Category: Slides

Categories
football Slides Sports News

UK GOVERNMENT SLAM LIVERPOOL AND UNITED’S “PROJECT BIG PICTURE”

The United Kingdom government has strongly criticised plans reportedly driven by Manchester United and Liverpool to overhaul the Premier League and English club football.

A report on Sunday by The Telegraph detailed a set of proposals called “Project Big Picture”, which would cut the number of teams in the Premier League from 20 to 18 and abolish the competition’s one-club, one-vote principle – handing greater power to the nine longest-serving teams in the division.

That number includes all of the so-called “big six”, who would have effective veto power on a range of issues, including potential new owners taking control of a rival club.

The plans also focus upon supporting the wider league system amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with a £250million rescue package to be allocated to the English Football League (EFL) and a £100m gift to the Football Association.

EFL chairman Rick Parry – the former Liverpool chief executive and a key figure in the Premier League’s breakaway from the Football League in 1992 – has publicly backed the plans, which would see 25 per cent of the Premier League’s annual revenue diverted to the EFL and lead to the EFL Cup and Community Shield being scrapped.

However, the Department for Media, Culture and Sport joined the Premier League itself in condemning the mooted changes, decrying Liverpool and United’s alleged involvement in “backroom deals”.

“We are surprised and disappointed that, at a time of crisis when we have urged the top tiers of professional football to come together and finalise a deal to help lower league clubs, there appear to be backroom deals being cooked up that would create a closed shop at the very top of the game,” a statement read.

“Sustainability, integrity and fair competition are absolutely paramount and anything that may undermine them is deeply troubling.

“Fans must be [at the] front of all our minds and this shows why our fan-led review of football governance will be so critical.”

The Premier League, which has come in for criticism over recent days after the announcement of a pay-per-view television model to run while fans are not allowed into stadiums, urged its members to contribute to ongoing restructuring talks “through the proper channels”.

“English football is the world’s most watched, and has a vibrant, dynamic and competitive league structure that drives interest around the globe,” its statement read.

“To maintain this position, it is important that we all work together.

“In the Premier League’s view, a number of the individual proposals in the plan published today could have a damaging impact on the whole game and we are disappointed to see that Rick Parry, Chair of the EFL, has given his on-the-record support.

“The Premier League has been working in good faith with its clubs and the EFL to seek a resolution to the requirement for COVID-19 rescue funding.”

In a statement published on the EFL’s official website, Parry confirmed talks around Project Big Picture had been ongoing for some time but insisted the financial pressures of the COVID-19 crisis had sharpened the need for transformative action.

“Now is the time to address both the long-term health of the game and the most challenging short-term crisis it has ever faced,” Parry said.

“Project Big Picture provides a new beginning which will revitalise the football pyramid at all levels. This new beginning will reinvigorate clubs in the lower leagues and the communities in which they are based.

“The whole of English football has been negatively impacted by this pandemic and the English football pyramid as a whole is only as healthy as those at its base.

“Through this proposed restructuring we aim to strengthen those who need it most at a time when they need it most. This is about building on what is good and making the most of what works well in order to benefit the game as a whole, while simultaneously tackling those issues which trouble all of us.

“This is a blueprint for the future of English football and for everyone who cherishes it.

Categories
football Slides Sports News

UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE: SPAIN SECURE SLIM VICTORY AGAINST SWITZERLAND TO REMAIN TOP OF GROUP A4; GERMANY, MONTENEGRO, LUXEMBOURG ALSO WIN

Spain strengthened their position at the top of Nations League Group A4 with a 1-0 win over Switzerland in Madrid.

The Swiss defence gifted Spain the game’s only goal in the 14th minute when Sergio Busquets latched onto a stray pass in the penalty area and Mikel Oyarzabal fired past Yann Sommer.

Spain went close again with a header by Manchester City’s Ferran Torres, which was palmed away by the Swiss keeper.

Wolves forward Adama Traore was sent on to make his competitive debut as the hour mark approached, but Spain could not conjure a second goal.

Germany battled to a 2-1 away win over Ukraine at the Olympic Stadium.

Borussia Monchengladbach defender Matthias Ginter put Germany in front in the 20th minute when he stabbed in a low cross from Antonio Rudiger on the right.

Ukraine goalkeeper Georgiy Bushchan had produced some fine reaction stops, but his handling error saw Germany move 2-0 ahead early in the second half.

Lukas Klostermann floated a deep cross in from the right, which Bushchan spilled onto Leon Goretzka’s head and the ball dropped back into the net.

As the hour passed, Dynamo Kyiv winger Viktor Tsygankov shot straight at Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

With 15 minutes left, Ukraine were awarded a penalty when Roman Yaremchuk was tripped by Niklas Sule, and Ruslan Malinovskyi converted to set up a tense finale.

Germany, though, saw out the closing stages to collect all three points, which moves them two behind Spain in second place.

Elsewhere on Saturday, in Group C1 Montenegro beat Azerbaijan 2-0 to maintain a 100 per cent record from three games.

Luxembourg beat Cyprus 2-0 with a first-half brace from Norwich midfielder Danel Sinani, who is on loan at Belgian club Waasland-Beveren.

Faroe Islands consolidated their position at the top of Group D1 with a 1-1 draw against Latvia in Torshavn, while it finished goalless between Andorra and Malta.

Elsewhere in Group 2, Gibraltar made it two wins from two with a 1-0 victory in Liechtenstein.

Categories
football Slides Sports News

MARCUS RASHFORD AWARDED MBE FOR EFFORTS TO ABOLISH CHILD POVERTY.

Manchester United and England forward Marcus Rashford has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for his exceptional campaign to secure free meals for vulnerable children during the coronavirus pandemic.

Rashford’s high-profile campaign rallied support across the country after the government announced their intention to suspend the £15-a-week vouchers over the summer.

As pressure mounted and threatened to engulf the government in another crisis, Downing Street were forced into a volte-face and launched a new £120m fund for 1.3 million pupils in England. Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Rashford personally “to thank him for what he’s done”.

“I’m incredibly honoured and humbled. As a young black man from Wythenshawe, never did I think I would be accepting an MBE, never mind an MBE at the age of 22,” Rashford said in a statement via Manchester United.

“This is a very special moment for myself and my family, but particularly my mum who is the real deserving recipient of the honour.

“The fight to protect our most vulnerable children is far from over.

“I would be doing my community, and the families I have met and spoken with, an injustice if I didn’t use this opportunity to respectfully urge the Prime Minister, who recommended me for this honour, to support our children during the October half-term with an extension of the voucher scheme, as the furlough scheme comes to an end and we face increased unemployment.

“Another sticking plaster, but one that will give the parents of millions of children in the UK just one less thing to worry about.

“Let’s stand together in saying that no children in the UK should be going to bed hungry. As I have said many times before, no matter your feeling or opinion, not having access to food is never the child’s fault.”

Rashford has continued his efforts to instigate social change and eradicate child food poverty, assembling a task force of the UK’s biggest supermarkets and food brands to help those worst affected.

“Food poverty is contributing to social unrest,” he wrote in a letter to MPs. “Mothers and fathers are raising respectful, eloquent young men and women, who, in reality, are part of a system that will not allow them the opportunity to win and succeed. Add school closures, redundancies and furloughs into the equation and we have an issue that could negatively impact generations to come. It all starts with stability around access to food.

“To be well-nourished is the foundation of opportunity,” he added. “Any government serious about levelling up will ensure the most disadvantaged children have access to food.”

Rashford’s efforts have received widespread praise and he was awarded a special merit award by the Professional Footballers’ Association last month.

What we’ve done so far, it’s only a short-term answer,” he said at the time. “Me and my team behind me are just trying to find plans on how we can help these children for the rest of their childhood really; to find long-term answers to the problem.

“At the moment we don’t have the answers but we’ll do our best to try to find them, and to progress the situation that they are in at the moment the best we can.”

Also in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list Brendan Foster, the 1976 Olympic bronze medalist who founded the Great North Run, received a knighthood for services to international and national sport and culture in north-east England.

Former Wales rugby union coach Warren Gatland, who stepped down after 12 years at the helm following the 2019 World Cup, was awarded a CBE, while captain Alun Wyn Jones received an OBE for services to rugby union.

Categories
Slides Sports News

PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHES TO BE SHOWN ON A PAY PER VIEW BASIS.

Premier League matches in October which have not already been selected for live coverage will be available to watch on a pay-per-view basis, the league announced on Friday, reports Luke Brown.

The interim measure was confirmed after a meeting between Premier League clubs. Individual games will be available for £14.95 via the BT Sport Box Office or Sky Sports Box Office platforms.

Since the restart of the 2019-20 season in June, every match in the Premier League has been made available via Sky Sports, BT Sport, Amazon Prime or free-to-air coverage on the BBC.

That continued into the new campaign. However, that model was never likely to last in perpetuity, with the Premier League essentially giving away a significant part of its product for free.

In a statement published on Friday, the Premier League announced its “interim broadcast” plan, which confirmed all fixtures until the end of October “will continue to be made available to fans”.

However, these matches will come at an additional cost.

Instead, “the five matches per round not already selected will be made available to supporters on a pay-per-view basis, accessed via BT Sport Box Office and Sky Sports Box Office platforms”.

The Premier League statement does not say how much the matches will be made available for.

However, The Athletic understands that matches will be made available on PPV for £14.95 per game.

Premier League clubs will receive the PPV profits, after production costs

Categories
football Slides Sports News

ANCELOTTI, CALVERT LEWIN BAG SEPTEMBER PREMIER LEAGUE AWARDS.

Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti was named Premier League Manager of the Month for September and said their strong start to the season can be the ideal launch pad to push for a European spot.

Ancelotti’s side have set the early pace in the top flight with wins over Tottenham Hotspur, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace last month, before they defeated Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday to maintain their perfect start.

“The key was the first match at Tottenham. That victory increased our confidence. We worked well in the transfer market. We signed players we need… they’ve adapted really fast,” the Italian coach said in a Premier League statement here.

“Our target is to reach Europe next season and to stay at the top for as long as possible… We’ve started really well and we hope to continue it and to win this award again.”

It is the fifth time the 61-year-old has claimed the prize, with his four previous awards coming during his time at Chelsea.

Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, 23, won the Player of the Month prize for September, marking the first time the Merseyside club have claimed both awards since Phil Jagielka and manager David Moyes did so in February 2009.

Calvert-Lewin, who scored on his England debut in Thursday’s 3-0 friendly win over Wales at Wemmbley, netted five league goals last month and was also on the scoresheet versus Brighton.

Categories
football Slides Sports News Transfer News

I WAS BROUGHT TO TEARS BY BARCA EXIT- SUAREZ.

Atletico Madrid striker Luis Suarez has said he was brought to tears over the way his six-year stay at Barcelona ended.

Suarez, 33, joined Atletico last month after Barca told him he was no longer part of their plans despite having a year remaining on his contract.

The Uruguay international was one of several big-earners who moved on this summer as Barca attempted to reduce their wage bill to limit the financial repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic.

“There were other ways to tell me that they wanted to change things,” Suarez, who was informed he was surplus to requirements in a brief telephone conversation with new coach Ronald Koeman in August, said.

“The way it was done and the feeling that they’re kicking you out is what hurt the most. Those few days [before my Atletico debut on Sept. 27] were really hard.

“I cried because of everything I was going through. I didn’t take the message from the club about moving on well. More than anything because of the way they handled it, because you have to accept when a cycle has come to the end.”

Barca captain Lionel Messi was also angry at the way Suarez’s departure was handled. He posted a message on social media when his former teammate joined Atletico which was critical of the Catalan club’s board.

“The way [Barca] went about it wasn’t good and that annoyed Leo, too,” Suarez, who left Barca as the club’s third top scorer of all time with 198 goals, added.

“He knows what we’ve been through and how tough it was for us at that moment. I am not surprised he supported me in public because I know him so well. I knew the pain he felt.

“There are things that people don’t know, but going to Barcelona training and being sent to train on your own because you’re not involved in the 11 vs. 11 game they’re playing.

“My wife saw how sad and dejected I was. What I wanted was to laugh and be happy on the pitch again and I had no doubts when the possibility of signing Atletico came up.”

Suarez scored twice on his Atletico debut in a 6-1 win against Granada but has failed to net in back-to-back goalless draws against Huesca and Villarreal since.

However, he scored a penalty on Thursday as Uruguay kicked off their qualifying campaign for the 2022 World Cup with a 2-1 win against Chile.

Categories
football Slides Sports News

BARCA PREPARING FOR MORE PAY-CUTS.

Barcelona are reportedly on a collision course with their first team stars with the Spanish La Liga football giants needing players to take another pay-cut to ease their finances amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Players took a 70 percent pay-cut back in March to ensure non-playing staff received all of their wages with the pandemic shutting down the sport.

But in a week where the club announced losses of £88million, Marca report the club are seeking another pay-cut from players although it remains unclear whether that would give the squad the power to rescind contracts and walk away for free.

The report details the club’s plan for a “substantial modification of the collective working contract”.

If successful, the plan will see playing and non-playing staff take wage cuts in the coming weeks and months.

One player will act as a representative for Ronald Koeman’s squad when negotiating with the board at a meeting regarding the cuts.

Lionel Messi was key in handling the first round of cuts but with players, including the Argentine, currently away on international duty it remains difficult for the squad to select who will represent them.

The key issue the club need to iron out before pushing on with planned cuts is how another reduction would affect the Spanish Workers’ Statute.

Marca’s report makes the claim that judicial sources in Spain have indicated to them that players and employees may have the legal right to rescind their contract if deals are modified for financial reasons.

Messi, who filed a burofax to the club earlier this summer informing the of his desire to leave and secure a move to Manchester City, would no doubt be very interested in the potential to walk away for nothing.

He was eventually told he would not be sold unless his £630m release clause was met and having argued the clause was invalid, he was left with no choice but to accept another season at the Nou Camp.

It will take meetings with every player to ensure, from the club’s side, that no squad member would go down the route of termination if and when further pay-cuts are put forward and agreed upon.

Barcelona’s limited dealings in the transfer market was largely down to the financial armageddon the club are battling through.

Koeman made Lyon attacker Memphis Depay a top target but Barcelona were unable to finance a deal for the Dutchman on deadline day.

Categories
football Slides Sports News

YAYA TOURE SET FOR SHOCK LALIGA RETURN- REPORTS

Yaya Toure has reportedly held talks with newly-promoted side Cadiz.

According to reports, the the former Ivory Coast international could make a shock return to the Spanish LaLiga.

The 37-year-old has been without a club since leaving Chinese Super League side Qingdao Huanghai at the start of the year and despite reported interest from Brazil, he remains a free agent.

Toure trained with League Two side Leyton Orient for two weeks in late July in a bid to retain his fitness levels with the hope of furthering his playing career before moving into coaching.

The former Manchester City midfielder enjoyed three successful years at Barcelona where he won seven major honours including the 2009 UEFA Champions League.

Capped 97 times by his country, Toure led the Elephants to 2015 Africa Cup of Nations glory and is considered to be amongst the best African footballers of all time.

Cadiz, who won promotion to LaLiga last season, currently occupy ninth spot in Spain’s top-flight.

Categories
football Slides Sports News

THOMAS PARTEY ADDRESSES ARSENAL FANS FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE JOINING FROM ATLETICO.

Thomas Partey has sent his first message to Arsenal fans after his transfer from Atletico Madrid.

The Ghanaian midfielder’s transfer was confirmed on deadline day after the Gunners activated his £45m release clause.

With nearly 200 appearances for the La Liga side which includes Champions League experience, fans have been excited at the prospect of signing the 27-year-old.

And the midfielder has now sent his first message to the Gunners faithful as a north London player.

Speaking on Arsenal’s official Instagram channel, Partey said: “Hello, Gunners!

“Thanks so much for the love, for the messages I’ve received. I can’t wait to be part of you guys, I can’t wait to join the team.

It’s a great feeling to be part of a family like this. Thanks so much to everyone for the love, I feel so grateful and I feel so amazed to be part of you.

“I can’t wait to join you guys. And don’t forget, no Thomas, no Partey!”

It comes days after Partey sent a message to furious Atletico fans, who were left surprised at his deadline-day move.

He wrote on Instagram: “Dear Atletico fans, today I only have words of gratitude for you. For several years now, Atletico Madrid has been my home and this family will always be a part of me.

I want to thank the club for the trust placed in me from day one, but above all, I want to thank you, this wonderful fanbase that accepted me from the first moment and one that never stops believing in both the good and the bad times.

“Atletico Madrid is not just a club, it is a family. Thank you.”

Categories
football Slides Sports News

LIVERPOOL SIGN BRAZILIAN GOALKEEPER.

Liverpool have signed 17-year-old goalkeeper Marcelo Pitaluga on a permanent deal from Fluminese.

Pitaluga was scouted with the help of Alisson Becker’s brother Muriel while the pair were at Fluminense.

The teenager, who was part of the Brazil squad which won the FIFA U17 World Cup on home soil last November, has started training at Melwood, where he will be based with the first-team group, and will play for the club’s academy teams.

I asked Ali to speak to his brother to see how it goes and how he is doing,” goalkeeping coach John Achterberg told liverpoolfc.com.

“Ali spoke to his brother and Ali went training there (during the club’s Premier League break in February).

We saw a little bit from the training and the games he was playing for the reserves in Brazil.

“He was already 16 playing in the reserve team there so you also think, ‘they trust him to play already in the reserves at 16’.

“Now he is here, we have to improve [him]. He is still young, there is no pressure because there is still a long road and we don’t want to create any pressure for him because there is still work to do.”

Pitaluga joins Becker, Adrian and Caoimhin Kelleher in Liverpool’s pool of goalkeepers. Loris Karius is also still on Liverpool’s books but has joined Union Berlin on a season-long loan.