Picture from: freelargeimages.com
Review of the day
Oldham find Scholes replacement
Oldham Athletic have decided to keep former caretaker boss Peter Wilder out for the remainder of the season, having won four of eight games as caretaker manager following Frankie Bunn’s resignation in December. The 34-year-old was overlooked by Paul Scholes but has now been recalled to replace the Manchester United legend.
Scheer needed emergency treatment but continued to play
In the Euro 2020 qualifiers, Newcastle United’s Swiss international Fabian Scheer fell unconscious in a head clash and required emergency treatment from the opposing player, Georgian player Arno Ananidze, before returning to play and participate in two of Switzerland’s goals, recalling the days before substitutions when a player’s health was irrelevant. Scheer told Swiss newspaper Blick: “It looked bad. I don’t remember anything. I was unconscious for a few seconds. My skull is still buzzing. My neck hurts and I have bruises on my forehead. But it was worth it.” Another player involved in a clash of heads was Georgia’s Jemal Tabidze, who was also knocked down but continued to play. From a gamer’s perspective I totally get it, you just want to play and most of us (well I do) do that at some point. However, this is not non-league football, this should be the pinnacle of the game and there should be medical staff present to understand how dangerous it is for players to continue playing after injury. Football still underestimates the value of the future quality of human life compared to what is ultimately achieved in a match.
Giggs defender drops Williams
Wales manager Ryan Giggs has sacked captain Ashley Williams, who is also struggling to break into the Stoke City squad, but insists he remains captain of the national team. Williams said after Giggs came on for the final 17 minutes of the 1-0 win over Slovakia: “No, Ashe is still captain. You never accept it. He doesn’t sulk. You don’t want players to accept it. You’ve seen what he brings when he comes on – leadership qualities.
MLS teams find strange ways to be exposed
The real Salt Lake City must be the Kardashians of football, because they’ll do any old…er thing to get their picture in the paper. Their social media team must be bored because they decided to launch their newest one based on pizza topping preferences, height and zodiac sign. Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha must be wondering what he has gotten himself into.
Zimbabwe fan dies in stampede
A fan was killed in a stampede outside Zimbabwe’s national stadium in Harare ahead of this summer’s final African Cup of Nations qualifier against Congo-Brazzaville. The tragedy cast a pall over Zimbabwe’s chances of qualifying.
Scotland fans boo McLeish
Scotland fans made their feelings known during the 2-0 win over San Marino, the lowest-ranked side in international football. The Tartan Army loudly booed Alex McLeish and chanted “Sack the board” and, in McLeish’s direction, “You’ll be sacked in the morning”.
Report says Nike helped sign Barcelona contract
ESPN claims Ajax player Frenkie de Jong chose to join Barcelona rather than Paris Saint-Germain because Nike subsidized his wages. According to reports, Nike did not pay a transfer fee because it is Barcelona’s kit manufacturer, but paid a “very significant sum” to the player to choose to join Barcelona instead of Paris Saint-Germain. It seems odd that they would do so, as Nike also has strong links with PSG as the kit manufacturer for both clubs, and has also chosen to work with PSG on additional Champions League kits featuring its own separate Jordan brand. I have no doubt Nike would be happy to pay for the player’s marketing, after all they require him to use his first name on the shirt rather than his last name, but I doubt that will be in any way dependent on which of the two clubs he chooses. After all, PSG is more of a fashion brand than a football club these days, so you might think that selling shirts would be more of their forte than Barcelona.
Paris Saint-Germain wins self-awarded trophy
After reaching 20 million followers on Instatwit, Paris Saint-Germain has awarded themselves a new title. They are officially celebrating, and I mean officially celebrating, being “Instagram Champions.” Who knew there was such a thing? Apparently no one, because they just made it up to reward themselves. Do they know they were once a football club before they became a joke?
Just a quick reminder The Matt Hawke Cup charity match between my (Ed001) team and Ed002 team at Oxford City Football Stadium is about to take place. The referee is Premier League official Stuart Burt, and charities supported include MacMillan Nurses and SEVA. We still need to collect all fees for those who participate, and we also hope to raise additional funds through donations here. Last year’s competition was a huge success and we hope to be successful again this year, so thank you in advance to everyone who took part and who traveled from all over Europe to take part last time.
Written by Tris Burke March 25, 2019 05:43:39