Football News: Review Of The Day 27th November 2019

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Review of the Day

Contracts

Veteran Finnish centre-back Niklas Moisander has agreed a new deal with Werder Bremen which runs until 2021.

Brighton & Hove Albion manager Graham Potter has been given a 2-year contract extension, just 6 months into his job there. Chairman Tony Bloom said: "We've been really pleased with the start Graham has made as head coach since joining us in the summer. I'm delighted he and his staff have committed to these new long-term contracts. Together with his backroom team, he has continued the club's progress of recent years and brought a different approach with a new style of play, which has been embraced by players and supporters alike."

Former Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne has signed a new 1 year deal with New England Revolution.

Orlando City SC have given Spanish midfielder Oriol Rosell a 2 year contract.

Bruno Fernandes has signed a new contract with Sporting CP.

Transfers

Former Ireland international Anthony Stokes has been released by Turkish side Adana Demirspor.

Birmingham City midfielder Craig Gardner is to become a player-coach at the club until retiring in the summer to take up a full-time first team coaching role with the Blues.

Free agent full-back Giulio Donati is training with Lecce in an attempt to get a contract with them.

Injury Round-Up

Middlesbrough left-back George Friend has been ruled out until February after the 32 year old injured his thigh.

Cumbrians Choose Beech

Carlisle United have appointed Chris Beech as their new head coach. Beech was on the coaching staff with Rochdale until leaving them in March. Carlisle chairman Andrew Jenkins said: "His enthusiasm when speaking to us was fantastic to see. We're taking a new approach for the club in defining the position, with us in the past having appointed managers. We see the head coach role as being specific to the football department, from first team through to youth team. Chris will pick the team, coach the squad and organise the day-to-day routine as he prepares for each game."

Scunnie And Vale Charged By FA

Scunthorpe United and Port Vale have both been charged by the Football Association with "failing to ensure that their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion". Matthew Lund of Scunthorpe and David Worrall of Vale were both sent off after the end of a match between the two sides following an altercation involving players from both sides.

Monk Hits Out At Pep

Garry Monk has nothing good to say about former assistant manager Pep Clotet, saying he made an "error of judgement" working with him, despite working with him at Swansea City, then taking him to Leeds United and Birmingham City when he was in charge of those teams. Clotet replaced Monk after his sacking by Birmingham and ahead of a clash between the two teams, Monk told the BBC: "You live and learn. Unfortunately, I didn't listen to a lot of people in football circles who warned me about him. That's an error of judgement from myself. I don't speak with him. What's most important to me when I'm assembling a staff is to give them an opportunity and show them complete trust, and that they repay that trust. Sadly not everyone has that character. Some choose to pursue their own opportunities in the worst possible way. I don't want to waste energy talking about it."

Celtic To Partially Close Seating

Celtic have announced "a partial closure of the rail seating section" for Thursday's Europa League game versus French Ligue 1 side Stade Rennais. Celtic have been repeatedly fined due to the behaviour of fans and stated: "Celtic has ultimate responsibility for the safety of all our supporters and it is a responsibility which we take very seriously. We need to tackle any behaviour which can compromise the safety of our supporters including the use of pyrotechnics, overcrowding and offensive chanting or banners. Regrettably, these charges and sanctions continue to damage the club's reputation and this behaviour continues to threaten supporter safety. Uefa's rules and the club's long-established ground regulations are very clear. Indeed, the club engages in regular dialogue with all supporters groups to ensure these are well known and understood. It is disappointing that behaviour which is unsafe and which we all know will breach Uefa and club regulations has continued."

King Stands Down

Rangers chairman Dave King announced at the club's AGM that he will stand down next year following over 4 years in the role. King said: "I would not step down if the club continued to need my services and support. But it doesn't. It's the best financially and operationally that it's been since I first got involved 20 years ago. I think we're in a really good place right now. Despite the personal trials and tribulations, I want to state that being the chairman of Rangers has been, by far, the greatest privilege of my business life and I will continue to use my shareholding influence to support the club and its board."

Egyptians Refuse To Go To Qatar

Egyptian side Zamalek are refusing to travel to Qatar to take part in the African Super Cup in February. The Confederation Cup holders are due to face Tunisian side Esperance, the African Champions League holders. Zamalek president Mortada Mansour said: "We are two African teams, why should we play in Asia? I don't understand why Caf (Confederation of African Football) wants to play the Super Cup in a country who is an enemy to Egypt. Zamalek board members discussed the issue and decided not to play in Qatar. I am disappointed that Esperance have agreed to play there."

Saints Appoint New Director

Southampton have taken the Football Association's head of development team coaching to be their new director of football operations. Matt Crocker is seen as having played a key role in the recent success of England's age group teams. Soton chief executive Martin Semmens said: "Matt was the outstanding candidate in Europe for this role. The Southampton way is at the very core of everything we do here at the club, with a strong focus on our player pathway into the first team." Crocker was previously at Southampton between 2006 and 2013.

Van Basten Suspended

Fox Sports have suspended legendary former Netherlands striker Marco van Basten after he ended an interview with a German coach with the phrase "Sieg Heil". Van Basten has been suspended for one week, with his wages to be donated to the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation.

Tuchel Admits Managing Neymar Is Difficult

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Thomas Tuchel has admitted that it is not easy to cope with star man Neymar Jr. Tuchel said: "It's not easy to manage him at all! He has a big, big heart, but, unfortunately, he does not always show that he is a generous, reliable boy. Sometimes it is provocative and it's very bad because it's not necessary. Yes, yes, I tell him that. We laugh a lot together and I always try to tell the truth. He accepts it, but it's difficult. Ney is provocative when he feels that something is wrong, but he isn't when he is calm."

Alonso Acquitted Of Tax Fraud

The latest high profile footballer to face a tax fraud case in Spain, former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich midfielder Xabi Alonso, has been cleared of tax fraud in court. Alonso was accused of defrauding 2m euros while on the books of Real Madrid between 2010 and 2012, and allegedly creating a tax haven for unpaid taxes on the revenue of image rights. Unlike previous cases, Alonso always protested his innocence and refuse to enter a plea deal and he and his advisors were cleared of the charges.

Bremen Legend Takes Up New Role

Werder Bremen legend Clemens Fritz has been appointed head of scouting with a remit to overhaul the scouting department of the Bundesliga club. Werder's sporting director Frank Baumann said: "Clemens Fritz will take the next step in his career. He deserves this opportunity with his diligence and curiosity, but also with his empathy and emotional intelligence. His responsibilities will include not only the strategy and administration of the department, but also helping to shape and co-ordinate planning and performance for the players. He will continue to look after our players until the end of the season, in a role he has already been part of for the past few months. He can also consolidate and expand his networks."

Asprilla Reveals He Fixed Crespo's Problems Scoring

Former Parma and Newcastle United forward Faustino Asprilla has been talking to Carlos Valderrama on his YouTube channel and revealed that he once saved Hernan Crespo's career. Crespo was Parma's replacement for Asprilla, after the Colombian signed for Newcastle and Asprilla said: "When I left for Newcastle, Gustavo Mascardi took Hernan Crespo to Parma. And starting it went very badly, it upset him that he couldn't stop the fans, people asked who's this guy. Hernan was desperate. So Gustavo called me and asked me to go to Parma to talk to Crespo. One day Newcastle gave us three days off, so I took a plane and went to Parma. We went with Crespo to eat and asked him what was happening to him; He replied that nothing was going on. I asked him who he lived with in Parma, and he told me that with his parents. 'And the girlfriend?' I asked him, and he replied that she was in Argentina. And how long have you not hit that cuddy toy?' And he tells me 'I don't know, six months ago or what, I don't know'. So I thought, this is a mental problem. Then I had some Colombian friends, so I called Natalia, who was just those days in Parma. I introduced them and asked her to go out with Crespo, and they started dating and a hitting that cuddy toy. And Hernan didn't stop scoring goals. Problem solved!"

Keeper Given 4 Match Ban

Cagliari keeper Robin Olsen has been given a 4 game ban for brawling with Lecce forward Gianluca Lapadula. The Lecce man was also banned, but for two matches. The trouble stemmed from an 83rd-minute penalty converted by Lapadula to cut Cagliari's lead to 2-1. Lapadula rushed to grab the ball from the net but the keeper got there and booted the ball away, prompting an angry response from Lapadula. Olsen then shouldered Lapadula, before the forward responded with what appeared to be a headbutt to Olsen's chin. Olsen then pushed Lapadula to the ground before falling to the floor clutching his face. Both players were sent off, but Olsen was also accused of insulting the 4th official on his way off the pitch. The game ended 2-2.

Barkley Backed, Sort Of, By Lampard

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has hit out at midfielder Ross Barkley's lack of professionalism while backing the midfielder. Barkley has been in the headlines a couple of times now for the wrong reasons, one an incident involving spilt chips in the back of a Liverpool taxi while extremely drunk and the other was this week a video of him circulating while in Dubai partying despite having an ankle injury. Lampard said of Barkley's dropping from the Chelsea squad: "There are two separate issues. One is the headlines this week. Ross knows how I felt about the first headline. I backed him then and I still back him now. But he showed a moment of a lack of professionalism as far as I'm concerned. It's not something that I want to be a pure dictator because I understand that all my players are humans and have lives. I don't police every moment of their lives and I don't think it's a terrible thing that he has done. Ross has had an injury and he's still kind of carrying the injury, feeling a bit of pain when shooting, so he just has to work his way back in in terms of the fitness, train well. I certainly don't hold anything against my players. I like Ross, he's certainly one of my players. It's something he now needs to show all his reactions on the pitch."

Written by Tris Burke November 26 2019 21:08:39