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Football News: Review Of The Day 27th February 2019

Review Of The Day 27th February 2019
Image from: freelargeimages.com

Review of the Day

 


Contracts

Young Dutch forward Nick Venema has extended his deal with FC Utrecht until 2023.

Another Dutch teenager, this time Feyenoord's midfielder Wouter Burger, has extended his deal. Burger's new deal, which no doubt includes fries and a drink, also runs until 2023.

Veteran Spanish right back Javi Moyano has agreed a one-year extension to his Real Vallodolid deal to take it to the end of next season.

Swedish left-back Oscar Wendt has done the same with Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Swansea City youngster Jack Evans has signed a new deal despite being treated for cancer. The 20 year old was due to be out of contract in the summer, but has now agreed a 1 year extension. Evans was diagnosed with cancer last summer and has not been able to play this season due to his treatment. With his cancer now in remission, there is hope that he will be able to make a full recovery and return to the team.

Reading have handed a new contract to midfielder Andy Rinomhota which runs until 2022.

 

Transfers

Dundee have agreed a pre-contract deal with Queen of the South midfielder Josh Todd. The 24 year old will join the SPFL club in the summer. Queen of the South rejected a couple of January bids for Todd from Dundee, but they have now got their man.

Free agent defender Greg Halford has been signed on a deal until the end of the season by Aberdeen. The 34 year old was released by Cardiff City in the summer after their promotion to the Premier League.

MLS side Toronto FC have signed goalkeeper Quentin Westberg from AJ Auxerre.

Centre back Kofi Opare has swapped DC United for Colorado Rapids.

Yuning Zhang has returned to the Chinese Super League just days after the end of a loan spell there. The Chinese forward has signed for Beijing Sinobo Guoan from West Bromwich Albion.

 

Stuani Confirms Barca Interest

Uruguayan striker Cristhian Stuani has confirmed to Catalan radio station RAC-1 that there was indeed interest in his services from Barcelona in the January window. Instead the former Middlesbrough flop extended his contract with Girona. Stuani said: "Yes, there's been interest from FC Barcelona. It's an honour that such a big team is interested in me, but I'm also happy with my contract extension in Girona." Stuani is currently third in La Liga's scoring charts, behind Barca duo Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi. Barca ended up turning to Kevin-Prince Boateng on loan when the move for Stuani failed. Who is running Barca's transfer policy these days? Almost impossible to mess up a team that contains Messi, but he is certainly having a good go at doing so!

 

Elton John Gives Watford Scouting Tips

According to Watford CEO Scott Duxbury, the club's honorary president Elton John gives scouting tips on lower league players. Duxbury said in an interview: "He absolutely has an encyclopedic knowledge of the lower-division players, it is incredible. He is in constant communication both with opinions of how the team has played, opinions on players, who we should be signing. He recommends players that I have not heard of. He watches everything and he has a real knowledge of players and an absolute passion for the football club, it's not superficial."

 

Dons Lose Logan

Aberdeen have to face the prospect of seeing out the season without full-back Shay Logan after the 31 year old had ankle surgery. Logan is expected to be out for between 2 and 3 months to repair a tendon issue.

 

Bribed Ref Given Life Ban

FIFA have given a Tanzanian referee a lifetime ban after they found him guilty of taking bribes. Oden Charles Mbaga was accused of taking bribes "to manipulate several national and international matches between 2009 - 2012". Mbaga is now banned from all football-related activities and fined $200,000.

 

Man Utd Ban On Panini Cheapskates

Manchester United have demanded that the couple known as 'Panini Cheapskates' stop selling stickers featuring the team's ex-players. Sian and Alex Pratchett, who are based in Oxford, make poorly drawn (in their own words terrible) football stickers, which are copies of the Panini originals, but have had to withdraw all Man Utd based ones from sale. The couple said on social media: "Sad times. Man Utd got in touch and made us stop selling our wonky drawings of their ex-players. If you've ordered one, we'll be in touch. Though on the plus side, learned a lot about EU trademark directives this morning. They sent us a bunch of trademark numbers, including some that relate the their badge. So they're saying that this is intellectual property theft..." A Man Utd spokesman said: "Permission to use Manchester United's intellectual property is only granted to official licensees, partners and sponsors of the club. Because Panini Cheapskate's items featured the Manchester United word mark, they unfortunately infringed those intellectual property rights."

 

Hopkin Quits Bradford

David Hopkin has quit as manager of Bradford City after less than six months. The League One strugglers turned to Hopkin in September to replace Michael Collins. Hopkin said: "I have given my all over the past six months. I took on a tough job and have left no stone unturned in my efforts to help us climb the table. The club means a great deal to me as a former player and that is why I have made this decision - with a quarter of the season remaining."

 

Poch Issues Public Apology

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has issued a public apology to referee Mike Dean for his reaction at the end of the weekend's 2-1 defeat at Burnley. Pochettino who admitted straight after the game that he had 'crossed the line' with his behaviour, has accepted an FA charge of improper conduct. Pochettino said: "It is not the way to behave. Watching my behaviour afterwards on video, I need to accept the charge from the FA. I need to apologise to Mike Dean, I cannot behave in that way. My behaviour was public and now I want to apologise in a public way. I need to apologise to him and all of the officials."

 

Colin Reveals New Tactical Approach

Or is it more of a return to his usual tactics? Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock has said his team will fight for survival and he wants people in the trenches, in what is either the usual nonsense talk spouted by sportspeople comparing a game to a life and death situation or a revelation of how he intends to set up his defence for the rest of the season. A system of trenches could well make it difficult for teams to get too close to Cardiff's goal, but it will make it difficult for his usual long ball tactics if his players are down in a trench, as the ball will sail over their heads. Warnock said: "We will not go down without a fight. We will probably be in the bottom three when we go to Wolves [on Saturday] and people will be writing us off. I know my team for the Wolves game and I want people who will be in the trenches because I was let down by one or two tonight. I'm not going to throw the towel in and I'll make sure we are ready for Saturday." Sounds like we should be ready for a return to the Colin that ordered his players to injure opponents and would scream from the touchlines for them to "break his f***ing legs" etc.

 

Pep Wants To Smell Desire

I am not sure if he has just released a new range of aftershaves called 'Desire' or something, but Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has said he wants to smell it in the dressing room. Pep said: "In the last two months the mentality makes the difference. When you have the illusion to fight until the end, to retain the title, the power and the energy to give you that, it is higher than any excuses you can find. I want the 'smell' in the locker room. I want to 'smell' in the beginning of the game, during the game, with our fans, that when one competition is over, really we want to win this title." All a long cry from the days when locker rooms smelt of Deep Heat, last night's boozing and stale Woodbine smoke. Well, unless you go to PSG or Inter Milan, as Marco Veratti and Radja Nainggolan will still contribute the stale cigarette smoke and last night's boozing smell....

 

Ole Looks To Highly Paid Pair

Manchester United's interim boss Ole Gunnar Solksjaer has said he will look to expensive duo Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku to earn their immense wages with United suffering an injury crisis. Solksjaer said: "The two get on very well. Hopefully Alexis and Romelu can step up. We will have a good team out on the pitch." Solksjaer has also admitted the extra workload he has put on the players has probably contributed to the injury problems, though I think that says more about how little they were doing under previous boss Jose Mourinho than it does about Ole's management. Solskjaer said: "When do you make the change? Do you wait until pre-season and think you will change results by not asking them to run. Or do we start now and show them what the demands of intensity are and how we want to play? You have seen what I have chosen. We need to play as a Manchester United team. If you want to be a part of Manchester United, it's a survival of the fittest isn't it?"

 

Klopp Hopeful On Bobby

While Man Utd have suffered a big loss due to injuries in the Sunday match against Liverpool, it seems Liverpool's injury problem to Roberto Firmino is not as bad as first feared. Jurgen Klopp is hopeful that the striker will be fit to face Everton in the Merseyside derby on Sunday, though has all but ruled him out of the midweek clash with Watford. Klopp said: "If Bobby goes down and leaves the pitch it is always a bad sign because he is a pretty hard boy. It will be very close for [Watford], but he has a big chance for the derby. Writing Bobby off is a big mistake because he recovers pretty quick. I would say 'yes [there is a chance for Watford]', but I don't know if I would use that chance."

 

Lennon Gets Return As Rodgers Takes Over Foxes

As expected when he did not quit or get sacked but left Hibernian anyway, Neil Lennon has returned to manage Celtic in replacement of the long-awaited move of Brendan Rodgers to Leicester City. It was a deal that was in the offing before the tragic helicopter crash that saw the Foxes lose their owner and has now been completed as expected back then. Lennon said on Celtic TV: "There's a chasm to fill with Brendan leaving. He's done a remarkable job, but I'm here for the club. The club comes first as do the players. I want to bring as much success during my time here as I possibly can. All I want to do is carry that on - it's not broken and I'm not coming in and looking to revolutionise anything." Rodgers decided to make Warnock's trench rhetoric seem positively prosaic by proclaiming that "I'll give my life to make the supporters proud of their club." Which would normally just be his usual cringeworthy sales rep speak, except it seems a little insensitive in relation to Leicester, who have not long seen their owner lose his life. I am sure he never meant it to and never considered that, but still it does make you just cringe even further than usual. It is a chance for him to prove that he can cut it in the Premier League after his spell with Liverpool ended with them sliding down the table before his sacking in October 2015. Having won everything up in Scotland, but with little to nothing in the way of competition, this is his chance to show he actually is as good as he tells everyone he is. Though, before then first-team coach Mike Stowell has said: "He's got a presentation to give to them on Thursday on what he expects from them on and off the pitch. I'm excited about watching that." I can see why he would be excited, who doesn't love a good powerpoint slideshow done by football's very own David Brent. One thing you can be sure of, it will be nothing like as detailed or comprehensive as a Marcelo Bielsa one, but it will contain lots of buzzwords.

 

Siewert Still Hoping

Huddersfield Town manager Jan Siewert believes they "still have a chance" of surviving in the Premier League following their 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. It was the Terriers first win under Siewert and broke a run of 14 games without a win. Huddersfield are still bottom of the league, 11 points behind safety but Siewert said: "Since the time I arrived, I said we still have a chance and we believe that. There are still games to go. We will keep on fighting.
"My thoughts are just with the boys. They made me so proud. They deserve it so much. I think we can all be proud to be Huddersfield this evening."

 

Ramos Gets Deliberate Booking Charge

I am not sure why it has taken so long, but UEFA have finally charged Real Madrid hatchet man Sergio Ramos with "receiving a yellow card on purpose" against Ajax. Ramos admitted very publicly that he did pick up the booking deliberately before realising he would be in trouble and trying to deny it on social media after the event. Surely that should have meant, even if they believe his ludicrous, Wayne Hennessey-style explanation, he had to be at least charged to decide which of his versions of the event they believed, the original honest assessment, or the post-club briefing blatantly made up and highly concocted variant he put on social media.

Written by Tris Burke February 27 2019 05:49:43

 

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