Football News: Review Of The Day 18th October 2018

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Review of the Day

Brentford Name Smith Replacement

Brentford have promoted assistant coach Thomas Frank to replace previous head coach Dean Smith, who has moved to Aston Villa. Frank has been Smith's assistant for the last two years. The Bees are looking to continuity to maintain the comparative success the club has had in recent years.

McCann Quits Dundee

Dundee manager Neil McCann has been sacked with his team bottom of the SPFL after 8 matches. The Dens Park side have lost 7 of the last 8 matches. Assistant manager Graham Gartland has also been given his marching orders.

Liverpool "European Royalty" Again Says CEO

Despite not winning any trophies in Europe since 2005, Liverpool chief executive Peter Moore claims that Liverpool are "back where they belong" as "European royalty". Moore said in an interview with local radio station Radio City: "We are a club used to winning silverware and that is the one piece we are focused on. My job is to harness the power of what we have and bring it together off the pitch and provide the support the team needs. Being financially viable and being able to afford players is key to that success in modern football but winning football is key and last season is indicative of that. I think we are back where we belong. There is a banner on the Kop which says 'European Royalty' and that is who we were - who we are - and no one wants Liverpool in Europe right now."

West Ham Suspend Youth Coach

West Ham United under-18s coach Mark Phillips has been suspended by the club while they investigate his involvement in a march organised by the Democratic Football Lads Alliance (DFLA). The DLFA has been accused of being a racist organisation and the march clashed with anti-racism campaigners, though there has not been any suggestion Phillips was involved in any of the clashes.

Jose Charged Over Abusive Comments

Jose Mourinho has been charged for using "abusive, insulting or improper language" over comments he made in Portugese to a TV camera after his Manchester United side came from 2-0 down to beat Newcastle United 3-2. The remarks have been interpreted as offensive.

Cotterill Retires Aged Just 30

Welsh international forward, David Cotterill, has anounced his retirement from playing at the age of 30. The attacker has struggled with depression throughout a career that never reached the heights it was expected to. Cotterill has played for a number of Premier League clubs but never quite made an impression at that level and has 24 caps for his country. Cotterill said on social media: "The time feels right to hang up my boots. I have loved living out my childhood dream but now it is time to start a new chapter in my life, one that will be devoted to helping others. I want to say a special thank you to Brian Tinnion for my professional debut at Bristol City and... the Welsh national team for presenting me with career-defining opportunities such as the Euros 2016. I have thoroughly enjoyed my years with all of my previous clubs, particularly winning the league with Doncaster, helping Swansea to a promotion and my time at Birmingham City which was one of my longest stints at a club."

EFL Has 50,000 Streaming Matches

The English Football League have announced the figures for its new online streaming service iFollow, which involves 58 of the 72 EFL members in offering a platform to watch football matches live. As well as the 50,000 domestic streams, there has been a further 80,000 from overseas. The most viewed match was Ipswich Town versus Norwich City, which drew 3,100 streams.

Ashley's Boys Weigh Up Bid To Buy Greenock Morton

Derek Llambias, who worked for Mike Ashley at both Newcastle United and Rangers, has been considering a deal to buy Greenock Morton and turn them into a feeder club for the English league. The deal would also involve the Easdale brothers, who are Rangers shareholders, and former Newcastle chief scout Graham Carr. I hope for Morton's sake they have nothing to do with any of them.

Crewe Suspend Youth Coach

League Two side Crewe Alexandra have suspended their head of foundation Carl Everall over allegations they have received. While details have not been released, the allegation is known to involve safeguarding issues and Everall has been suspended by the FA from all football-related activity. Everall has been with Crewe's academy since 2013, having previously worked for Port Vale.

Brady Claims London Stadium Rent Is Not Too Low

Despite the fact that West Ham United pay less per season in rent for the London Stadium than Tottenham Hotspur pay per game to rent Wembley, vice-chairman Karren Brady has made the ridiculous claim that the £3m a year rent is not too low. She, in fact, maintains that the stadium owners, London Legacy Development Corporation, should be able to make a profit, but her most ludicrous (idiotic even) comment is that without West Ham there would not be a stadium, clearly forgetting that the Hammers were not the only club interested in playing there. While she does make some good points about the relationship with LLDC and E20 making things difficult, mostly it is just her usual self-serving nonsense which shows just how far away from the real world she lives, such as: "I refuse to accept any criticism that our rent is too low, because that is simply not the case. Costs are too high." Costs may well be too high, but the rent is clearly too low as well. If she wants people to listen to the salient points she does make, it would be best if she stopped the bull**** that smothers it.

Wenger Expects To Return To Football In January

Arsene Wenger has revealed that he has offers on the table from all over the world since leaving Arsenal at the end of last season. The 68 year old spent 22 years in charge at the Gunners, winning 3 Premier Leagues titles and 7 FA Cups in that time. Wenger has now said: "I feel rested and am ready to work again."

Mane Has Surgery

Liverpool's Senegalese forward Sadio Mane has had surgery on the hand he injured while on international duty this week. The 26 year old returned to England for the operation and is now a doubt for the weekend trip to Huddersfield on Saturday.

Real Madrid Lodge Protest Against USA Game

Real Madrid have officially opposed the staging of a La Liga match between Girona and Barcelona in the United States. Madrid have written to the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to confirm its opposition to the plan, stating that it was "fundamental" that team play "home and away at each other's stadium" for "integrity and equality" of La Liga. Real's letter reads: "First of all we would like to declare that Real Madrid were never informed that La Liga had requested to play the game nor of the intention to make the request, and we were never asked our opinion on it. Nor, obviously, did La Liga obtain Real Madrid's agreement, despite the fact that this game affects a competition in which we participate." I never thought I would see the day when Real Madrid was on the side of sporting integrity! Especially as, in future years, they would be no doubt be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the plan to play in the USA, with their huge overseas fanbase.

Wembley Bid Withdrawn

Fulham owner Shahid Khan has withdrawn his £600m offer to buy Wembley Stadium. Khan believes his offer is too divisive to succeed. Khan said: "Unfortunately, given where we are today, I've concluded that the outcome of a vote next week would be far from sufficient in expressing the broad support favoured by the FA chairman to sell Wembley Stadium. Until a time when it is evident there is an unmistakable directive from the FA to explore and close a sale, I am respectfully withdrawing my offer to purchase Wembley Stadium. Our commitment to London would have been amplified and strengthened with the certainty of officially making Wembley Stadium an annual host to Jaguars or other NFL games."

Barca Midfielder Given Big Fine For 2017 Fight

Barcelona midfielder Arturo Vidal has been handed a 800,000 euros fine for his involvement in a fight while a Bayern Munich player in 2017, his half-brother Sandrino was also given a fine of 18,000 euros. Vidal was found guilty of smashing a 3 litre bottle of vodka over the head of a victim, leaving him with a large gash in his head and a brain injury.

Schalke Defender Extends Contract

FC Schalke 04's Brazilian centre back Naldo has extended his contract by a year. The 36 year old would have been out of contract in the summer but is now tied to last season's Bundesliga runners up until 2020. Naldo said: "I am overjoyed at extending my time here at Schalke. It is an enormous club with unbelievable, loyal fans who are always behind us." Naldo has been with Schalke since 2016.

Written by Tris Burke October 18 2018 06:36:00