Football News: Review Of The Day 25th September 2018

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Review of the Day

Transfers

Fleetwood Town have signed veteran full-back Ryan Taylor after a trial spell. The 34 year old, who began his career with Tranmere Rovers, was released by Port Vale at the end of last season.

Free agent winger Lloyd Dyer has joined Bolton Wanderers on a short-term contract. The 36 year old left Burton Albion in the summer.

Sunderland have terminated the contract of Gabonese international Didier Ndong. The 24 year old midfielder was one of two players who refused to report after pre-season training along with Papy Djilodji, who has also had his contract terminated. Ndong was contracted to the Mackems until 2021 and Sunderland are pursuing legal redress from the player for monies paid to sign him. A Sunderland statement read: "No reason was given for his failure to report and continued absence. Sunderland AFC retain the right to pursue the player and any club he may subsequently join in relation to compensation for the value of the player."

Villa Tie Down Grealish

After rejecting offers from Tottenham Hotspur for midfielder Jack Grealish (why would they want him?!?), Aston Villa have persuaded the 23 year old to sign a new long-term contract with the club. Despite Villa currently being mired in mid-table in the Championship, Grealish has agreed a deal which runs until 2023.

Former Norwich And Forest Forward Makes Wrestling Debut

Grant Holt's announcement as a professional wrestler was received with scepticism, with many people unsure if it was genuine, until now. His debut saw him win a 40 person rumble in a match that was just marginally less fixed than a game involving Paolo Rossi.

UEFA Reopen PSG Investigation

Paris Saint-Germain were cleared of breaking Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules back in June, but the case has now been reopened by UEFA. With the signing of Neymar, for more than double the previous transfer record, and Kylian Mbappe for an outlay of over 300million euros in total there are certainly grounds to question their finances.

Pogba Wants To Attack At Home

Paul Pogba has reopened something himself, this time the debate over whether he and Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho see eye-to-eye. After United were held to a draw (or should that be scraped a draw?) by Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford on Alex Ferguson's return, Pogba has criticised the way the team played. Pogba said: "We are at home and we should play much better against Wolves. We are here to attack. When we play like [that] it's easier for us. I think teams are scared when they see Manchester United attacking and attacking. That was our mistake. Maybe the attitude should be better and we should play better because, again, we are at Old Trafford and we should just attack and press like we did against Tottenham, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal last season."

Modric Wins Best Player Award

Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric held off the challenges of Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo and Liverpool's Mo Salah to win the award for world's best male player, in a nice change from it being passed between Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Ronaldo. France's World Cup winning coach Didier Deschamps picked up the best coach award, clearly because he won the World Cup rather than because he is anywhere near the best coach in the world. To be honest, does anyone actually care? The whole thing is a joke, with the most ridiculous decisions, such as Thibaut Courtois getting the best goalkeeper in the world award, despite not even being the best goalkeeper in the Premier League last season. To top it off both he and Mo Salah (who is supposedly one of the top 3 players in the world) were then left out of the best eleven! What is worse is that none of the top 3 goalkeepers (who all underperformed throughout the season) were even picked in the best eleven, instead Manchester United keeper David De Gea got the nod. The only worthwhile award was the Fair Play award which was given to VVV-Venlo striker Lennart Thy, who missed a match in March because he was donating stem cells to a leukemia patient. Forget the rest, that is the player who deserves the plaudits.

Lyon Unable To Prosecute Marseille Slur Fans

Olympique Lyonnais have been in the news recently after a fan was caught on camera giving a Nazi salute and he was swiftly found and banned for life by the club. Sunday's league game was also caught up in a storm of controversy because of their fans, after leaflets were distributed which claimed that Marseille was "a city where AIDS reigns". After consulting with lawyers over the possibility of taking legal action against the fans responsible, a Lyon statement read: "Olympique Lyonnais denounces the odious flyer distributed this evening by fans in the north end, which is opposed to the club's values and which unfortunately cannot be prosecuted legally. The club deplores such an initiative, which is not worthy of supporters and would prefer to keep in mind the non-stop encouragement that carried the team and which are worthy of the club and its ambitions."

Neymar Diversifies Into Mobile Gaming

Neymar Jr has moved on from playing football into acting (both on and off the pitch), dressage (where he is a top class show pony), diving, 'singing' and comic books. Now he can add mobile gaming to his portfolio following the release of tedious mobile game "Match MVP Neymar Jr", which has launched to absolutely no acclaim. Neymar's role is as a mentor, while his father appears to notify you of contract offers as your 'agent' in the game. Keeping it in the family, his mother and son are also included on advertising billboards, just to make it even less appealing.

Osvaldo Admits He Lacked Self-Discipline

Dani Osvaldo, the former Italy international who was better known for being a troublemaker, has admitted that he lacked the desire for self-sacrifice needed to make the most of his talents. Osvaldo's career took in AS Roma, Juventus, Southampton, Inter Milan and Boca Juniors before he retired in 2016 to take up a music career instead. Osvaldo told Marca: "I am not a big fan of the daytime. I smoke a lot, I went to play football yesterday with friends and I almost choked to death. Cristiano Ronaldo likes to go home and do 150 press-ups, but I like preparing barbecues instead. Football gave me the chance to help my family and earn so much, that I can afford to not work again. It allowed me to travel and get to know different places and people. It changed my life but it also took my freedom away from me, and I can't give up my freedom. Still, I love football and won't deny it. I used to smoke at training camps with the Italian national team, and even the coach used to come up and ask me for a light. [Boca coach Guillermo Barros] Schelotto, instead, threw me out of Boca because it surprised him that I smoked. If that bothers you, come over and say it to my face. If you want to kick a player out with the record I had when I arrived at Boca, we'll sit down for a coffee and he can tell me 'let's look for the best way you can leave', you don't go public with the fact I smoked a cigarette. He showed no respect and he was a coward. There were 12 of us who smoked but I was the one who was kicked out. He saw them. So? He told them they couldn't do it, that's all. He didn't even tell me. But I'm glad I was smoking a cigarette at that time, because if not I would have ripped his head off: he put me on the pitch for a minute and a half in the game [against Nacional] as if I was 14 years old." I wonder why he flopped so badly at Southampton? I am sure there is a clue somewhere there in what he said, but I just can't quite put my finger on it....

Poland Sanctioned For Racism

UEFA once more showed their lack of bite in dealing with racism as Poland have been told they must close just one sector of their stadium, comprising at least 1000 seats, and cover it with a banner reading '#EqualGame' and a UEFA logo on it. The Polish FA have also been fined 2,000 euros for setting off fireworks. The mild punishment was awarded after racist chanting during the Nations League match against Italy.

Oxford Set For Investment From Inter Chairman

English League One side Oxford United are set to be boosted as the chairman of Inter Milan Erick Thohir is set to invest. The current Oxford owner, Sumrith Thanakarnjanasuth, is looking to sell his stake in the club and told BBC Sport that Thohir would be buying a majority stake. Thanakarnjanasuth said: "He owns 30 per cent of Inter Milan. He'll be part of Oxford. It's a good connection that he has."

Written by Tris Burke September 25 2018 06:22:36