Football News: Review Of The Day 16th June 2018

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Review of the Day

Transfers

Celtic have broken their transfer record to sign Odsonne Edouard from Paris Saint-Germain. The 20 year old French forward had spent last season on loan to the Scottish side but has now made his move from PSG permanent in what Celtic have described as the "biggest transfer" in their history. The fee is believed to be in excess of £9m.

Watford have signed Espanyol's Barcelona academy graduate defender Marc Navarro. The 22 year old cost the Hornets an undisclosed fee.

Free againt Darius Charles has agreed to join Wycombe Wanderers on a one year deal. The 30 year old turned down a new deal with AFC Wimbledon.

Striker Tom Hopper has swapped Uniteds following his release from Scunthorpe United. He will line up for Southend United instead next season.

AFC Wimbledon will have to await the result of a tribunal to see how much they have to pay for Mitch Pinnock. The League One side picked him up from Dover, but no agreement could be reached on the fee, requiring a tribunal to decide due to the player's age of 23.

Forest Green Rovers have taken Spanish goalkeeper Robert Sanchez on loan from Premier League team Brighton & Hove Albion. The 20 year old will spend the season on loan with a club who are probably as well known for their attempts to promote a 'green' agenda as they are for their football.

A £1m fee will see Marley Watkins move from Norwich City to fellow Championship side Bristol City. The 27 year old striker only joined the Canaries last summer but was on the fringes of the first team.

Elliot Whitehouse has decided to join Grimsby Town after turning down a contract from local rivals Lincoln City.

Barnsley have sold midfielder Christoph Knasmuller for an undisclosed fee to Rapid Vienna. Knasmuller only arrived from Austrian football last summer.

Leganes have released Spanish winger Omar.

Portugese full back Luisinho has left Spanish second tier side Deportivo La Coruna to move to top flight side Huesca.

Juventus have paid nearly £7m to recruit young Italian forward Andrea Favili from Ascoli.

Udinese have completed the free transfer of Dutch full-back Hidde ter Avest from FC Twente.

Jerome Onguene has left VfB Stuttgart to join RB Salzburg. The 20 year defender will cost the Austrian side just under £2m.

Young Spanish full-back Angelino has left Manchester City to join PSV Eindhoven for nearly £5m.

Burnley have released striker Chris Long.

Bolton Wanderers have let both Chinedu Obasi and Jan Kirchhoff leave the club.

And Finally Hat Trick Special

As there is not much news about other than the World Cup results, I thought it would be a good time to put in a few hat trick related stories.

There was the time Faustino Asprilla scored a treble to shock the Catalan giants of Barcelona while playing for Newcastle United. However the Colombian, who was well known for a wild party lifestyle off the pitch, was very nearly dropped for the game after being late for a team meeting. Then Toon manager Kenny Dalglish was unhappy with Asprilla, who was allegedly busy 'entertaining' two ladies, as it was the latest in a long line of misdemeanours. Asprilla himself admits he was not good at timekeeping, saying: "the only time I ever turned up for training early was when the clocks went back and I didn't realise." Asprilla admits that even he was surprised to be picked, and that it was only because Les Ferdinand had been sold and Alan Shearer was out injured that he played. Asprilla admitted he used to lure women back for parties at his house by telling them David Ginola would be there, which could explain why, when he handed over the keys to his house on leaving Tyneside, there were bullet holes in the walls.

Alvin Martin (or annoying little brat constantly kicking a ball around the youth club as my mother remembers him) has scored what is believed to be a truly unique hat trick. Martin was a defender by trade but he managed to notch 3 goals in a West Ham United 8-1 win over Newcastle in 1986. His first goal was scored against Martin Thomas, who had to be substituted following an injury, only for the substitute, Chris Hedworth to concede a goal to Martin as well. Hedworth also had to go off and so Alvin Martin scored his 3rd goal of the game against a 3rd keeper, though it was the extremely odd choice of Peter Beardsley. You have to wonder how the choice could possibly have come down to Peter Beardsley of all people. A man whose claimed height of 5ft 8inches seems to be an exaggeration.

Journeyman striker Robert Earnshaw, despite never really lighting up the game at the highest level does hold a truly impressive record when it comes to hat tricks. The Welsh forward is the only player ever to score a hat trick in all four domestic divisions in English football and the two domestic cups. He has also notched a hat trick in international football.

The term hat trick actually comes from cricket originally. When a bowler called H.H. Stephenson took three consecutive wickets in a match in Sheffield in 1858, a collection was held to reward his feat. The proceeds were used to buy him a hat which he was presented with.

Written by Tris Burke June 16 2018 07:12:05