Football News: Managers Move Around As Man City Make A January Signing In This News Round Up
Image from: thinkfootball.co.uk
1. Forster heads down south
Hibernian's young defender Jordon Forster has moved down south to join Plymouth Argyle on loan. The 22 year old has so far made 56 appearances for Hibs, who are currently third in the Scottish Championship, but Forster is excited about joining English League Two side Argyle. "The majority of players in Scotland want to play in England, as the leagues are a lot more exciting," he told BBC Radio Devon. "There are a lot more challenges in each league here, and there are different ways of playing." Forster will be available to face Stevenage on Saturday.
2. Spalletti returns to Rome
AS Roma have looked to their past for their new manager as, replacing Rudi Garcia who was sacked just yesterday, they have appointed their former coach Luciano Spalletti to once again lead the club. 56 year old Spalletti was in charge of Roma from 2005 to 2009, lifting two Coppa Italias in that period, before resigning to take charge of Russian club Zenit St Petersburg. Spalletti clinched two league titles but was sacked by Zenit in 2014, and joins a Roma side in poor form but still in 5th in the Serie A table with Real Madrid to come in the Champions League's last 16.
3. Sheridan takes Oldham job
League Two side Newport County are searching for a new manager after John Sheridan left them to take up the role with League One strugglers Oldham Athletic. Oldham Chairman Simon Corney said: "John has always been high up on my list whenever we have appointed managers. If you look at his record, he got us into the play offs when he was here and he has won the Johnstone's Paint Trophy and promotion with Chesterfield, plus he took Plymouth into the play offs last season. Wherever he has been he has done really well. It was time to make a change and we feel we've got the right man here to make a difference, get the crowd going, get the players going and keep us in League One. I would also like to take this opportunity to add my thanks to Newport County who have dealt with this situation in a professional manner."
4. Hollands suffers broken leg
Midfielder Danny Hollands has suffered a leg break and is now set to be out injured for the next two months. The 30 year old has made 23 appearances this season for Portsmouth, but the fractured fibula will rule him out for a while. "Danny's absolutely devastated," Pompey manager Paul Cook told BBC Radio Solent. "He's been one of our stand-out performers in the last month. We're really disappointed to lose Danny," added Cook. "But his absence hands an opportunity to someone else in the squad to perform."
5. Ozil gets Player of the Year award
Arsenal's in form midfielder Mesut Ozil has once again been named Germany's Player of the Year. This is Ozil's 4th player of the year, after he won it for 3 years in a row from 2011-2013. Toni Kroos broke up the run of wins, after the Real Madrid midfielder played a huge part in Germany's 2014 World Cup win. His sensational form for Arsenal has been matched by his form for his country, as he played in eight of their games last year, only missing a friendly against France, and being instrumental as they progressed to Euro 2016. Ozil manged to get nearly half of the vote, with 45.9%, with his closest challenger, Thomas Muller of Bayern Munich, getting 30% less. Jonas Hector of FC Koln came third.
6. Transfer Round Up
Will Aimson Hull City to Blackpool undisclosed fee
Chris Atkinson Crewe Alexandra to Crawley Town on loan
Gael Bigirimana Newcastle United to Coventry City on loan
James Dunne Portsmouth to Cambridge United on loan
Mohamed Elneny Basel to Arsenal £5m
Rory Gaffney Cambridge United to Bristol Rovers undisclosed fee
Chris Hackett Northampton Town to Barnet on loan
Harry Hickford MK Dons to Dagenham & Redbridge on loan
Keith Keane Cambridge United to Stevenage on loan
Dame N'Doye Trabzonspor to Sunderland on loan
Mark Randall MK Dons to Barnet free
Reece Wabara unattached to Wigan Athletic
Tom Walsh Rangers to Dumbarton on loan
7. N'Doye makes Premier League return
Former Hull City striker Dame N'Doye has returned to England on loan with Sunderland, as the Mackems look for the goals they need to claw themselves out of relegation trouble. N'Doye was with Hull last season, but Trabzonspor triggered his release clause (incidentally at a lower price than the Tigers paid to bring him in) to take him to Turkey in the summer. The Senegalese striker was very hit and miss in his spell for Hull and the Black Cats will be hoping they get more of the hit than miss part, as N'Doye will take their number 10 shirt for the second half of the season. The 30 year old will not be available to face Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, as the paperwork is not fully processed.
8. Bannan gets new contract
Scottish midfielder Barry Bannan has clinched a new long term deal, after initially joining Sheffield Wednesday in the summer on a short term deal. Bannan will now be at the Owls until 2019. Bannan has been impressive so far in his Hillsborough career, since joining from Premier League club Crystal Palace in the summer. Wednesday will just be hoping that he was not just playing for a contract and keeps up his impressive form now he has that security in his back pocket.
Finally signed for another 3 and half years at Sheffield Wednesday. So happy to stay here loved it since day one now let's get promoted ⚽️
— barry bannan (@bazzabannan25) January 14, 2016
9. Man City sign Caceres
The move of Anthony Caceres to Manchester City, from Central Coast Mariners, has finally been confirmed. The deal has been in the pipeline for a long time now, with Mariners revealing a deal was close at the turn of the year. It is now a case of waiting to see which of the City Group's teams he will actually turn up at, with them owning an A-League team of their own in the shape of Melbourne City, as well as MLS side New York City FC. "We need to celebrate when players at the Central Coast Mariners are sold to bigger clubs. It's our charter. It's our intent," coach Tony Walmsley said. "When I brought Anthony Caceres to the Mariners his potential was obvious. This move demonstrates how far Anthony has progressed and symbolises how giving youth a chance works for both the Central Coast Mariners and young aspirational footballers."
10. Deeney scathing in his assessment of how "s**t" Watford were against the Saints
Watford's captain Troy Deeney is bitterly disappointed after Southampton beat the Hornets 2-0 this week. It is not so much the result as it was the performance that upset the forward as Watford suffered their third consecutive defeat. "I am not going to try and gloss over the fact that we were crap," the 27-year-old said. "There is no point hiding the facts. The only person who can come out of the game with any credit is Heurelho Gomes because he saved about five goals. My job as captain is to stand up when we have played s**t and take the hit. This is the first time this season where we have had to look at ourselves. We got a harsh lesson in what the Premier League is all about. If you drop your level of performance by five per cent, then you get found out."
Written by Tris Burke January 15 2016 04:34:02