked him to stand up and described him as a 'special guy.' The course opened in 2012 and two years ago, the president and Eric Trump announced plans for a second course. With a typically Trumpian aversion to understatement, they said the two courses together formed 'The Greatest 36 Holes in Golf.' The US president's speech at the ceremony veered between lauding the new course and addressing world events He said: 'We started with a beautiful piece of land, but we made it much more beautiful. The area has really welcomed us. If you remember at the beginning there wasn't quite a welcome, but it wasn't bad. 'But with time they liked us more and more, now they love us and we love them.' Mr Trump added: 'I look forward to playing it today. We'll play it very quickly and then I go back to DC and we put out fires all over the world. 'We did one yesterday – you know we stopped the war. We've stopped about five wars. That's much more important than playing golf. As much as I like it, it's much more important.' Thanking his son Eric, who is executive vice president of the Trump Organization and oversees both his Menie and Turnberry golf resorts in Scotland, the president said: 'This has been an unbelievable development. 'The land, they said it couldn't get zoned, it was an impossibility. And Sean Connery said 'let the bloody bloke build his golf course'. Once he said that everything came into line. John (Swinney) and I were talking about that last night.' After Mr Trump hit an arrow-straight drive down the fairway, he received a round of applause and his son Eric quipped: 'He likes the course.' However, there was no total escape from the day job and a reporter shouted from the grandstand, asking what he planned to say next to Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister. 'We're working together to try and get things straightened out,' Mr Trump said, before clambering into one of a wagon train of golf carts transporting the players.
Scotsman
35 minutes ago
- Scotsman
The Hearts overhaul to satisfy fans' demands
SPFL Scottish Premiership season 2025/26 begins at Tynecastle against Aberdeen Sign up to our Hearts newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, 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 very different landscape is shaping at Tynecastle Park as Hearts prepare for the 2025/26 William Hill Scottish Premiership. A much-changed first-team squad is assembling under new management with head coach Derek McInnes putting his own specific philosophy and structure in place. It is a necessary overhaul, as any supporter will acknowledge. Rewind to spring time and exasperated Hearts fans saw their side short on various vital attributes as the 2024/25 campaign deteriorated before their eyes. Frustration had built following a catastrophic UEFA Conference League exit last December, followed by a 2-0 lead squandered in stoppage-time at Ross County, successive defeats to Hibs, failure to reach the Premiership top six, and then a Scottish Cup semi-final exit with nine men against Aberdeen. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Hearts badly needed more pace, aggression and goal threat for starters. The demands of the Tynecastle public meant action was inevitable. Previous head coach Neil Critchley was sacked and Liam Fox took interim charge, winning the final four league games and earning notable respect from fans in the process. McInnes was then plucked from Kilmarnock as Critchley's permanent replacement. Within a few weeks, the team has taken on a drastically different complexion with seven new signings so far. There is already significantly more of the aforementioned pace, aggression and goal threat. There is also greater work-rate, energy, size, set-piece threat and tactical flexibility. And, crucially, goals are now coming from different sources - centre-backs, full-backs, wingers and strikers. The over-reliance on Lawrence Shankland seems to have been rectified, witness 19 goals scored across four Premier Sports Cup group ties and Saturday's friendly against Sunderland. McInnes has got pretty much everything right so far, although it is important to point out that greater tests lie ahead once the league kicks off. New recruits bring added competition and a different dimension to the Hearts squad. Players like Oxford United loanee Stuart Findlay, Irish midfielder Oisin McEntee, Greek winger Alexandros Kyziridis and Portuguese forward Claudio Braga have already made an impact and can expect to be heavily involved as the season evolves. At least two more new faces will follow as Pierre Landry Kabore and Tomas Bent Magnusson prepare to begin their careers in Scotland. Hearts were today still awaiting final paperwork from the UK Home Office to complete Kabore's transfer from the Estonian club JK Narva Trans. Magnusson is expected to arrive this week to sign a long-term contract after a deal was agreed with his Icelandic side, Valur Reykjavik. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Excitement and anticipation are building in the west of Edinburgh, where fans demand regular European qualification and cup progress from any Hearts team. Fall short of that and both coaches and players will find themselves under increasing pressure. It is a wholly unpleasant experience walking towards the Tynecastle tunnel at full-time as fans brutally unleash their frustration literally yards above on the concourse. Unfortunately, that scene played out too often last season. McInnes is an experienced operator who visited Gorgie enough times as an opposition manager to know the environment, how it works, how to harness it and how it can turn against you. He arrived believing wide players with pace and goals, competitive midfielders and no-nonsense defenders would underpin his Hearts team. He is still piecing together the maroon jigsaw but there is already clear evidence of an astute coach at work. Sky Sports show Hearts v Aberdeen - more transfers to come in Edinburgh Aberdeen visit Tynecastle on Monday evening, McInnes' league debut as Hearts head coach coming against his old club in front of the Sky Sports TV cameras. The Pittodrie side did not take part in the Premier Sports Cup groups as one of Scotland's European entrants, so are behind their hosts in terms of competitive action. It was they who knocked Hearts out in last season's Scottish Cup semi-final, and both teams covet third spot in the league on a yearly basis. A high-octane encounter is guaranteed to start the season. It is possible that only two members of Hearts' starting line-up from that semi-final just over three months ago will be in the team on Monday - Shankland and midfielder Cammy Devlin. Goalkeeper Craig Gordon is injured along with centre-back Jamie McCart, left-back James Penrice was sold to AEK Athens, and Michael Steinwender is likely to be on the bench this time. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It is unclear whether right-back Adam Forrester will play from the start or if new signing Christian Borchgrevink will be fit. In midfield, Beni Baningime is another injury doubt and Jorge Grant was released in May before joining English club Salford City. Strikers James Wilson and Elton Kabangu may also find themselves on the bench against Aberdeen given Braga's prowess in recent games. All of which underlines the changing face of Hearts. The overhaul is very much central to raising standards, and it's not finished yet.
