Football News: Review Of The Day 19th April 2019

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Review of the Day

Transfers

Fjortoft is set to join Hamilton Academical for next season. Markus Fjortoft, the son of former Norway international striker Jan Age, is a 26 year old defender currently plying his trade in New Zealand for Southern United and spent two weeks on trial with Accies before they decided to sign him.

Gundogan Likely To Leave City

According to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who should know, Ilkay Gundogan does not want to renew his contract at City. With interest from Inter Milan in the German midfielder, Pep admitted that Gundogan is about to enter the final year of his contract with no sign of him agreeing a new deal. Guardiola said: "His contract is still running for a year and he doesn't want to renew. But he's playing."

Giroud Unhappy With Sub Role

Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud has admitted he is frustrated by his relegation to the bench at Chelsea. The French forward left Arsenal due to being stuck on the bench. Giroud said: "I am frustrated when not on the pitch, but I just don't want to show it. I'm not happy to be the second striker. I want to enjoy my football. It must be decided by the end of the season. We will see what the future holds for me, because the club cannot sign any players at the moment. Yes, I have received offers from other clubs, but I can't tell you yet." Assistant coach Gianfranco Zola has said he would like to see Giroud stay: "Olivier Giroud has been fantastic. It's not up to me to decide that as I don't have the power. I hope he stays."

Potter Wants Swans Stay

Graham Potter has been linked with the Celtic job but the 43 year old is happy with Swansea City, he told the media. Potter spent 7 years in Sweden and says he wants a similar spell with the Swans. Potter said: "I enjoyed my time in Sweden. I was stable and we made progress and I'm looking forward to the same here. You want the football club you are working at to improve and progress and you want the same for yourself. That's what everybody should be aspiring to. I have a job to do here and I am focused on that. It's just speculation from you guys in the media. I had a bit of a laugh about it with Oli McBurnie and George Byers as Rangers supporters, but apart from that there's nothing in it as far as I am concerned."

Boro Lose Defensive Duo

Middlesbrough defenders Dael Fry and Daniel Ayala are both ruled out of the end of the season. The centre back duo picked up lengthy injuries which will see them spend the summer doing rehabilitation. Fry tore his hamstring in training and it will be around 3 months before he is back, while Ayala came off in the win against Hull with what manager Tony Pulis termed a "serious ligament injury".

Forest Owner Accused Of Match Fixing

The shipping magnate owner of Olympiakos and Nottingham Forest, Evangelos Marinakis has been once again accused of a crime. In 2014 one of his oil tankers was found to be carrying more than 2 tonnes of heroin, which Marinakis claimed to have been a plot against him from jealous opponents. Marinakis is now set to stand trial for football corruption, as well as drug trafficking and "associating with criminals". Marinakis is one of 28 people accused of manipulating matches, along with former referees and football federation officials. Marinakis was cleared of forming a match-fixing ring in March.

Khedira To Have Knee Surgery

Juventus' German midfielder Sami Khedira is set to have knee surgery to cure a persistent problem he has been suffering with this season. The 32 year old said: "After four months of continuous pain in my knee - some days worse than others - I have decided to undergo surgery, letting it fix and heal fully."

Newcastle Announce Profit

Despite repaying £33m in loans to owner Mike Ashley, Newcastle United were able to post a profit of £18.6m after tax, in large part due to a rise in media income from £79m to £119.6m. Turnover and commercial income both also rose by significant amounts, turnover more than doubling, while operating expenses were reduced by over £20m to £119.6m. The club still owes Ashley a long-term loan of £111m, which would be repayable on any sale of the club.

Barton Denies Assault

Fleetwood Town boss Joey Barton has denied allegations that he assaulted Daniel Stendel after a tunnel altercation left the Barnsley boss injured. Barton's statement read: "With regards to the alleged incident on Saturday following our game against Barnsley, I emphatically deny the allegations made." South Yorkshire Police arrested a man on suspicion of a recially aggravated public order offence and racially aggravated assault, who has been given bail, but police would not confirm the identity of the man. They did appeal for anyone with mobile phone footage of the incident to come forward.

Scotland Look For New Manager

Scotland are on the hunt for a new manager after Alex McLeish was fired following 14 difficult months in charge. McLeish was an unpopular choice with his status in the game extremely low following a number of failed stints in various jobs around the world. The writing was truly on the wall after his Scottish team lost 3-0 to Kazakhstan, who were ranked 117th in the world.

Ramsey Sidelined

With just a few weeks of the season left, Aaron Ramsey might well have already played his last game for Arsenal after the 28 year old midfielder picked up a hamstring injury against Napoli. Ramsey is likely to miss between 4 and 6 weeks.

Footballers To Boycott Social Media

In protest at the way social media networks and the football authorities have reacted to numerous racist incidents in recent weeks, professional footballers in England and Wales are set to boycott social media for 24 hours on Friday. A PFA statement called it the "first step in a longer campaign to tackle racism in football. The boycott acts as a show of unity by the players, and a call for stronger action to be taken by social networks and footballing authorities in response to racist abuse both on and off the pitch."

Costa Refuses To Train

According to Reuters news agency, Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa has refused to train after being told he would be fined for his outburst at the referee during the defeat to Barcelona. Costa was sent off and has been banned for 8 games for verbally abusing the referee in that match but is unhappy with the club for fining him.

Liverpool To Subsidise Tickets For Away Leg

After Barcelona announced charges of 119 euros for a ticket in the away end when they face Liverpool in the Champions League at the Nou Camp, Liverpool have announced they will follow the lead of Manchester United and increase the price of tickets for away fans at Anfield and use the increased revenue to subsidise tickets for their fans at the Nou Camp. LFC will reduce the away ticket price to 88 euros, a 31 euro saving over the price Barca are fleecing out of away fans. Man Utd faced a similar problem in the previous round, with Barca showing that their claim to be more than a football club is a load of nonsense.

Written by Tris Burke April 19 2019 06:57:19