Stan Collymore's turbulent career was in a familiar state of disarray last night after Bradford City made it clear he has no future at Valley Parade and a proposed move to VfB Stuttgart collapsed.
Ahead of tonight's FA Cup encounter with Middlesbrough, and little more than six weeks since Jim Jefferies was appointed by the Yorkshire club, the former Hearts manager has already seen enough of Collymore to deduce that the striker is likely to be a liability.
It now seems certain Collymore will have to move abroad or into the first division to revive a career that yet again is threatening to implode. Failing that, the Celtic manager Martin O'Neill may be willing to instigate a renewal of acquaintance after their brief spell together at Leicester City.
Manchester United's Premiership meeting with Arsenal at Old Trafford has been put back a day to Sunday, February 25th, so that the game can be shown live on television just hours before the League Cup final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.
Brechin City hit the Scottish Cup jackpot yesterday by landing a cash-spinning trip to Rangers in the third round. Celtic travel to Stranraer.
Scottish Cup: Third round draw: St Johnstone v Dunfermline; Berwick Rangers or Cowdenbeath v Hearts; Elgin City or Queen of the South v Airdrie; Stirling Albion v Raith Rovers; Kilmarnock v Partick Thistle; Alloa v Aberdeen; Ross County v Buckie Thistle; Arbroath or Montrose or Keith v Dundee United; Inverness Caley Thistle v Ayr United; Dundee v Falkirk; Hibernian v Clyde; Peterhead v Morton; Stranraer v Celtic; East Fife v Livingston; Rangers v Brechin City; St Mirren v Motherwell. [SBX] Ties to be played on January 27th and 28th.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YVIRIOZQ35EWRPZXR27KGMO6YU.png)