Tap For Menu  
Single word yields best result

Football News: De Boer Weighs In On Man Utd Issues While Rodwell Undergoes 50 Injections In A Week To Get Fit For Sunderland

De Boer Weighs In On Man Utd Issues While Rodwell Undergoes 50 Injections In A Week To Get Fit For Sunderland
Image from: dw.com

1. FC Twente banned from European football
Netherlands FC Twente have been hit with a 3 year ban from European competition over a third party ownership of one of their players. The Royal Netherlands Football Association hit Twente with the punishment due to the club "deliberately misleading" them over the sale of rights to the player to an outside investor. Third party ownership is banned by FIFA now, as a threat to the game's integrity, due to the investors constantly pushing transfers through to earn money. Twente have been warned that the ongoing investigation to the matter must be cooperated with or they will have their professional license revoked.

2. Freddy Adu finally finds a team that wants to keep him
One time 'wunderkind' and future of US soccer, Ghana's Freddy Adu has finally achieved something in football, other than being the face of Nike. The now 26 year old, after flopping everywhere in his career and struggling to even manage to complete a season at a club in the past, has now been given a one year contract for 2016 with NASL side Tampa Bay Rowdies, with the club holding an option to extend it for another year. Admittedly NASL is a secondary competition in the USA, where its rival MLS is the premier competition, but it is a start for the ridiculously over hyped Adu.

 

3. Blatter attacks FIFA's ethics committee
Suspended FIFA president Sepp Blatter has once again questioned the credibility of FIFA's ethics committee just before he is due to appear before it to answer charges over corruption. "The manner in which the investigatory chamber of the ethics committee communicates in the ongoing investigation, calling for the maximum penalty and reinforcing public prejudice, introduces a tendentious and dangerous dimension," he wrote. Reinforcing public prejudice? Ah Sepp, it is not rejudice when it is true.

4. Speaking of corrupt officials (allegedly)
The Peruvian authorities have opened a probe into the head of the Peruvian Football Federation (FPF) and 65 (yes sixty-five!) other people in connection with the corruption scandal which is engulfing FIFA. Prosecutors are examining bank accounts, income and expenses to see if they were involved in the alleged money-laundering scheme headed up by a former FPF chief Manual Burga. Burga was arrested earlier this month after being named among the 16 men whose indictments were announced in Washington on 3rd December. At this rate there will be nobody left to run football.

 

5. Rodwell making a huge effort to get fit
Sunderland's Jack Rodwell has revealed that he went to see controversial specialist Dr Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt in an attempt to rescue his career. Rodwell burst onto the scene at just 16, as he forced his way into Everton's first team, before making a big money move to Manchester City. There he struggled badly with injuries and eventually was allowed to join the Mackems in 2014, where he has again struggled with injuries. The 24 year old was no longer suffering the longer term injuries that plagued him at Citeh, which would see him miss a month or two at a time, his recent injuries were just niggles, but they were enough to stop him playing to his best and keeping him out of the team. So, after speaking to team mates Lee Cattermole and Billy Jones, who had already been treated by Dr Muller-Wohlfart, Rodwell headed to Munich for treatment. In the course of his 5 day visit, Rodwell claims he underwent 50 injections. It is no wonder the controversial doctor and Pep Guardiola fell out while he was club doctor at Bayern Munich as Rodwell revealed the doctor told him that he would inject the players at Bayern on a weekly basis!

6. Cazorla confirms long lay off
Santi Cazorla has given an interview which confirms the fears that his injury lay off is looking like ruling him out until the run in at the end of the season, as he has said the aim is to be back fit for March. The Spanish international had made the Arsenal central midfield berth his own over the course of the last season and a half, and his loss is a big blow. The worry for Gooners is that Arsenal's injured players are notorious for taking much longer than expected to return from injury. Three to four months regularly seems to turn into six, seven or even more.

 

7. The New Zealand national league is expanding
Football is finally making some headway in the rugby-dominated nation, as their national football league, the ASB Premiership is set to expand from 8 teams to 10. While Waibop United will no longer be competing in the league, Hamilton Wanderers, Eastern Suburbs and Tasman United have been added.

8. Xabi Alonso cracker sees Bayern through in the cup
Bayern Munich's 34 year old playmaker Xabi Alonso still has it. The Spanish midfielder scored a scorcher from outside the box, the only goal of a German Cup quarter final win over Darmstadt:

 

9. Ronald de Boer says United need a number 9
Joining in with the argument that surrounds Wayne Rooney, and what position he should play at Manchester United, former Holland midfielder Ronald de Boer has said he is not a number 9 anymore. De Boer, currently assistant manager to his brother Frank at Ajax, said that Man Utd's problem this season is caused by their lack of a goalscorer up front, with Rooney being more of a number 10 nowadays according to de Boer. "I think their problem is with their forwards. At this moment is they don't have one guy, a target man, who can score 20 or 25 goals a season," he said. "Also, Wayne Rooney is not a No.9 any more, he's more like a No.10 now behind a striker. They face a bit of a problem in that sense."

10. Well done Rangers fans
Not often the club is in the news with regards to finances in a good way, but a number of charity events held at Ibrox Stadium have managed to raise more than double the initial pledge from the club's charity foundation. The Rangers Charity Foundation had pledged to raise £25,000 for Glasgow City Mission, which helps the homeless in the city, but in the end managed to raise £59,000. Hopefully this will go a long way to ensuring food and warm beds over Christmas for those who would otherwise be on cold streets.

Written by Tris Burke December 16 2015 07:03:20