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It’s been a turbulent campaign under the management of Ange Postecoglou for Celtic so far this season, with the Bhoys being dumped out of Champions League qualifying by FC Midtjylland and losing three of their first six Scottish Premiership fixtures.

However, in recent months, the 56-year-old has steadied the ship somewhat, with the Hoops currently being on a run of 12 league games without defeat, as well as turning in some incredibly impressive performances in Europe.

Furthermore, summer signings such as Jota, Kyogo Furuhashi, Liel Abada, Josip Juranovic, Joe Hart and Cameron Carter-Vickers all look to have been magnificent additions to the Celtic side, with each player hitting the ground running in the first half of the campaign.

So, as we approach the halfway point of the season, we’ve put together a quiz looking back at Celtic’s goings-on throughout 2021.

Do you think you can remember everything that has happened in what has been a whirlwind 2021? Here are 15 questions that only the die-hard Celtic fans will be able to answer. Think you can get more than ten right?

We bet you can’t…

Kurt Zouma, Said Benrahma and Michail Antonio all struggled in West Ham’s 2-1 defeat away to Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.

The Hammers lost their second Premier League match in a row, with the champions proving to be too strong in the end. Ilkay Gundogan and Fernandinho found the net for City, while Manuel Lanzini scored a last-gasp consolation for David Moyes’ men.

We have looked at the figures from statistical experts Sofascore to delve into the performances of the three lowest-rated West Ham players among those who featured for at least 45 minutes.

Kurt Zouma – 6.5

Zouma started at the heart of the Hammers’ defence but he didn’t impress in the absence of injured centre-back partner Angelo Ogbonna.

The Frenchman didn’t make a single tackle against City, allowing the hosts’ attackers to get the better of him too often.

Not only that, he also failed to play any key passes out from the back and lost possession three times, which was arguably a factor in West Ham struggling to build attacks.

Said Benrahma – 6.5

Benrahma was another Irons player who failed to stamp his authority on proceedings, eventually being substituted in the second half.

He lost possession 10 times overall as City dominated the ball, and he won just one of his five duels at the Etihad Stadium.

Like Zouma, the Algerian also didn’t make a key pass, which is far from ideal for a player with his attacking quality.

Michail Antonio – 6.3

The hope was that Antonio would regain his excellent form from earlier in the season and bully City’s defence, but that didn’t prove to be the case.

An ineffective showing saw the 31-year-old fail to have a single shot in the game, also completing just seven of his 12 passes (58%) and no key passes.

Possession was lost 16 times when Antonio had the ball, too, on a poor afternoon for the striker, who has netted just once in his last seven Premier League games.

In other news, a journalist has made a claim regarding a potential West Ham signing. Read more here.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have been handed a hefty injury boost ahead of their upcoming Premier League fixture.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by the Express & Star, Bruno Lage revealed that Bruno Jordao, who has not featured competitively for Wolves for 16 months due to a knee injury, is finally back in training with the first-team squad, and could be in contention for the trip to Norwich City on Saturday.

Asked whether the central midfielder is once again an option for his matchday squads, the 45-year-old said: “Yes, he’s one more. He started working two or three days ago. He needs time.

“We have six weeks to work with him and after see if he’s ready to compete for a place or if he needs to take another decision. I am very happy with him. I knew him when I arrived and saw him since the first day working hard to come back as soon as possible.

“Now he needs to show me on the pitch that he wants to fight for a place in the team. I need to see Bruno. I want to give him a lot of confidence to be ready to train and compete and try to understand the dynamic he can give us.

“I saw some games from him in the past but it’s soon for me to make a conclusion on what he can give to our team. Since the first day, he has been a good professional. I am very happy with that mentality.”

Lage will be buzzing

Considering just how short of options Lage currently is in the middle of the park, the return of Jordao, particularly with the hectic Christmas schedule of the Premier League soon upon us, is sure to have left the Portuguese manager buzzing.

Indeed, prior to the 23-year-old’s return, the Wolves boss had just Ruben Neves, Leander Dendoncker or Joao Moutinho to pick from in central midfield, with this trio having returned just one goal and one assist over their accumulative 32 top-flight appearances.

And, while Jordao is by no means an out and out attacking midfielder, the former Portugal U21 international has scored one goal over his four first-team appearances since his £8.01m move to Molineux back in the summer of 2019, something which would suggest he could be used as a more attack-minded option by Lage.

In any case, the return of an extra body in the middle of the park is undoubtedly a huge boost for the 45-year-old manager, who will be looking to continue his side’s run of excellent form against Norwich City this weekend.

In other news: Hatfield drops Wolves transfer claim on “unplayable” £17m-rated dynamo, Shi must act

Tottenham Hotspur have been handed an encouraging injury boost ahead of their return to Premier League action this weekend…

What’s the latest?

According to Sky Sports reporter Lyall Thomas, versatile winger Ryan Sessegnon has returned to full-time training at Hotspur Way following a pretty lengthy spell on the sidelines.

The 21-year-old, who can play anywhere along the left flank, has been out since the September international break with a hamstring injury.

Spurs face Leeds United on Sunday afternoon where new manager Antonio Conte will be looking to maintain his unbeaten record in charge of the north Londoners.

“Excl. Ryan Sessegnon will return to full training this week from the hamstring problem suffered in September and could be available for #Leeds clash on Sunday,” he tweeted.

“Sessegnon returns to training to hand Conte a selection boost, as he searches for his best #Tottenham team.”

Big boost to Conte

On the face of it, this isn’t so much of a ‘boost’ to the Italian, given the fact that the England U21 international has only played 14 times since his £25m move from Fulham in August 2019.

However, as Thomas goes on to explain in his series of updates on social media, Sessegnon hands Conte a new weapon and one that seems like a perfect fit for his wing-back system.

“Sessegnon has the potential to be just the sort of player that could be rejuvenated by Antonio Conte. His system is set up just right for his profile, off the left of a 3-4-3. Has a way to go to reach the level but still just 21 y/o,” he added.

Indeed, when fit, the young £18m-rated dynamo has bags of potential – something that we are yet to see in N17. His loan stint at Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim was largely a success.

He featured in 29 matches across all competitions, in which he provided two goals and three assists, via Transfermarkt, whilst per WhoScored, he averaged two tackles, 1.3 interceptions and 0.7 key passes per match at an elite level, which suggests he’s capable of contributing at either end of the pitch.

Sessegnon was once dubbed a “big, big talent” with a “very bright” future by former teammate Stefan Johansen. Meanwhile, his pace and acceleration have also been noted by Bundesliga.com, who went as far as comparing him to Alphonso Davies – arguably one of the best in the world at left wing-back.

The rarely-seen Spurs gem could be in line for a career boost under Conte and that’s why this encouraging development from the club’s training ground should leave the Italian and his staff absolutely delighted heading into the weekend.

He could well thrive under his new manager.

AND in other news, 100 touches, 3 shots: “Intelligent” Spurs beast just proved his immense worth to Conte…

أرسل مسؤولو النادي الأهلي، لاتحاد الكرة المصري مرشحهم في انتخابات رابطة الأندية المحترفة المقرر إجرائها قبل انطلاق الموسم الجديد.

وكان الاتحاد المصري لكرة القدم اليوم قد طلب من أندية الدوري الممتاز إرسال ترشيحاتها لتشكيل المكتب التنفيذي، وفق ما نصت عليه اللائحة المعتمدة من الجمعية العمومية.

طالع | 10 أندية تختار أحمد دياب ممثلًا لها بالرابطة في اليوم الأول لفتح الترشيحات

وعلم “بطولات” أن النادي الأهلي أرسل أمس الخميس خطاب لاتحاد الكرة يرشح فيه عماد متعب في انتخابات رابطة الأندية القادمة.

وكانت لجنة رابطة الأندية المحترفة تم تشكيلها لأول مرة الموسم الماضي، برئاسة أحمد دياب وعماد متعب نائبًا، وعضوية كل من خالد رفعت، عامر حسين، شريف صالح.

يذكر أن النادي الأهلي رشح عماد متعب ليمثل القلعة الحمراء في رابطة الأندية الموسم الماضي.

The ICC president David Morgan will meet Pakistan board chairman Ijaz Butt in Dubai on August 27 to resolve the issue of Pakistan’s hosting rights for the 2011 World Cup

Cricinfo staff15-Aug-2009

The ICC president David Morgan will meet Pakistan board chairman Ijaz Butt in Dubai on August 27 to resolve the issue of Pakistan’s hosting rights for the 2011 World Cup. The two bodies decided to reach an out-of-court settlement for Pakistan’s loss of 14 World Cup matches due to security concerns after the ICC agreed to pay a US$ 10.5 million hosting rights fee and a substantial compensation.Butt and Morgan decided to meet in Dubai following a telephonic conversation on Friday. Morgan said the conversation had been “relaxed and friendly”, in keeping with their previous meeting in Dubai.”Although nothing has yet been agreed, there remains a strong will on both sides to conclude this matter as soon as possible without recourse to legal means, and with that in mind we will meet in Dubai on 27 August with a view to reaching a resolution that is acceptable to both parties,” Morgan said.”In the light of our latest discussions I remain confident we can achieve that goal, something that would allow all of us, the ICC and its members, to focus on our key objective – the staging of a successful ICC cricket World Cup in the Asian subcontinent in 2011.”Pakistan was stripped of its rights to host the 2011 World Cup in the aftermath of the attacks on touring Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore in March. Following the decision, the World Cup secretariat was moved from Lahore to Mumbai. The ICC then ruled out the possibility of a neutral venue – the PCB was keen to organise its share of matches at a neutral venue, most likely the United Arab Emirates.

حقق نابولي فوزًا كبيرًا بثلاثية نظيفة على نظيره مونزا، في المباراة التي جمعت بينهما ضمن الجولة الثالثة من الدوري الإيطالي للدرجة الأولى على ملعب دييجو أرماندو مارادونا.

تقدم لـ نابولي الوافد الجديد، الجورجي خفيشا كفاراتسخيليا، في الدقيقة 35 من الشوط الأول، قبل أن يضاعف النتيجة النيجيري فيكتور أوسيمين بعد 10 دقائق.

طالع أيضًا.. أودينيزي يسقط أمام فيورنتينا بمشاركة صلاح باشا في دوري بريمافيرا للشباب

في الشوط الثاني عاد خفيشا كفاراتسخيليا ليسجل الهدف الثاني له والثالث لفريقه في الدقيقة 62.

وقبل ربع ساعة من نهاية المباراة، سجل بيتانيا هدفًا لـ مونزا في نابولي، ولكن تقنية الـVAR ألغت الهدف.

الدقيقة 90 تلقى مونزا الضربة القاضية من أصحاب الأرض، وسجل مين جاي كيم الهدف الرابع لـ نابولي.

بهذه النتيجة يصبح رصيد نابولي 6 نقاط من مباراتين، ويحتل المركز الأول بفارق الأهداف عن إنتر ميلان، بينما مونزا في المركز الأخير بدون رصيد من النقاط.

Plays of the day from the first day of the second Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Colombo

Sidharth Monga12-Jul-2009Replacement of the day
This series has been one for late arrangements. Sri Lanka lost Muttiah Muralitharan and Prasanna Jayawardene before the series, and got Rangana Herath and Tillakaratne Dilshan to do those jobs for them. Pakistan, carrying only two specialist openers, had to do away with one of them after the abysmal showing in Galle. Fawad Alam was merely lamb to the slaughter today, opening for the first time in first-class cricket, while making his Test debut. The technique was inadequate, as he was trapped on his huge shuffle.Shoaib Akhtar breathes easy
In another embarrassing Pakistan innings, Abdur Rauf faced the third-highest number of balls. Faced is not the right word, he played and missed at most of them, and hence didn’t score any runs. Delightfully he moved towards breaking the record for the longest duck by a Pakistani. It was too good to last, though, as he fell lbw to the 34th ball he faced, which meant Shoaib Akhtar’s 42-ball duck, against the same opposition, in Karachi, stayed safe. This was the 12th-longest duck overall, the undisputed leader being Geoff Allott’s 77-ball effort against South Africa in Auckland in 1998-99.Record-breakers
Pakistan are here to burn the record book and start everything anew. In Galle they broke the record for their lowest total against Sri Lanka by managing 117. Not satisfied, they went one step ahead today by scoring just 90. Next is what? First series loss in Sri Lanka ahoy.If once you get it wrong…
… your mate will make the correction. Simon Taufel, on the button for the rest of the innings, missed a bat-pad from Mohammad Aamer and denied Herath a wicket. In the next over, though, Daryl Harper obliged Ajantha Mendis with an lbw against the same batsman, while the ball had pitched outside leg. Aamer hadn’t added to his tally, and all was fine.Original message of the day
A placard that says “Today’s special: Mohammad You-soop”

Ehsan Mani, former ICC president, believes Pakistan was manoeuvred out of its hosting rights for the 2011 World Cup by a split within the Asian bloc, led by India, and an inert ICC approach to examine viable solutions. Pakistan, said Mani, was thus left with no choice but to begin legal proceedings against the decision.Mani, who served as president from 2003-06, is acting as an advisor to the PCB in the dispute and is widely thought to be man who prompted the move to initiate legal action. He has told the PCB, however, to keep “back-channel communications” with the ICC open throughout the dispute.”I’m afraid so and I’m very sorry to say it,” Mani told Cricinfo, when asked whether India had manipulated the situation to its advantage in order to squeeze Pakistan out of the tournament. “This was a time when India should have come forward, shown leadership and said ‘It’s all four of us as hosts, or none of us.'”Asia got worried they would lose the 2011 World Cup altogether and decided to dump Pakistan. It is the first time in my 20 years association that I have seen Asia split this way. It speaks volumes of the PCB’s PR perhaps,” Mani said.Mani also took aim at the ICC, saying it had not shown enough initiative in searching for a solution to Pakistan’s plight. “The ICC should have looked at the security situation as a whole, they should have at least met with Pakistan beforehand. When I was president, there was a lot of pressure to suspend Zimbabwe. I refused, until I had met them personally. I did and eventually they asked to be suspended themselves.”There was no pre-meeting dialogue with the PCB here and ICC should have taken the lead in that. Pakistan is a problem, so let’s talk to them. I said to the ICC you should have thought of alternative solutions. They said the PCB had not put any such proposal forward but the ICC should have been examining these things.”Many things were wrong. The ICC should have done an assessment of all four countries and gotten governments involved. Also, if Pakistan gets the Champions Trophy hosting fee even if that event was taken away, why does the same logic not apply for the World Cup?”Acknowledging that the relationship between the ICC and the PCB are “not good,” Mani said Pakistan was left with no other option. “They were between a rock and a hard place. They were marginalised, losing the hosting money – what was their choice? Roll over quietly, or make some noise? Pakistan feel they were misled at the meeting and had no idea this was going to happen. One should have been upfront about it.”Mani has advocated swapping the World Cups of 2011 and 2015, so that the next tournament is switched to Australia and New Zealand and the 2015 edition comes to the subcontinent. He asked the ICC about the swapping option and was told that “Australia and New Zealand were happy to host the 2011 World Cup but also wanted to keep the 2015 tournament.”But Mani urged the PCB to keep the doors of communication open with the ICC. “Ties between the two are not great. What I’ve advised them is to keep the legal process on but along with a high-level diplomatic process. Keep that channel open. I told the PCB that professional advice was needed but keep talking to them. I tried to speak to the ICC but couldn’t get through to them. They kept saying ‘you don’t know all the facts’ which I found disappointing.”

Johan Botha, the South Africa captain, praised the performances of Mark Boucher and Albie Morkel after they showed why they get paid “the big bucks” in the tight four-wicket Twenty20 win over Australia. Boucher and Morkel concluded the hosts’ recovery from 83 for 5 to reach 168 for 6 with four balls remaining.”It got a bit tight but you know with those two out there, that’s why they get paid the big bucks,” Botha told AAP. “They do it under pressure and they did it again tonight.”With those two in with a long way to go, we knew we still had a chance. [Boucher] has done it many times before and he just showed us tonight that he is probably our best finisher with Albie.”Botha said Morkel, who made his Test debut in Cape Town last week, would be a huge asset for South Africa during Sunday’s second Twenty20 and the following one-day series. “His bowling is also going to be important,” he said. “He’s a world-class allrounder.”Ricky Ponting was also impressed by the effort of Morkel, who took 1 for 36 before his 37 off 19 deliveries. “He probably won a couple of games single-handedly with his batting in Australia,” Ponting said. “His power hitting tonight probably got them over the line again.”So he is a very, very dangerous hitter. They use him very well. They hold him off as late as they possibly can and let him go in for the final onslaught really.”Ponting said Australia got into a position where they should have won. “That’s the disappointing thing about it,” he said. “If we had got blown off the park then I would not have been as disappointed.”[Brett] Geeves and [Shane] Harwood deserved their opportunity to play and both of them would have learnt a lot from their experience. They are bowling to good players on good wickets and it just goes to show in this game, you’ve got to execute everything every ball almost perfectly as a bowler or you are going to go around the park.”Despite the first-up success, Botha is looking for improvement for Sunday’s match in Centurion. “We want to play a lot better than we did tonight,” Botha said. “If we can win there, it will definitely give us momentum for the one-dayers.”