Tap For Menu  
Single word yields best result

Football News: Mendes Denies Jose's Man Utd Love Letter, Valencia's Struggles Blamed On Neville's Language Problems And More

Mendes Denies Jose's Man Utd Love Letter, Valencia's Struggles Blamed On Neville's Language Problems And More
Image from: zimbio.com

1. Fire continue rebuilding job
Last season's bottom placed MLS side, Chicago Fire, are working hard on improving their squad ahead of the new Major League Soccer season, which kicks off for the Fire against New York City FC on 6th March. They have re-signed 32 year old midfielder Razvan Cocis, who has been with them since the summer of 2014. He has 36 MLS appearances, adding two goals and two assists in that time. The Romanian has been joined by a new signing, Portugese defender Joao Meira, who has joined from Portugese top flight side Belenenses. The 28 year old had been released by his former team at the end of the 2014/15.

2. United hit by more injury problems
With Manchester United struggling on the pitch, leading to boos ringing out around Old Trafford once more after the 1-0 defeat to Southampton yesterday, the last thing under-fire boss Louis van Gaal needed was another injury. Especially to a full back. Already having to make do without star left back Luke Shaw due to a long term injury, over the last few days he has also seen Ashley Young, who was filling in at full back, join Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones on the treatment table. Things were made worse by an injury suffered by summer signing, Italian right back (though he has been asked to fill in at left back regularly) Matteo Darmian, who was taken to hospital spitting blood following a challenge with Saints' forward Shane Long. "It is bad because he is now in hospital," van Gaal said. "He was spitting blood. It looks like his rib and his chest, but we have to wait and see as I cannot say. It was not a nice view for the players to see that. I can only say that is the fifth full back who has been injured so that is what I have to do every week - make solutions to sort the problem."

 

3. Vardy is not the only one who can score these
While Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy is heading up the Foxes title charge scoring these kind of goals, Islam Slimani of Sporting CP shows that he can also get in behind a defence to slot a goal away against Pacos Ferreira:



4. Barton believes his diary has helped him
Troubled former Manchester City, Newcastle United and QPR midfielder Joey Barton believes he still has a future in Premier League football. The 33 year old is now at Burnley in the Championship, and is known as much for off field incidents as he is for his football. From stubbing out a cigar in a youth team player's eye to going to jail for two months after attacking someone in Liverpool among many incidents, Barton has a history that made most teams look elsewhere when he was available in the summer. Barton, however, believes that writing a diary has enabled him to overcome his problems. "It's not seen as a male thing to do, but I've found it's given me the power of reflection. It helps me keep sanity when there's no sanity around you." Barton told the Daily Mail. "It's important for somebody who has a brain as restless as mine. Once you write it down, it's there and it's gone. It helps you kind of self-analyse. "I can scribble four or five pages some days, two lines other days, all written long-hand. It's for no-one to see, just for yourself." Barton backed himself to return to the Prem. "I came to Burnley to play in the Premier League," he said. "I thought I was going to play in it this season with West Ham but that move fell apart last summer and so I came to Burnley to do it. I still think I've got a lot to offer. It's not something I say flippantly, I've analysed it. I know for a fact that if Burnley were in the Premier League today I could deliver what the manager would expect of me, I'd have absolutely no problem with it at all."

 

5. A peach of a free kick by Sam Larsson



6. Mendieta claims Neville is struggling with language issues
When Gary Neville was surprisingly, to put it mildly, chosen as Valencia's head coach, there were a lot of people who suggested his inability to speak Spanish could be an issue. Valencia have still not won a league game under Neville and Valencia legend Gaizka Mendieta believes that the language is still a huge impediment to his chances of succeeding. "It's a big challenge for him," Mendieta told Omnisport. "It's his first job as a main manager. Not speaking the language is a big challenge when you go to a new country. But he's got experience having been with the English team, and that helps. But, like I said earlier, football is still very demanding in every aspect. And now in his career as a manager, you have to make it your own way. Their ambition is to be back in the top four teams in Spain, to aim for the Champions League every season," Mendieta continued. "I think that's where Valencia should be anyway. So they have to be ambitious to be in the top three, top four teams in La Liga and at the moment they're not. So they have to challenge themselves and to try and bring Valencia where it should be." Valencia are currently 11th place in La Liga's table, with just 5 wins from their 20 matches this season. They have not finished outside of the top six since the 2007-8 season.

 

7. Fastest goal of the day?
Riechedly Bazoer scores after just 26 seconds of Ajax's match with Vitesse Arnhem:



8. Teixeira wants move
With interest from the English Premier League, Brazilian attacker Alex Teixeira has confirmed he wants to leave Shakhtar Donetsk. "I would like to move in this transfer window and have told them [Shakhtar] that. They have received a very good offer and they are working on a solution. But if I don't go now then I will leave in the summer. After six years in Europe and with Shakhtar we are ready to move and I have spoken to my wife and daughter," Teixeira told Brazilian publication Globo, as translated by the Guardian. "It is my desire to move to a big league and I know that the English league is very strong. I am ready and I know that I will grow up a lot there. I am aware that two big clubs such as Liverpool and Chelsea are interested but I haven't given my word to either of them. I am not ruling out other leagues but I do want to play in the Premier League. In my mind, it is the strongest in the world. I want a challenge and to further my career there. My aim is to move to a big club so that I can well there and get a place in the Brazil squad. Everyone knows that it is hard to achieve and I need to leave here to achieve that goal," the Shakhtar forward added. The only question is whether or not anyone can persuade Shakhtar's owner, Rinat Akhmetov, to sell him.

 

9. Mendes dismisses talk of Mourinho letter to Man Utd
Reports were circulating yesterday that former Chelsea, Porto, Inter Milan and Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho had written a 6 page letter to Manchester United to pitch for the manager's job there. United declined to comment when asked about it, but Mourinho's agent, Jorge Mendes, was not so reticent, issuing a statement on the Gestifute agency's website: "It does not occur to anyone that a coach like Jose Mourinho can write letters to clubs offering their services." Mendes has also called the report "absolutely ridiculous and totally absurd." Jorge Mendes' statement

10. Guidolin set to stay, if Swans stay up
Italian manager, Francesco Guidolin, who was previously working as an advisor to Watford, Udinese and Granada owners, the Pozzo family, has been given a contract until the end of the season with Swansea City, with a remit to keep the Swans in the Premier League. The 60 year old has been keen to work in the English league for a while, and was disappointed to be overlooked in the summer as the Pozzos turned to Quique Sanchez Flores to take charge of Watford. Now the man he has replaced, Alan Curtis, has said that Guidolin will stay longer if the South Wales club do avoid the drop. "I think he would love to do it," said Curtis. "Obviously if the worst happens and we go down, a lot of it might be taken out of his hands, the club might decide to go another route. The plan is we stay up and Francesco stays on at least for the following season, anyway. He wants to do as well as he can. It's a new experience for him." Curtis added: "He has managed of course, but it's all been in the Italian leagues. He wants to experience the Premier League. He's come to do a job. He realises it's going to be difficult between now and the end of the season because of our position but he is willing to put his reputation on the line. He feels he is the man who can give us that spark to get out of it. Hopefully, he might be able to use some contacts to get some players in, too."

Written by Tris Burke January 24 2016 08:55:31