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Football News: Review Of The Day 2nd February 2018

Review Of The Day 2nd February 2018
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Review of the Day

 

Preston Right To Sell Hugill

Preston North End manager Alex Neil has said it was "a good thing" to sell striker Jordan Hugill to West Ham United. Preston had rejected a written transfer request from the 25 year old in August and Neil had said they did not want to sell him in January. Now that Hugill has gone, for a fee around £10m, Neil believes it was the right thing to do: "We're not a club that's commanded huge amounts of transfer fees in the past and we're not a club that's spent huge amount on transfers. What we've done is sold one of our players but we've sold them for a record transfer fee in the club's history and I think that's a good thing." Hugill had been left out of the squad for Preston's last game, Neil saying: "I made the decision because I didn't think the lad's head was right. He's a young kid who came up through Middlesbrough to get to where he is. When that type of cash is flung at you then it's naturally going to turn your head. I just made the best decision for the team and I think it was the best decision for him as well. I don't think mentally he was in the right state of mind and people underestimate that side of football."

 

Late Transfer Deals

West Ham United dipped into the non-league scene to sign Oladapo Afolayan from Solihull for an undisclosed fee.

Another undisclosed fee was enough to convince Barnet to sell Jamal Campbell-Ryce to Carlisle United.

Former Liverpool youngster Krisztian Adorjan has headed to Dundalk for a loan spell. Adorjan is contracted to Italian Serie B side Novara.

 


Pardew Hits Out At Arsenal's Evans Bid

Alan Pardew has said that clubs were warned off deadline day moves for Jonny Evans. The Northern Ireland defender has been the subject of late interest in the last two windows and Pardew has claimed West Bromwich Albion had told clubs that deadline day bids were not going to be welcomed. "It wasn't for lack of warning to Arsenal and to all the clubs," Pardew said. "I've sat here every week saying don't make a bid on the last day, because you're not going to get what you want, really." Pardew added: "Unless it's a bid that's going to knock us off our chair, and it was no way near that. So they got probably the response they were expecting with that bid, I think."

 

Palace Suspend Academy Director

A Crytal Palace statement has revealed that academy director Garry Issott has been suspended while the club investigate a disciplinary matter "after receiving information". "The findings will be passed to the Football Association, which has imposed an interim suspension while the investigation is under way," it added. The statement also said that no complaints had been received from members of the academy or their parents. Issott had formerly worked at Tottenham Hotspur.

 

Clucas Apologises For Goal Celebrations

Swansea City midfielder Sam Clucas has apologised for the celebration he made for both of his goals against Arsenal in the Swans 3-1 win. Both times he scored he made the same celebration that is claimed to reference the logo of a website. Swansea received complaints that the website has pornographic content, which has led to an apology as the FA have admitted they are looking into the matter. The Swansea statement said: "The club will speak to Sam again internally to establish the full facts, while also taking the opportunity to remind everyone of their responsibilities. We wholeheartedly condemn the degradation of women and believe everyone's rights, dignity and individual worth is to be respected."

 

Levein Hits Out At Brown

Hearts manager Craig Levein has claimed that players need protection from Celtic's Scott Brown after 16 year old Harry Cochrane was injured by the Celtic captain. After Levein was asked if players needed more protection, Levein said: "I think everybody should get a bit more protection from Scott Brown really. But we will see." Levein has hinted it was an act of revenge after Cochrane had given Brown the run around in their previous meeting. "I watched it back and I think Scott had decided after the game at Tynecastle, when Harry bossed him, he wasn't going to let that happen. I've known Scott for a long time and he is aggressive in the way he plays."

 

Caldwell Applies For Scotland Job

Former Scottish international footballer Gary Caldwell has applied for the Scotland manager's job. Caldwell has managed Wigan Athletic and Chesterfield but is currently out of work. "International football in the past used to be that somebody had a career [in management] and it was one of their later jobs," he said. "Nowadays, it's a job for younger people. A new, fresher approach is going to give you more benefit." Or, in Scotland's case, it used to be for successful managers to move onto at the end of their career while now it is just for whoever they can get.

 

FIFA Concerned About Agents' Fees

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said he is "very concerned" about the amount of money "flowing out of the football industry" in agents' fees (am I the only one who immediately tagged onto the end "and not into my pockets" in their head?). English Premier League clubs paid a record £174m to agents in 2016-17, a figure likely to be much higher for this season. "We have to tackle this issue, the curtains must be open," Infantino told BBC Sport. "I am very concerned about the huge amount of money that is flowing out of the football industry. These increasingly larger transactions are often not done in a clean, open manner and raise a lot of questions about potential misuse of funds," he said. And let's face it, if anyone knows about those things it is FIFA.

 

SFA Chief Exec Steps Down

Stewart Regan, the chief executive of the Scottish Football Association, has stood down from the role after 8 years saying that he recognises the "need for change". Regan has been heavily criticised for his handling of the search for Gordon Strachan's successor as national manager. Regan said in a statement: "While it has been tough, I am proud to leave having overseen a period of significant change and substantial growth. We are now at another staging point and I recognise that it is now time for further change. I have decided to step aside to allow new leadership to take the organisation forward. I would like to thank the staff for their energy, hard work and support during my tenure. Their love of the game mirrors Scotland's passion for football and I am proud to have served the association." Probably a good time to quit, if the best choice available for the Scotland job is Gary Caldwell!

 

Nacional Hit Out At 'Sick Minds' Of Their Fans

Uruguayan club Nacional have released a statement criticising their own teams' fans after they taunted opponents Chapecoense about the plane crash which saw 19 players and staff members die. Nacional's statement apologised and professed a "deep sense of shame" over the "horrendous" incident. After the South American Football Confederation said it would launch an investigation Nacional said it hoped "those responsible receive the most severe of penalties".

 

Kick Ref Suspended

The referee who kicked out at a player and then sent him off for complaining about being kicked has been suspended by the French FA. Tony Chapron fell to the ground after his heels were clipped by Nantes' Diego Carlos as he ran across in front of the player. Chapron fell over and then lashed out at Carlos with his foot as the player ran past before then giving the player a second yellow card as he stopped to question the referee about the kick. The booking was rescinded at Chapron's request. Chapron, who had been officiating in the French top flight since 2004, has now been suspended for 6 months, though half of the sentence is suspended. Seems a bizarre punishment for a guy who had already announced his retirement prior to the incident and was in his final season as a referee. Basically he has just been handed early retirement by the French league.

 

Hammers Demanded Large Loan Fee For Quina

Scunthorpe United made a transfer deadline day move to sign Domingos Quina from West Ham United on loan, but the deal never made it through over the substantial loan fee demanded by the Hammers. The now-suspended Tony Henry cancelled the deal, despite the player's desire to get some first team football on loan, over the inability of League One side Scunthorpe to meet their demands.

 

Raiola Refuses To Rule Out Zlatan MLS Move

Mino Raiola, the agent of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, has told an Italian media outlet that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is interested in a move to the MLS. With rumours swirling of interest from LA Galaxy in the Swede, Raiola fanned the flames of the rumour but said there is no rush to make the move before his current contract with Manchester United expires at the end of the English football season.

 

Pardew Wants New Evans Deal

West Brom manager Alan Pardew has asked the Baggies' board to up their contract offer to defender Jonny Evans, after the Midlands club rejected deadline day bids for the Northern Irish centre back. "I told him what happened on Wednesday, he understood that, and now in my view we need to sit Jonny down and see if we can get a contract that works for him going forward," said Pardew. "If not, in the summer again we're going to have this situation. That's something that I will speak to the board about in the next couple of weeks. He can only be open to those discussions if the figures are right because the market dictates and we have to understand what those figures would have been elsewhere. Whether we can reach those figures I don't know."

 

Italian FA Commissioner Says Conte Keen On Return To Italy Job

With Antonio Conte cutting an increasingly frustrated figure as Chelsea manager, even before the 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth, newly-appointed Italian FA commissioner Roberto Fabbricini has stirred up more talk of Conte leaving. Conte quit his job as national team boss to take up the role of Chelsea manager following the Euro 2016 tournament, Fabbricini has now claimed that Conte wants to return to the job. "The names are the ones you know," said Fabbricini when asked who would be the next Italy manager. "Mancini was in Rome but we didn't contact him, Conte seems eager to wear Azzurro again, Ancelotti opens and closes the door and Ranieri isn't out either. There's no-one in pole position, we have to evaluate the pros and cons," he continued. "Now though we'll evaluate what to do together with (sub-commissioner Alessandro) Costacurta."

 

Sepp Blatter Considering Legal Action Against FIFA

In what would be the most pointless exercise in history, Sepp Blatter has told Reuters that he is considering taking legal action against FIFA in an attempt to clear his name. "My aim is to look into the decision of FIFA's Ethic-Committee in view of informations, and even evidences that I have received, in the meantime, in connection with my suspension," Blatter told Reuters via email. "We are working on this case and looking forward to development." It just how far out of touch with reality some people are. If Blatter thinks that there is any chance he will ever clear his name then he is completely deluded.

 

Finances Stopped Saints Buying

Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino has said about the January transfer window: "I think we were prepared. The question is in our targets, we couldn't bring our targets," Pellegrino said. "Some of them because it was too expensive for us, some of them because they [other clubs] don't want to accept our bids. The market I think in the last two years change a lot, from Pogba, from Neymar, I think the transfer fees are massive. When you think about now the transfer fees of the players, it's difficult to bring good players, good quality and that can play in the Premier League, that's difficult." Saints did break their transfer record to sign striker Guido Carrillo in the January window.

 

Trump Comments See Maradona Denied US Entry

Diego Maradona's agent has claimed that the legendary Argentine was denied entry to the USA after making some less than complimentary comments about the current president, Donald Trump. Maradona did an interview in Argentina and his lawyer Matia Morla explained: "When were about to get the visa, I said to him: 'Diego, please, don't speak about the USA. And, during a TV interview, in the second question, they asked him: What do you think of Donald Trump? He replied: 'He is a chirolita.'" A chirolita is an Argentinian term used to mean something of little value.

 

Roma Rejected Blind Chance

AS Roma's sporting director Monchi has said that they turned down the chance to sign Manchester United's Daley Blind in January. Monchi has confirmed that the Italian side were offered Blind but turned down the opportunity to opt for him to replace Emerson Palmieri, after the Brazilian joined Chelsea. "We started to hear something about Emerson before the transfer window opened. Blind was one of many names, he was offered and we evaluated him," Monchi said. "We concluded he wasn't a player suited to us, not least for financial reasons." Monchi also denied that there were any bids received in January for goalkeeper Alisson.

Written by Tris Burke February 02 2018 06:12:55