Football News: Review Of The Day 24th September 2022

Review of the Day

Become a Patron!

Contracts

Blackburn Rovers have given teenage defender Ash Phillips his first professional deal, which runs until 2025.

Watford's young Brazilian striker Joao Pedro has signed a new 6-year deal to keep him at the Championship club until 2028.

Veteran Philadelphia Union midfielder Alejandro Bedoya has signed a deal which will expire at the end of 2023.

Newcastle United have given teenage midfielder Elliot Anderson a 4-year contract.

Jobe Bellingham, the younger brother of Jude, has signed his first professional contract with Birmingham City.

Callum Burton has signed a new 2-year deal with Plymouth Argyle.

Transfers

Angers' former Southampton full-back Yan Valery, who was born in France and represented them up to Under-18 level, has transferred his international allegiance to Tunisia. The 23-year-old is eligible to represent the African nation through his mother and could potentially make their squad for the World Cup in Qatar.

Free agent former Aston Villa forward Nathan Delfouneso has signed for Accrington Stanley on a short term contract.

Nantes have paid £3.6m for Fabien Centonze from Metz.

Free agent Portugese midfielder Xeka has joined Stade Rennais.

Free agent former West Ham United goalkeeper David Martin has returned to MK Dons, signing on as a player-coach with his former club.

Injury Round Up

Hertha Berlin winger Jean-Paul Boetius has been ruled out after a tumour was found in his testicles during a routine medical check-up. The 28-year-old Dutchman only joined Hertha last month. The club have said he is ruled out for the forseeable future.

Aston Villa midfielder Boubacar Kamara is likely to miss the World Cup with a knee ligament injury which will rule him out for about two months.

Barcelona defender Jules Kounde has been ruled out for 4-5 weeks with a muscle tear in his thigh. Fellow Barca centre-back Ronald Araujo has also been ruled out, though his problem is in his right adductor tendon, with a stress/fatigue problem which could rule him out for anywhere from a week to two months.

Job Changes

Mark Noble will be returning to West Ham United next year in a newly created Sporting Director role. Noble will start on 2nd January 2023 just a few months after retiring as a player at the Hammers, who he was on the books of from the age of 11. Over the summer he started working towards his new career path with an entertainment, media and sports business course at Harvard Business School in the USA. West Ham have not had a sporting director since Mario Husillos followed Manuel Pellegrini out of the door in December 2019. Chelsea are the only English Premier League club that currently lack a sporting director or equivalent.

Fabio Cannavaro has taken his first managerial job in Europe after managing in Asia with Chinese and Saudi Arabian clubs and the Chinese national team. Benevento have appointed the former Italy captain to take charge of their attempts to gain promotion from Serie B back to Serie A.

Derby County have found their new permanent head coach in the shape of Paul Warne. The Rams are taking Warne from Rotherham United where he oversaw 3 promotions and 3 relegations to and from the Championship since taking charge in November 2016. He is bringing his coaching staff of Richie Barker, Matt Hamshaw and Andy Warrington with him. Warne replaces interim head coach Liam Rosenior.

Peterborough United have appointed Leighton Mitchell as interim CEO while current incumbent David Paton is suspended (see below for story).

Burnley's Head of Sport Science Mark Howard has left after almost ten years with the Clarets. Howard said: "After nearly a decade at the Clarets, my chapter at Burnley comes to an end. Another example of special things happening to special groups of people that care and try for each other. Time to reflect and learn from another amazing experience and take more lessons in leadership and high performance with me into my next challenge. It's been a privilege to have been part of such a memorable time and I thank everyone at Burnley for the opportunity and wish them all the very best for the rest of the season and beyond." New Burnley boss Vincent Kompany brought performance coach and analyst Bram Geers with him from Anderlecht. The list of football staff to leave Burnley since the takeover by ALK in December 2020 is lengthening:
1. Sean Dyche (head coach)
2. Mike Rigg (technical director)
3. Ian Woan (assistant coach)
4. Billy Mercer (goalkeeper coach)
5. Fabian Otte (goalkeeper coach)
6. Steve Stone (first-team coach)
7. Tony Loughlan (first-team coach)
8. Mark Howard (head of sport science)
9. Ronan Kavanagh (sport scientist)
10. Tom Short (strength and conditioning coach)
11. Ally Beattie (head physio)
12. Martin Hodge (head of recruitment)
13. Jon Pepper (academy manager)
14. Alex Ouzounoglou (head of academy sport science)
15. Darren Bentley (media manager)
16. Pete Oliver (media manager)

Former Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid sport scientist Jack Nayler has been appointed as Head of Sport Science at Everton. Nayler has also held that same role at Celtic and RB Leipzig before joining Everton. Toffees' Director of Football Kevin Thelwell said of the appointment: "Jack is one of the best in his profession and we are delighted for him to become a key part of our first-team set-up. He is hugely respected in the field of sports science, highlighted by the fact he has worked for some of the best clubs in Europe, and his expertise will further strengthen our talented backroom team at Everton." Thelwell has overseen almost as much turnover as at Burnley, with Nayler the 7th person brought into by the former Wolverhampton Wanderers man.

Barry Town manager Gavin Chesterfield is leaving to take a job as Academy Manager at Cardiff City. His final match in charge of Barry will be on 5th November after taking over in August 2007. He replaces David Hughes, who left to become a Professional Development Phase Coach at Manchester United.

Burnley's former academy manager Jon Pepper, one of the many victims of the ALK takeover new broom, has become Head of Academy at Lincoln City. While at the Clarets, Pepper oversaw a rise from category 3 status to reach category 1.

Dundee United have confirmed the appointment of caretaker boss Liam Fox as permanent head coach. Fox replaced Jack Ross, who was sacked after they lost 9-0 to Celtic. Stevie Crawford has left his job as East Fife head coach to become Fox's assistant.

Adrian Gonzalez has retired from playing at the age of 34 in order to take up a role on the coaching staff at Olympiakos under his dad Michel.

Newcastle United have appointed Adam Bartlett to the role of Head of Goalkeeping.

Disciplinary Charges

Arrests and incidents of disorder are on the rise in English and Welsh football according to the latest figures released by the Home Office. The number of football-related arrests reached the highest level since the 2013-14 season during last season. The 2021-22 campaign was the first with capacity crowds back in grounds following the pandemic and saw multiple occasions of pitch invasions and players being attacked. About 70% of the arrests were fans aged between 18-30, with the police laying part of the blame at the feet of alcohol and increased cocaine use and do not believe it is a post-Covid issue, but a long-term trend. Millwall were unsurprisingly top of the list of club's handing out banning orders, with 33 over the course of the season, with Leicester City second (28) and Everton third (26). The use of pyrotechnics and throwing of missiles were the main causes of arrests. These figures come on the back of two England internationals in Eric Dier and Jordan Henderson revealing their families have had problems with fan behaviour at grounds. Dier has admitted that his family avoid attending away games, while Henderson's wife and kids were trapped during the violence at Wembley ahead of the Euro 2020 final and have been put off going to matches again. This on top of Sheffield United captain Billy Sharp being headbutted by a fan during a pitch invasion and Aston Villa keeper Robin Olsen also being assaulted during a separate pitch invasion.

The Premier League have decided on a minimum 1-year ban for fans who take part in anti-social or criminal behaviour at grounds. They will automatically apply to "fans caught carrying or activating pyrotechnics or smoke bombs, or entering the pitch without permission".

Aberdeen boss Jim Goodwin has been charged after he said Hibernian centre-half Ryan Porteous was guilty of "blatant cheating". It is an accusation that is constantly levelled at Porteous, for good reason, but Goodwin has still been accused of not acting in the best interests of football for his comments when he said: "I don't know how many times the boy Porteous can get away with that kind of stuff. We're telling our players in midweek to be careful with him in the box, be careful with him at set-plays and don't touch him as he will go over. I actually had a laugh and a joke with the referee prior to the game to make him aware of it. Unfortunately, just before half-time, he was sucked in hook, line and sinker. We showed our players a number of instances when Porteous has won penalties like that in the past. People will say he's good at it and he's clever, but it's blatant cheating as far as I'm concerned and it's cost my team points. I told Porteous to his face after the game what I thought of him. I don't care what he reads in the paper on Sunday and Monday. He knows. He's laughing about it. He celebrates winning penalty kicks like he's scored a goal." I do wonder why Porteous is not the one facing the same charge? Diving is more of a curse on football than someone pointing out a dive.

Kilmarnock are investigating social media footage of their veteran Northern Ireland forward Kyle Lafferty using sectarian language. Killie stated that they are aware of the footage "which appears to show a member of our playing staff using language of a sectarian nature. The club finds all forms of discriminatory behaviour completely unacceptable." Lafferty was also withdrawn from Northern Ireland's Nations League squad, though he was struggling with a back problem anyway.

Peterborough United have been charged for breaches of the owners and directors' test submission by the English Football League. The charges relate to the appointment of their new chief executive David Paton in January. Paton has now been suspended from the role while the EFL investigate.

Barnsley have been charged due to discriminatory chants aimed by their fans towards a female member of the Bristol Rovers' staff. Barnsley condemned the chants immediately after the incident saying: "This is totally unacceptable and Barnsley FC condemn any behaviour of this manner. The club prides itself on providing an inclusive, family friendly environment."

Over 1,700 Liverpool fans are launching a class action lawsuit against UEFA due to their traumatic experiences and/or injuries at the Champions League final in Paris.

Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronadlo has been charged by the FA over the footage which showed him knock a phone out of a young fan's hand. Ronaldo apologised on social media and has been cautioned by police already over the incident.

Both Olympique Marseille and OGC Nice will play their next home European games behind closed doors. Marseille will also have to partially close their stadium for the visit of Tottenham Hotspur in November. They were punished for "lighting of fireworks, throwing of objects, use of laser pointers, crowd disturbances and blocking of passageways". Nice have also got the added punishment of being unable to sell tickets for their next away fixture with their offences including "racist behaviour, throwing of objects, lighting of fireworks and crowd disturbances".

Cologne have been fined £90,000 and banned from selling tickets to their next two away games in Europe for "lighting of fireworks, throwing of objects and crowd disturbances". Fellow German club Eintracht Frankfurt have been fined £13,400 and given a partial stadium ban suspended for a year. On top of that theu are banned from selling tickets to their next away European fixture, again suspended for a year. The punishments (or should that be lack of punishment as it is all suspended?) are for racist behaviour.

UEFA have also fined FK Partizan £18,000 and ordered to partially close their stadium for their next home European game due to "the discriminatory behaviour of its supporters"."

More "racist behaviour" has seen Juventus having a partial stadium closure and banned from selling tickets for their next European away fixture, both suspended for a year.

PSG's former Barcelona forward Neymar is once again looking at more problems with the Spanish tax authorities. It has been revealed that he demanded Barca created a commercial office in Brazil, through which he would receive a 20% commission on every transaction. A draft contract he delivered to the club in February 2017 has come to light as the player is already fighting a case over his transfer to Barca, with it believed that the true costs of the move were hidden to avoid taxes.

Pointless List Of The Day

Highest spending in a single summer, according to transfermarkt, is today's pointless list, amounts in euros:
1. Real Madrid - 2019-20 - 8 signings - 325.5m
2. Chelsea - 2022-23 - 7 signings - 279m
3. Barcelona - 2019-20 - 6 signings - 273.5m
4. Juventus - 2018-19 - 8 signings - 259.1m
5. Real Madrid - 2009-10 - 8 signings - 258.5m
6. Manchester City - 2017-18 - 8 signings - 248.5m
7. Atletico Madrid - 2019-20 - 9 signings - 247.4m
8. Chelsea - 2020-21 - 7 signings - 247.2m
9. Paris Saint-Germain - 2017-18 - 4 signings - 238m
9. Manchester United - 2022-23 - 5 signings - 238m
11. Barcelona - 2017-18 - 5 signings - 232.7m
12. Paris Saint-Germain - 2018-19 - 5 signings - 222m
One thing this list does do is put into context all the whinging from La Liga about how the riches of the English Premier League is ruining football. Strange they never complained when it was La Liga with all the money to spend!

Man Utd Loss

Despite rising revenues, Manchester United have announced a net loss for the 2021-22 season. Revenues reached £583.2m, an 18% rise over the previous one, but losses also rose by £23.3m to reach £115.5m. Debt also increased from £419.5m to £514.9m, a more than 22% increase. Wages also rose to set a new Premier League record of £384.2m, up by 19.1% (£61.6m). The previous record was set by Manchester City with £355m. The Red Devils also spent nearly £25m on pay-offs to the staff of their two managers from the season, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and Ralf Rangnick. Chief financial officer Cliff Baty claimed that the pandemic was largely responsible for the losses and rise in debt: "Our financial results for fiscal 2022 reflect a recovery from the pandemic, a full return of fans and new commercial partnerships offset by increased investment in the playing squad. Our results have been adversely affected by the absence of a summer tour in July 2021, material exceptional and increased utility costs, and the impact of the weakening of sterling on our non-cash finance costs."

Also making losses are Juventus, who are in the red to the tune of 254m euros in the 2021-22 financial year, up from 209m in the previous year. Revenues fell by 7.8% during the operating year, while operating costs rose by 7.6%. Despite the losses, debt was reduced from 389m euros to 153m due to a 400m euro share issue in December, which was used to reduce debt. This is the 5th consecutive year Juventus have lost money, with this year's losses the highest ever recorded in Serie A. In fact their losses show a worrying trend as they have gone from 19m to 40m, then 90m, 210m and now 254.3m.

Paris Saint-German president Nasser Al-Khelafi has hit out at Barcelona during a speech on the UEFA renewal of Financial Fair Play regulations. The PSG owner told the European Club Association assembly in Istanbul: "The new financial sustainability rules are a positive development. The rules control costs. They encourage investment and new investors. They will help ensure the sustainability of football. But we have to be careful; dangerous levels of debt and magically injecting capital is not a sustainable path. We have to think long term, not short term." The speech was seen as a clear dig at Barcelona's sell-off of future income in order to go on a signing spree in the summer. La Liga president Javier Tebas decided to get involved and responded on social media saying: "There is no magic, the @FCBarcelona_es has sold part of its assets to cover its losses, in the @psg_inside instead 'you turn on the gas'. For sustainable football, the first thing is to pay what is owed, RIGHT?"

Energy Costs See Game Moved

League Two side Mansfield Town have moved the kick-off time of their match against Walsall forward to a 1pm start due to the "considerable increase in energy bills". The game, which will take place on Saturday 15th October, was originally slated for a 3pm kick-off. "The earlier kick-off will help us see whether significant savings can be made on floodlight usage and other energy costs. Moreover, following the trial of this change in kick-off time, the club will be able to better determine whether an earlier kick-off on a Saturday would have an affect on prospective attendances." Clubs in Scotland are also considering making a similar change in order to offset the rising energy prices.

Become a Patron!

Written by Tris Burke September 24 2022 14:42:28