PL Opposition Tidbits
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@JPercyTelegraph
Premier League demands 12-point deduction as maximum punishment if Everton are found guilty of breaching financial rules. Important to note that final decision will be made by an independent commission. Everton maintain they have complied with the rules
Premier League demands 12-point deduction as maximum punishment if Everton are found guilty of breaching financial rules. Important to note that final decision will be made by an independent commission. Everton maintain they have complied with the rules
Not much of a deterrent for bigger clubs though. If Chelsea get a modest points deduction in one season that wipes out the £1Bn spending spree it'll be seen as a price worth paying. A 12 point deduction will see Everton relegated, so that should be the minimum penalty, not points.
I keep forgetting the emojis don't display on this board
"No, nothing to see here, and there was nothing to see when I was at Barcelona you silly person." Salty crooked Pep.
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What they don't know is he made a two way bet on him receiving a ban of more than 8 months and that he will have served his ban before Thiago Alcantara returns from injuries. He didn't get the best odds on the 2nd bet
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Sandro Tonali: Newcastle and Italy midfielder banned for 10 months for breaching betting rules
Last updated on7 minutes ago7 minutes ago.From the sectionNewcastle
Sandro Tonali became Newcastle's second most expensive signing ever this summer
Newcastle and Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali has been banned for 10 months by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) for breaching betting rules.
The 23-year-old will not be eligible to play again until August and will be unavailable to feature at Euro 2024 next summer should Italy qualify.
Tonali joined Newcastle from AC Milan in July for £55m.
Earlier this month, Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli received a seven-month ban from the FIGC for betting breaches.
The FIGC confirmed that Tonali had breached the rule which prohibits players placing bets on football events organised by FIGC, Uefa and Fifa, and he has also been fined 20,000 euros (£17,380).
It added that the federal prosecutor and Tonali had agreed to an 18-month disqualification, eight months of which will be commuted to "a therapeutic plan" to help "recovery from gambling addiction".
That will include at least 16 public appearances in Italy, at amateur sports associations and "federal territorial centres".
FIGC president Gabriele Gravina told Sky Sports Italia: "The plea bargain and extenuating circumstances have been taken into consideration and the players' collaboration went above and beyond, therefore we must continue to respect the rules we have established for ourselves."
Juventus' Fagioli had five months of a one-year ban suspended and was fined 12,500 euros (£10,850). Fagioli also agreed to a therapy plan of at least six months to tackle his gambling problem.
Tonali and fellow midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo, who is on loan at Aston Villa from Galatasaray, left Italy's training camp on 12 October after being told they were involved in an investigation by Italian prosecutors.
During a three-year spell at San Siro, Tonali helped Milan win their first Serie A title for 11 years in 2021-22 and reach last season's Champions League semi-finals.
He came off the bench during Newcastle's 1-0 defeat by Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Tonali has made 12 appearances for Eddie Howe's side since becoming the Magpies' second most expensive signing.
Speaking before Newcastle's last Premier League fixture, a 4-0 win over Crystal Palace, Howe said Tonali had endured a "difficult couple of weeks".
"He's been dealing with a lot and, from what I can see, from a few hours a day, he's handling himself really well and is dealing with emotions incredibly strongly," Howe added.
Newcastle, who are sixth in the Premier League, travel to Wolves on Saturday before facing Manchester United in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
'Newcastle have shown Tonali great support'
Speaking before Tonali's ban was announced, former Newcastle striker Alan Shearer told BBC Radio 5 Live it will be "really difficult" for Tonali to remain living in England while he is banned from playing.
However, Shearer added that the "Newcastle public have shown great support" to the Italian.
"He [Howe] came out and stuck up for him as you'd expect and he said he wanted everyone to put their arms around him," Shearer said.
"Certainly the crowd did that at the weekend [against Crystal Palace] and when they were going round the pitch at the end he got a great reception. There's a fine balance between a punishment and protecting people."
Brentford and England forward Ivan Toney is serving an eight-month ban for breaking Football Association betting rules - including betting against his own team in seven games where he did not play.
Premier League clubs have collectively agreed to withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of their matchday shirts by the end of the 2025-26 season.
However, after the deadline, clubs will still be able to continue featuring gambling brands in areas such as shirt sleeves and LED advertising.
Wolves boss Gary O'Neil said there needs to be "good education" for players around gambling.
"If I go back to when I was playing, it was everywhere. It was part of the culture, it was on the team bus, people checking scores at half-time," O'Neil said on Thursday, before Tonali's ban was announced.
"It can seem fun and nothing, but all of a sudden you're missing football for eight months and missing loads of money."
Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson added: "What happened to Ivan and Sandro, that unfortunately is their responsibility and maybe not the fact that they play for a football team with a betting name on their shirt.
"I wouldn't agree that the sponsors' clubs have made players gamble. The decision to gamble is an individual decision. Maybe more education is needed, I couldn't disagree with that."
A statement on behalf of The Big Step, a campaign to end all gambling advertising and sponsorship in football, read: "Footballers are human and if they are suffering from addiction they deserve empathy and support, not lengthy bans.
"Every football game is wall-to-wall with gambling ads, not just across shirts but around stadiums and related media content.
"Sending someone addicted to gambling into this environment is like sending an alcoholic to work in a pub. If you force young footballers to endorse addictive products, then don't be surprised if they use them."
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[article]
Sandro Tonali: Newcastle and Italy midfielder banned for 10 months for breaching betting rules
Last updated on7 minutes ago7 minutes ago.From the sectionNewcastle
Sandro Tonali became Newcastle's second most expensive signing ever this summer
Newcastle and Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali has been banned for 10 months by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) for breaching betting rules.
The 23-year-old will not be eligible to play again until August and will be unavailable to feature at Euro 2024 next summer should Italy qualify.
Tonali joined Newcastle from AC Milan in July for £55m.
Earlier this month, Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli received a seven-month ban from the FIGC for betting breaches.
The FIGC confirmed that Tonali had breached the rule which prohibits players placing bets on football events organised by FIGC, Uefa and Fifa, and he has also been fined 20,000 euros (£17,380).
It added that the federal prosecutor and Tonali had agreed to an 18-month disqualification, eight months of which will be commuted to "a therapeutic plan" to help "recovery from gambling addiction".
That will include at least 16 public appearances in Italy, at amateur sports associations and "federal territorial centres".
FIGC president Gabriele Gravina told Sky Sports Italia: "The plea bargain and extenuating circumstances have been taken into consideration and the players' collaboration went above and beyond, therefore we must continue to respect the rules we have established for ourselves."
Juventus' Fagioli had five months of a one-year ban suspended and was fined 12,500 euros (£10,850). Fagioli also agreed to a therapy plan of at least six months to tackle his gambling problem.
Tonali and fellow midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo, who is on loan at Aston Villa from Galatasaray, left Italy's training camp on 12 October after being told they were involved in an investigation by Italian prosecutors.
During a three-year spell at San Siro, Tonali helped Milan win their first Serie A title for 11 years in 2021-22 and reach last season's Champions League semi-finals.
He came off the bench during Newcastle's 1-0 defeat by Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Tonali has made 12 appearances for Eddie Howe's side since becoming the Magpies' second most expensive signing.
Speaking before Newcastle's last Premier League fixture, a 4-0 win over Crystal Palace, Howe said Tonali had endured a "difficult couple of weeks".
"He's been dealing with a lot and, from what I can see, from a few hours a day, he's handling himself really well and is dealing with emotions incredibly strongly," Howe added.
Newcastle, who are sixth in the Premier League, travel to Wolves on Saturday before facing Manchester United in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
'Newcastle have shown Tonali great support'
Speaking before Tonali's ban was announced, former Newcastle striker Alan Shearer told BBC Radio 5 Live it will be "really difficult" for Tonali to remain living in England while he is banned from playing.
However, Shearer added that the "Newcastle public have shown great support" to the Italian.
"He [Howe] came out and stuck up for him as you'd expect and he said he wanted everyone to put their arms around him," Shearer said.
"Certainly the crowd did that at the weekend [against Crystal Palace] and when they were going round the pitch at the end he got a great reception. There's a fine balance between a punishment and protecting people."
Brentford and England forward Ivan Toney is serving an eight-month ban for breaking Football Association betting rules - including betting against his own team in seven games where he did not play.
Premier League clubs have collectively agreed to withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of their matchday shirts by the end of the 2025-26 season.
However, after the deadline, clubs will still be able to continue featuring gambling brands in areas such as shirt sleeves and LED advertising.
Wolves boss Gary O'Neil said there needs to be "good education" for players around gambling.
"If I go back to when I was playing, it was everywhere. It was part of the culture, it was on the team bus, people checking scores at half-time," O'Neil said on Thursday, before Tonali's ban was announced.
"It can seem fun and nothing, but all of a sudden you're missing football for eight months and missing loads of money."
Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson added: "What happened to Ivan and Sandro, that unfortunately is their responsibility and maybe not the fact that they play for a football team with a betting name on their shirt.
"I wouldn't agree that the sponsors' clubs have made players gamble. The decision to gamble is an individual decision. Maybe more education is needed, I couldn't disagree with that."
A statement on behalf of The Big Step, a campaign to end all gambling advertising and sponsorship in football, read: "Footballers are human and if they are suffering from addiction they deserve empathy and support, not lengthy bans.
"Every football game is wall-to-wall with gambling ads, not just across shirts but around stadiums and related media content.
"Sending someone addicted to gambling into this environment is like sending an alcoholic to work in a pub. If you force young footballers to endorse addictive products, then don't be surprised if they use them."
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High possibility of Sheff Utd beating Derby's record 😳
Whether or not ten Hag's being petty is a side issue. We've all been cheesed off by something the boss did which had an impact on us. Suck it up and comply, or leave. Rightly or wrongly, complaining publicly as Sancho did is not an option in any workplace. He has talent, but he also has a sod of a lot of growing up to do. Which is why Klopp would never touch him with a ten-foot bargepole.
I don’t think the analogy to other walks of life works here. Footballers can’t just leave, their contracts are not the same as other trades, plus they can only gain alternative employMent if they become free agents outside of the transfer windows.
His manager called him out on his professionalism which went out on all electronic and print media worldwide. What reaction was he expecting?
Not making a case for Sancho to us BTW. I assume the correct response would have been to get his agent to raise hell on his behalf.
I think it’s prudent, to be honest - you don’t want a disgruntled player walking around your training ground and chatting with others at lunch and complaining about how the manager mistreated him. If you’re out of the squad, you’re out.
No sorry disagree. Ten Hags should not have gone public, when he does of course Sancho has the right to reply in kind (though it wouldn't be advisable if he wanted to keep on playing). And to be fair, we also don't know what has gone on behind the scenes so making a premature judgement (err hehe) without all the facts in front of you is unbecoming of a man of your stature. *brings down gavel*
Snapchat, BeReal, Insta, Threads, X, iMessage, WhatsApp, .......
I was actually worried when they hired him but now .... all is well
Let's agree to differ. Not many employed people can "just leave". The great majority will be bound by notice periods and would be in breach of their contract if they ignored them. I'd forgotten that ten Hag went public with his criticism and would agree that he shouldn't have, even if (as I suspect) he'd made efforts to sort the matter out internally first, but that still doesn't justify Sancho's conduct either. Two wrongs don't make a right.
As I said to Dee, I'd forgotten that ten Hag went public and agree that was out of order (though I strongly suspect he tried other avenues first, as he'll have known that the player - any player - would be naffed off by such a move). What I don't agree about is that that gave Sancho some sort of right to make the same mistake. Both parties should have kept things in house, neither one any less than the other IMO.
He’s Dutch. They don’t try other things. They air their grievances publicly.
Having 2 players with such high goal conversion rates is a big plus for Newcastle.
Wilson is quality.
[article]Manchester United resemble a team reaching the end of a cycle, not one still rebuilding under a relatively new manager.
Despite winning their last three games, the football is stale and the symptoms of regression are visible; there is a lack of style and panache, few of Erik ten Hag’s signings are consistently performing, and players such as Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay – who the manager was willing to discard last summer for the right price – are back in favour.
United are in an unfulfilling holding pattern, seeking to eke out results and get by before their next refresh. It is a measure of their faltering progress that they are preparing for another Manchester derby with trepidation rather than expectation.
Yet again, the only means by which they can stop Manchester City this weekend is by playing ‘underdog football’ – sitting deep, counter-attacking and hoping defensive resilience yields a reward.
Ten Hag was never going to reach City’s extraordinary level in his second season. It would be unreasonable to expect him to be able to go toe-to-toe with the champions on Sunday without risking humiliation. But 15 months on from his Old Trafford appointment, there are valid questions to be asked about where the team is going and what the manager’s footballing vision really is.
Watching United’s victory against Copenhagen in midweek, the game reminded me of Gerard Houllier and Rafa Benitez’s final year at Liverpool, where it felt we were trying to find ways to win despite our general lack of quality, relying on moments rather than brilliantly choreographed team patterns. The matches were dull and the supporters restless as they could see how quickly rivals were upgrading as we first stood still and then regressed on the back of a couple of poor transfer windows.
Everything felt like a grind.
Such days are supposed to be typical for a coach several years into his tenure.
It must be worrying for United fans that they are still spending so much time seeking excuses for this low standard. Mitigating factors such as boardroom uncertainty can only stretch so far.
Ten Hag has signed 16 players at a cost of £400 million since July, 2022. By any measure – and no matter how unpopular the club’s owners – that is enough for a manager to radically redesign a team. If anything, Ten Hag has been given too much power and control over the club’s transfer policy because the recruitment has been so poor.
Given so many of the additions were hand-picked by Ten Hag – he has coached a lot of them at his previous clubs – the most surprising aspect is how little impact they have had on revolutionising the team’s style.
I expected United to become a superior version of Ajax when Ten Hag was appointed. Ten Hag enjoyed many exceptional results at his former club, especially in the Champions League, so with a bigger budget and the chance to coach superior players – the blueprint seemed obvious.
The idea must have been to impose the lauded Dutch model of possession football, otherwise what was the point of headhunting him? United’s board seemed to be recognising that the least their fans expect is to be front-footed and exciting.
No one was demanding Ten Hag create a title-winning side in one or even two years, but it was reasonable to assume the United line-up would be clearly distinguishable from the tactical set-up of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jose Mourinho.
The most damning criticism is that they are not. Their game plan is virtually identical.
If United are successful this weekend, it will be by virtue of using the counter-attacking strategy that brought Solskjaer and Mourinho their best results in their first few years.
There is nothing Dutch about United under Ten Hag. They bypass their midfield, play direct to their front men and seek to make the most of their possession high up the park.
I will not criticise Ten Hag for playing this way against City, or against Arsenal and Liverpool when they meet. However, there are grounds for criticism if that continues to be the only means by which they can realistically secure a positive outcome.
At the moment, Ten Hag realises he does not have the profile of midfielders required to build from the back as he did at Ajax. Nor does he have the personnel for a pressing game. The fact he cannot do this in his second year at Old Trafford is on him. He paid £70 million for Casemiro, who no longer has the legs for the job, but still has four years left on a big contract, and brought in Christian Eriksen, who brings quality from the bench. The short-termism of those deals has repercussions, hence the recent signings of midfielders Mason Mount and Sofyan Amrabat.
Ten Hag is therefore paying for immediately compromising his principles. Without a radical shake-up of the squad he will continue to do so. That is his mistake as it was he – not the Glazers – who pursued those signings in his first summer, believing he had to hit the ground running when the club needed to consider the long-term direction.
For a contrast, you need only look at what is happening at Tottenham Hotspur. Many United fans must be watching Spurs and asking, ‘why don’t we play like that?’
Many will correctly argue the pressure on Ange Postecoglou is incomparable to that on a recently appointed United coach. Postecoglou has time to develop an underperforming team, free of lofty expectations – certainly in his first season. He will never be judged on whether he wins the Premier League and Champions League. He does not work in the shadow of arguably the greatest manager of all time.
I get that. But, with the exception of David Moyes, Manchester United managers get time, too.
I don’t see the United board making a change on the back of Ten Hag’s promising debut season. He won a trophy and Champions League qualification was beyond immediate expectations. But they did not achieve this by replicating his Ajax side.
They were more like Mourinho’s United team which won two major trophies – the League Cup and Europa League – in his first season in charge. Mourinho finished second a year later. After that, the wheels came off amid enduring criticism that his tactics were not the ‘right fit’ for United.
United are not even as advanced as they were in Solskjaer’s second year as permanent manager when his side also finished runners-up to City.
For Ten Hag to build a team in the Ajax image, it is inevitable they will have to take a step back before they move forward. United are not a title challenger this season, and on the basis of the first three months it will be difficult to repeat last year’s top four finish.
The problem is that while patience to reset would have been afforded Ten Hag when he took over, that becomes a tougher sell when the honeymoon period is a distant memory.
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