Football News: Review Of The Day 4th December 2018

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Review of the Day

Shrews Appoint Wrexham Boss

Sam Ricketts has left his post as Wrexham manager, after only being appointed in May, to take over the Shrewsbury Town job. Wrexham was the 37 year old Ricketts' first managerial job and he had taken Wrexham to 4th in the National League in his short time in charge. Ricketts has become Shrews 4th manager of 2018.

Hughes Finally Gets The Boot

Southampton have finally sacked Mark Hughes after his atrocious record became too much to bear following a draw against Manchester United at the weekend. Kelvin Davis will take charge of the team while a replacement is sought, with Ralph Hasenhuttl, formerly of RB Leipzig, as the favourite.

Rams Hit By Davies Injury

Derby County defender Curtis Davies will need surgery on a ruptured Achilles' tendon, with the player himself saying his season is pretty much over. It is expected he will be out for at least 6 months, as he missed a similar period when he suffered this injury a previous time.

McClean Puts Homeless Up In A Hotel

Stoke City's much maligned Irish winger James McClean has paid for four hotel rooms in a city centre hotel in his hometown for homeless people to stay in. Food and accommodation has been paid for by the footballer, who is often the subject of abuse over his stance on poppies, but is known for giving back to his hometown community.

Kakay Signs New Contract Extension

QPR defender Osman Kakay has inked a contract extension with the London club. The 21 year old, who has been with the R's since the age of 8, would have been out of contract at the end of the season, but is now tied to the club for an extra year. The young full-back said: "I see QPR as my home so I delighted to extend my stay. I have played six games this season and am very hungry to play more for the club. I have seen what it takes to play at first-team level and I hope there are more opportunities to come."

Well Keeper Out For Season

Motherwell's Northern Irish keeper Trevor Carson is set to miss the rest of the season as he recovers from deep vein thrombosis. The 30 year old fell ill on his return from international duty last month and was taken to hospital. Carson will be unable to play for 6 months during his ongoing treatment during his rehab.

Sierra Leone Disqualified

The national team of Sierra Leone has been disqualified from the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers because of government interference. They were suspended from all football by FIFA in October and have not taken part in any qualifiers since then. The decision to disqualify Sierra Leone has seen Ethiopia are now out and Kenya and Ghana are through.

Terriers Investigate Homophobic Chants

On the weekend that saw the start of the Premier League's 'Rainbow Laces' campaign for the season, which is a show of support for the LGBT community, Huddersfield Town have been embarrassed by the usual chants from fans aimed at Brighton & Hove Albion, which is nationally known as the heart of the LGBT community in England. Huddersfield have warned that any supporters identified as being involved in the chanting will face banning orders.

Mounie Ban Appeal Rejected

In more Huddersfield news their Benin international striker Steve Mounie will serve a 3 game ban after his appeal against a sending-off was rejected. The 24 year old was shown a red card for a high challenge on Yves Bissouma of Brighton. Mounie has yet to score a goal so far this season.

Pep Hoping For Sane Extension

Pep Guardiola is hoping to keep Leroy Sane as part of his Manchester City team for "many years" as the German international winger's contract talks drag on. The 22 year old's current deal expires in 2021 but the club have been in talks over extending his contract for months now. So far Kevin de Bruyne, Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus have signed contract extensions in recent months.

Sturridge Given More Time To Respond To Betting Charge

Liverpool forward Daniel Sturridge has been granted more time to respond to the FA charge over alleged breaches of betting rules he is facing. The 29 year old has now been given until 11th February to respond to the charges.

Ashley Hopeful Of Club Sale

Newcastle United's owner Mike Ashley is hoping to complete the sale of the club before the January transfer window threatens to see him open his wallet to put some of the money back into the club that has been taken out. Ashley told Sky News that the talks were "at a more advanced stage than they have ever been" also said that "realistic is maybe too strong a word" with regards to completing the sale before January. Funny how these stories always come out when the fans are protesting and a transfer window is in the offing, which means he has a great excuse for not investing any money in the team.

Extra Police For M23 Derby

The oddest derby in English football is to see an increased police presence on Tuesday after there was trouble at last season's fixture. Fans from both sides were involved in clashes, with 6 arrested and 2 stewards injured. Inside the stadium, flares were let off as more trouble happened and 19 fans ended up with banning orders as a result of all the problems.

VAR To Be Used In UEFA Comps This Season

Initially scheduled to be used from next season in UEFA's Champions League and Europa League competitions, VAR is now being brought in from the last-16 round this season instead. UEFA president Alexander Ceferin said: "We are ready to use VAR earlier than initially planned and we are convinced that it will be beneficial for our competitions as it will provide valuable help to match officials and will allow us to reduce incorrect decisions."

Gunners And Spurs Charged By FA

The melee between both sets of players, and some substitutes, during the North London derby after Eric Dier equalised has led to charges from the FA. Both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have been charged with failing to "ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion".

FA Cup 3rd Round Draw

Solihull Moors have the carrot of a 3rd round clash with Arsenal to aim at, if they can get past Blackpool in their 2nd round replay.
FA Cup third-round draw
Bolton Wanderers v Walsall or Sunderland
Millwall v Hull City
Gillingham v Cardiff City
Brentford v Oxford United
Sheffield Wednesday v Luton Town
Manchester United v Reading
Everton v Lincoln City
Tranmere Rovers or Southport v Tottenham Hotspur
Preston North End v Doncaster Rovers
Newcastle United v Blackburn Rovers
Chelsea v Nottingham Forest
Crystal Palace v Grimsby Town
Derby County v Southampton
Accrington Stanley v Ipswich Town
Bristol City v Huddersfield Town
Wrexham or Newport County v Leicester City
Fulham v Oldham Town
Shrewsbury Town v Stoke City
Solihull Moors or Blackpool v Arsenal
Manchester City v Rotherham United
Bournemouth v Brighton & Hove Albion
West Ham United v Birmingham City
Woking v Watford
Burnley v Barnsley
QPR v Leeds United
Sheffield United v Barnet
Norwich City v Portsmouth
Fleetwood Town v AFC Wimbledon
West Bromwich Albion v Wigan Athletic
Middlesbrough v Peterborough United or Bradford City
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Liverpool
Aston Villa v Swansea City

Klopp Gets Misconduct Charge

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been charged with misconduct for running onto the pitch following Divock Origi's 97th minute winner in the Merseyside derby against Everton. Klopp said afterwards: "I have to apologise because I didn't want to be disrespectful - but I couldn't stop myself. If I could describe how I felt when the goal went in, then I would have control over it. We don't want to look for excuses but that's how it is. The plan was not to run. When I chose to stop, I was close to Alisson. He was surprised."

Modric Gets Ballon d'Or

Real Madrid's Croatian midfielder Luka Modric has become the first player since 2007, other than Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, to win the Ballon d'Or. Kaka, then at AC Milan, was the last player to win it before the pair started to swap it between themselves for a decade. The big question though is, can he twerk?
The top 10
1. Luka Modric (Real Madrid and Croatia)
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus and Portugal)
3. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid and France)
4. Kylian Mbappe (Paris St-Germain and France)
5. Lionel Messi (Barcelona and Argentina)
6. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool and Egypt)
7. Raphael Varane (Real Madrid and France)
8. Eden Hazard (Chelsea and Belgium)
9. Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City and Belgium)
10. Harry Kane (Tottenham and England)

Lamouchi Sacked By Rennes

Reserve coach Julien Stephan will take charge of Stade de Rennais on a caretaker basis after Sabri Lamouchi was sacked on Monday. The sacking came a day after a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Strasbourg in Ligue 1, leaving Rennes 14th in the 20-team league table, 4 points above the relegation places.

Bordeaux Claim PSG Get Special Treatment From Referees

Echoing comments made by Liverpool after their midweek defeat at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, Bordeaux boss Eric Bedouet has claimed referees give the Parisiens preferential treatment, as his team held them to a draw. Bedouet said: "I have said it before ... They are not refereed in the same way as others. I heard the other coach (Thomas Tuchel) complained but I think it's too much. VAR is starting to tire me! It takes too much time to make decisions. On the first goal, he is embarrassed (Mbappe) and he is offside!"

Marseille Director Hints At Move For Moreno

Marseille sporting director has hinted that they are battling Alberto Moreno's former club Sevilla for the left-back's services in January. Moreno has lost his place in the Liverpool team to Andrew Robertson and the Spaniard's contract is ending in the summer, with Liverpool open to offers. Andoni Zubizarreta told L'Equipe: "I know him very well from his time at Sevilla. Normally, it's not our market [January], though there may be circumstances that open up possibilities, it's interesting. But it's also interesting for Sevilla, who are looking for a left-back."

Seri Fee To Be Probed

Ivorian midfielder Jean-Michel Seri joined Fulham in the summer in a combined move along with French defender Maxime Le Marchand for a reported combined fee of £25m from OGC Nice. The breakdown was reported to be £15m for Le Marchand and £10m for Seri, which has led to Seri himself launching legal proceedings against his former club, claiming his value was understated, and Le Marchand's overstated, in order to avoid paying Seri a bonus. Nice denied the claim but now his former clubs are also claiming that the fee was manipulated to avoid sell-on payments to them. The Belgian lawyer who represented Jean-Marc Bosman, Jean-Louis Dupont, is representing Seri's former Ivory Coast clubs, Centre Domoraud Cyrille and ASEC Mimosas in the case and has written to the English FA claiming Fulham colluded in the matter. Dupont wrote: "In the proceedings that take place in France, Mr Seri has decided to direct his claim directly against OGC Nice. Centre Domoraud Cyrille and ASEC Mimosas believe however that this manipulation could not have taken place without a particularly active role of Fulham FC. As you know, pursuant to the relevant FIFA rules, it is Fulham FC that is the debtor of the solidarity fees towards the two African training clubs. Could you please let us know with due clarity if you are in a position to investigate these allegations and what could concretely be expected from your intervention? As you will understand, our clients are convinced that your intervention is not only absolutely necessary for them but also for the FA, if the FA is serious about complying with its ethical (and legal) commitments."

Written by Tris Burke December 04 2018 04:40:32