Football News: Review Of The Day 13th September 2018

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Review of the Day

Transfer Round Up

Sunderland have announced the release of Senegalese centre back Papy Djilobodji, terminating the defender's contract after he returned unfit from a period of voluntary unpaid leave. After being brought in for over £8m from Chelsea as then manager David Moyes first signing, the 29 year old has failed to impress and spent last season on loan with Dijon. After asking for a transfer this summer, he was given leave to find a club to sign him but failed to find one and failed to report back to the Mackems until a month after the end of the leave, ignoring requests from the club for his return, and, when he finally returned in the first week of September he failed the standard fitness tests players undergo at the start of pre-season training. He has now been cited for breach of contract and released with immediate effect.

Free agent Dutch midfielder Adam Maher has signed for AZ Alkmaar.

Bowyer, Charlton And Southend Fined

Charlton Athletic manager Lee Bowyer has been fined £1,500 by the FA after admitting to a misconduct charge. Bowyer had been charged with "questioning the integrity of the match official and/or bringing the game into disrepute", after being highly critical of the referee when his team were beaten by Peterborough United.

Also fined, for a separate incident, were Charlton themselves. They and Southend United were fined £5,000 following a 'fracas' between the two sides which ended with three players being shown red cards. An 18-man melee saw Tariqe Fosu of Charlton and Mark Oxley and Michael Kightly (I never knew he was still playing) of Southend were the ones given their marching orders, leading to their clubs being fined for "failing to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion and/or refrained from provocative and/or violent behaviour".

Trotters Stave Off Admin

Bolton Wanderers have managed to avoid going into administration, despite an initial offer to repay their main creditor being rejected. Crisis talks saw agreement reached with BluMarble Capital Ltd to repay the £4m loan + interest, owed to the company, which has meant the club avoided the 12 point deduction and 2 year transfer ban they would have faced if going into admin. Bolton also narrowly avoided admin in November 2016.

SPFL Agree New International Media Rights Deal

The SPFL have ripped up their 10 year agreement with MP and Silva for international media rights after 5 years, stating that MP and Silva had defaulted on a number of payments. Instead they have agreed a deal with a Swiss-based company called Infront.

Smith Quits Rovers Job

Raith Rovers manager Barry Smith has resigned despite Rovers sitting second in Scotland's League One. Smith's Rovers side had missed out on automatic promotion last season on the final day. A Raith statement read: "The board of Raith Rovers Football Club have this evening reluctantly accepted the resignation of manager Barry Smith. The board are now considering all options for taking the club forward."

Khedira Signs Extension

Juventus' Germany midfielder Sami Khedira has signed a two year contract extension that will see him through to 2021. The 31 year old has been with Juve since 2015, when he left Real Madrid to join them.

Deeney Hits Out At Mazzarri

Troy Deeney has hit out at former Watford manager Walter Mazzarri, claiming that the Italian had tried to sell him without his knowledge, even though the manager at Watford does not deal with the transfers. Deeney admits he disliked Mazzarri on a personal level and did not enjoy playing for him, after he replaced Quique Sanchez Flores ahead of the 2016/17 season. Deeney said: "Sometimes it was good if we won but if we lost I wasn't feeling it as I would normally, when it ruins your week. I didn't get on with him from the start. I tried to be respectful as I always am but then there were times when I was scoring, the team was winning and the next game I was on the bench. I asked if I'd done something wrong and it was 'no, you've been great'. I asked for an answer and it never happened. He tried to sell me in the January which I didn't like so I asked if I was available to be sold and was told 'no we need you, you're the captain, you're everything' - and the next thing you know he is still trying to sell me behind my back. As captain it became really difficult to relay the message you know you should to players who are not in the team, keeping them focused when I probably wasn't fully focused." Deeney admits he had to make changes in his lifestyle to lose a stone in excess weight: ""It has just been giving up a lot of sugar, bread, milk and then it was the alcohol. I've got an addictive personality so if I drink I don't have one or two I have 15 - or I have none. So now I'm having none, then picking the right times, like an international break when I had a few beers with my pals. I've trained smarter, with Jamie Reynolds who trains with Anthony Joshua. I was cutting corners before, I used to think if I trained really well I could go home and eat whatever I wanted. I was also drinking after games thinking the next game was not until the following week but not being educated enough to know that if the game is on the Saturday, the Sunday and Monday are the most important in terms of you recovery."

Terry Rejects Spartak Offer

Free agent centre back John Terry has rejected a move to Spartak Moscow after holding talks with the Russian Premier League side. With his family not being keen on relocating, the former England captain decided it would not be right for him to go there.

Cheryshev Facing Doping Investigation

Russian hero Denis Cheryshev, who scored 4 goals for his national side in the recent World Cup, is now being investigated by the Spanish anti-doping authorities after his father had opened up about Cheryshev's use of human growth hormone treatment (HGH). The former Real Madrid forward is currently on loan at Valencia from Villareal. If he was Spanish the courts would just order the evidence destroyed. If it dates back to his time with Real Madrid, there will no doubt be some excuse found to pretend it was ok. However he is at Valencia on loan from Villareal, so he could actually be in genuine trouble, if he has used it without a therapeutic use exemption (TUE).

Lloris Admits Drink-Driving Charge

Tottenham Hotspur's World Cup-winning goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has admitted being over twice the legal limit when stopped by police in London. Lloris was spotted doing 15mph in a 30mph area and his car veered towards parked vehicles before he corrected and then drove through a red light. When the car was pulled over, police officers found vomit and had to help Lloris to get out of the car. Lloris admitted he had been drinking heavily after fellow diners in a restaurant kept buying him drinks to congratulate the 31 year old on his World Cup win. Lloris was fined £50,000 and banned from driving for 20 months.

Boateng Confirms United Rejection

Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng, once of Manchester City, has confirmed that he rejected the red half of Manchester's advances in the summer. Boateng has told German tabloid Bild that, though his club were ready to sell him, he was not ready to leave and decided to stay with the German champions. According to Boateng, he phoned Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho personally to inform him of his decision to reject their offer. Boateng said: "I had enquiries from Paris-Saint Germain and Manchester United, and I considered them. Not because I wanted to leave Bayern Munich by all means. It was no escape, but rather the thrill of a new challenge. I feel completely contented at Bayern one of the biggest clubs in the world. I phoned Jose Mourinho and told him that his interest honoured me and thanked him that he put his back into United for me. I explained to him my reasons for not joining. It's difficult to leave FC Bayern. Everything has to fall in place to top this club, if I do it."

Kurzawa Has Back Surgery

Paris Saint-Germain's full-back Layvin Kurzawa has undergone back surgery for a herniated disc, with the recovery set to rule him out for the rest of the calendar year. The PSG defender had yet to make an appearance for new head coach Thomas Tuchel before the injury hit.

Neymar Whines About Refs Lacking Respect

After Neymar Jr was booked once again for 'simulation' he has hit out at the referee for lacking respect for his cheating, whining antics. The Brazilian show pony hindrance, ooops sorry I mean Brazilian captain, has criticised referee Jair Marrufo in comments to GloboEsporte: "I do not know what I have to do to live with it [this reputation], there's no way I'm going to stand for a situation like this. I think it has to end. But it's not up to me, so much that I did not say anything, I went on with my football. It's a lack of respect, not just with me, but with my team-mates as well. Playing with a yellow card is tricky. The guy comes here to officiate a Brazilian national team match, which is a very big selection, and he does that. I don't think it is correct. If he does not want to give the penalty, it's not a problem, but the card is unnecessary." Surely it is so obvious what the king of roly-polys has to do to change his reputation that even a blind man could see it? Simple enough, just stop play-acting, diving, cheating and whining and play football like a grown up instead of a whiney spoilt five year old who is not getting his way.

Mane Reveals Parents Thought Football A Waste Of Time

Liverpool and Senegal star Sadio Mane has admitted that his parents believed that pursuing football as a career was a waste of his time. Mane told Bleacher Report: "I was born in a village where there had never been a footballer who'd made it in the major championships. I remember that when I was little, my parents felt that I should study to become a teacher. They thought football was a waste of time and I'd never succeed at it. I always said: 'This is the only job that will enable me to help you. And I think I have a chance to become a footballer.' They weren't sure about it because I was a long way from the capital and almost nobody from there had succeeded. So they were against the idea, and they never believed it, right up until the day when I signed my first professional contract. For them, it wasn't possible. They weren't exactly wrong because it really wasn't straightforward, but I wanted to realise my dream of becoming a footballer. I gave it everything. It got to the point where they didn't really have a choice, so they started helping me, and it worked. Today, they're all proud."

Written by Tris Burke September 13 2018 06:21:51