Football News: Review Of The Day 19th November 2019
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Review of the Day
Transfers
Inter Miami (that name sounds no better no matter how many times I read it) have signed forward Jerome Kiesewetter. He spent last season with USL Championship club El Paso Locomotive.
Injury Round-Up
Liverpool's Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk has dropped out of the Netherlands squad for personal reasons.
Real Madrid midfielder James Rodriguez has been ruled out for at least 3 weeks with a knee sprain in his left knee.
Grimsby Explain Jolley Sacking
After the manager of League Two side Grimsby Town went on an expletive-laden rant, which included swearing 58 times in 4 minutes, he left the club on Friday. Michael Jolley got into a row with a BBC journalist following a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Leyton Orient on the 19th October. When the audio was played to club directors, Michael left the club. Grimsby director John Fenty said: "We're really disappointed with the whole affair, Michael knows that. Michael came to me on Wednesday and his view was that he knew where this was going, and he sought an opportunity for a compromise arrangement, which resulted in leaving on mutual grounds and gave him some certainty of receipt in terms of parting company. Clearly he wasn't sacked. On a personal level, I'm concerned and disappointed there was mention to the budget and a suggestion goading the press to say they should have said something about the budget in the past. I find that a strange comment. However in the light of things, when things aren't going well on the field, it is a pressure cooker and we do tend to give allowance for some of these things that erupt over. But on the scale of eruption, it's clear that the club had to go through a disciplinary process. I'm not suggesting for a minute that it would have concluded in gross misconduct and therefore dismissal, there can be a whole range of outcomes to that, but Michael assumed it could only go in one direction and sought mutual settlement, which we arrived at."
Wigan Ownership Changing
The owners of Wigan Athletic, International Entertainment Corporation (IEC), are set to hand over ownership to a fund owned by their chairman Stanley Choi. Next Leader Limited have a memorandum of understanding to set up a fund to purchase the club's shares and have notified the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It is not expected to affect the club's day-to-running.
Ross Claims Sunderland Time Has Improved Him
Hibernian's new head coach Jack Ross says that his time at Sunderland dealing with the "huge expectations and demands" there has improved him as a manager. Ross said: "I'm a better manager than when I left Scotland 18 months ago. I know there will be big demands here. I think to carry that on a consistent basis and meet them is challenging. But I think you build up a belief and a resilience as a manager and I certainly feel the 18 months [at Sunderland] has helped me improve my ability to do that."
Dutch Side Apologise For Crow Explanation
Den Bosch have apologised to Excelsior Rotterdam player Ahmad Mendes Moreira for claiming that he misheard the crowd making "crow sounds" for racist abuse. The second tier Dutch side stated: "Den Bosch were completely wrong yesterday with its initial reaction. It appears there was racist abuse from the stands. That reaction was a blunder for which the club apologises to everyone, in particular to Excelsior player Ahmad Mendes Moreira. The club is further investigating what actually happened and will make every effort to find and punish those who are guilty of this." Den Bosch had initially claimed that Moreira had heard the crowd making crow noises to put off opposition players, but the winger revealed that the abuse he heard was being called a "negro and cotton-picker". Which is not often confused for corw noise, it must be said.
Rennes Reveal Clubs Interested In Camavinga
The president of French side Stade Rennais, Olivier Letang, has confirmed that AC Milan are interested in their teenage midfielder Eduardo Camavinga. He said: "If it were for me, I would keep Camavinga for another 10 years!. There have been contacts, there is a market that calls and the wishes of the player to be taken into consideration. We will meet later to talk about it, probably at the end of the season."
Mainz Choose Their Coach
Just nine days after he was sacked by Cologne, Achim Beierlorzer has taken charge of fellow Bundesliga side Mainz 05. Beierlorzer said: "In this business things can sometimes move quickly, especially if it's just a good fit."
Pep's Agent Denies He Wants Out Of Citeh
Josep Maria Orobitg, the agent of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, has dismissed speculation that Guardiola is unhappy with City and looking to leave the club. Orobitg said: "I only spoke with Pep last Wednesday, and everything is the same: he feels good at Manchester City and also in the city of Manchester, and he has a contract until June 30, 2021."
Torreira's Agent Hints At Leaving Arsenal
Lucas Torreira's agent, Pablo Betancur, has hinted that the Uruguayan is considering leaving Arsenal in January. Bentancur said: "I must say that the change of role has penalised him sharply. He is uneasy and we hope that things can change. We have no problem with Arsenal, only words of thanks. Arsenal has allowed Lucas to compete in the Premier League, he has always shown great confidence. Clearly the interests for Torreira are all correct, especially from Spanish clubs, but I have never sat down with any club to talk about his transfer. This is because of the great respect we have for the Gunners and their general manager Raul Sanllhei. Atletico? I don't want to name the teams out of respect, but I can tell you that Atletico had tried to take Lucas from Sampdoria two years ago. Milan? There was an interest as well as other clubs. But we got together with the Gunners general manager, Raul Sanllhei, and he immediately told us that for Arsenal Torreira was not for sale, an adamant position that has I also have to say that Milan did not present a real concrete offer, perhaps because it knew what the player's Arsenal thought. Lucas always follows Italian football with great interest, I cannot rule out anything. In Italy he grew up as a player and as a man, he brings to heart his experiences at Pescara and Sampdoria."
Cutrone Staying With Wolves
The agent of Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Patrick Cutrone has dismissed rumours that the Italian forward is looking to move back to Serie A in January. Donato Orgnoni said: "We've never thought of leaving Wolves. I don't understand why certain news comes out. He remains in England one hundred percent."
Mikel Names Hazard As Laziest Player
Nigeria's former Chelsea midfielder Jon Obi Mikel has revealed that Real Madrid's summer signing Eden Hazard was the laziest player at Chelsea when he was there. Mikel said: "The laziest player I have played alongside is Eden Hazard. Hazard has an incredible talent, maybe not as good as Messi, but he can do whatever he wants with the ball at his feet. He didn't like to train hard. While we were working he was waiting for us to finish training just standing there. But on Sundays he was always man of the match, it was unbelievable." Mikel also describes Frank Lampard as the hardest worker on the team during his time.
United Announce Net Debt Increase
Manchester United have announced their accounts for the first quarter of 2019/20. The big news is that their net debt has increased by 55.5% from £247.2m to £384.5m due to spending on players. The wage bill has been reduced by 8.8% as player's salaries have been reduced due to "non-participation in the UEFA Champions League". Commercial revenue has risen by 5.9% to £80.4m but broadcasting revenue has dropped by 23.1% to £32.9m.
FIFA Confirm World Cup Dates
FIFA have confirmed the start date of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as 21st November 2022, with it ending just 28 days later on 18th December. The Premier League is due to resume just over a week later on Boxing Day.
Written by Tris Burke November 18 2019 20:42:12
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