I know he got results last season but I always though Tuchel was a curious fit in Paris. I never thought that would last, even discounting that ownership group's notoriously twitchy trigger finger.
2020-21 News Thread
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Pretty dead in here... I hope some of you got a chance to see Marine v. Spurs in the FA Cup. For those of you who didn't, Marine (in the Northern Premier League Division I) has homes backed up to both sidelines, with nets to keep the ball from going out. And in case the ball goes over the net anyway, there are signs on the net indicating the house number of the yard the ball went into, so that you know which door to knock on to ask for the ball back. Not that that was a problem, because the residents were all out sitting on top of their sheds drinking champagne or whatever, watching the match and blowing their air horns. It was absolutely charming.
The NC Courage take another hit. Center back Abby Dahlkamper is headed to Man City on a 2-1/2 year deal, where she’ll join Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle. City are 4th in the table, 4 points behind Arsenal for the last Champions League place, with 1 match in hand.
Wayne Rooney announces his retirement as a player and becomes the full-time manager at Derby County. He had been trying to do both. Frank Lampard brought them to the Championship playoffs in his only season there, 2018-19. They fell to 10th last season under manager Phillip Cocu and have been mired at the bottom of the table this season. Cocu left at the end of November and Rooney was appointed interim manager. They’re 22nd in the table with 19 points in 22 matches, tied with Sheffield Wednesday who had their 12 point deduction reduced to 6.
Ligue 1 in France may be on the verge of collapse after a new round of TV rights bids failed to reach the minimum set by the league. A headline in L’Equipe today says “48 hours to survive”. Barcelona-based Mediapro had signed a 6 year deal worth €814 million per year in 2018 but that deal collapsed in December when they missed their 2nd consecutive payment to the league. They had set up a pay service for €25 per month and fell far short of the subscriber base they needed. Unlike most other top leagues, Ligue 1 did not resume play over the summer and that contributed to the problems, with the Lyon President estimating it cost clubs €700-900 million in revenue.
www.theguardian.com
Ligue 1 clubs stare into financial abyss after huge TV deal collapses
Mediapro agreed to pay Ligue 1 clubs €3.25bn over four seasons. They did not even keep up their payments for four months
www.theguardian.com
It's a sad day when Lige 1 is in even worse financial shape as the Scottish Premiere League, but here we are. Also in sad Lige 1 news, Marseille had to postpone a game last weekend when their supporters violently attacked their training center. Fun times in France.
Yesterday was the close of the January trade window. A couple of notable moves:
USMNT vet DeAndre Yedlin moved from floundering Newcastle to Galatasaray
Dynamic US right back Bryan Reynolds became the latest American to make the jump from MLS to Europe, moving from FC Dallas to Roma. FC Dallas have now shipped two young right backs to prominent Euro clubs inside of a year, with Reggie Cannon having jumped to Portugal prior to the MLS Returns thingie.
Liverpool shored up their thin defense (Jordan freaking Henderson has been playing CB) with two moves. They nailed down a loan to purchase deal with Schalke for Ozan Kabak and swooped in late to purchase Ben Davies from Preston. Davies was a true steal, as he was set for a move to Celtic only the day before.
Tottenham, meanwhile, left everything to the last minute as per usual and got stuck keeping Deli Ali and Christian Eriksen after both asked to be moved.
Yesterday was the close of the January trade window. A couple of notable moves:
USMNT vet DeAndre Yedlin moved from floundering Newcastle to Galatasaray
Dynamic US right back Bryan Reynolds became the latest American to make the jump from MLS to Europe, moving from FC Dallas to Roma. FC Dallas have now shipped two young right backs to prominent Euro clubs inside of a year, with Reggie Cannon having jumped to Portugal prior to the MLS Returns thingie.
Liverpool shored up their thin defense (Jordan freaking Henderson has been playing CB) with two moves. They nailed down a loan to purchase deal with Schalke for Ozan Kabak and swooped in late to purchase Ben Davies from Preston. Davies was a true steal, as he was set for a move to Celtic only the day before.
Tottenham, meanwhile, left everything to the last minute as per usual and got stuck keeping Deli Ali and Christian Eriksen after both asked to be moved.
Chelsea Clinton and Jenna Bush Hager are among a group of new investors in the NWSL Washington Spirit. They join a trend that saw Grand Slam tennis champion Naomi Osaka become an investor in the NC Courage and the entire investment group of Angel City FC. Clinton and Hager are expected to be joined by former USWNT keeper Brianna Scurry and Olympic gold medal gymnast Dominque Dawes.
Steven Goff from the Washington Post says it’s a total of 42 investors for the Spirit. It includes former Senator Tom Daschle, former Obama Spokemans Jay Carney and his wife, TV journalist Claire Shipman, Estee Portnoy, Michael Jordan’s business manager, Fannie Mae COO Kimberly Johnson among others.
Are they equal partners or just a pool of minor investors (minor being relative) like Pete recruited late in his tenure?
It'll be a consortium with a smaller group of managing partners, similar to LA's setup from what I'm seeing. Not sure who the lead dog will be, but I'd be surprised if Steve Baldwin gave up control entirely.
Look ... I know nobody cares about Scottish football much aside from me, but ...
Celtic manager Neil Lennon resigned after combining with their recently retired Director to completely crumble in the face of a renewed challenge from Rangers. They have lost anything of meaning and sit 18 points adrift of first place Rangers at the moment ... and have a roster that's not only not working, but one that will be impossible to keep together. Time for a big shift after a remarkable run from 2016 to 2020 that saw them run up nearly obscene records under Brendan Rodgers and then Lennon.
Lennon was a Celtic legend as a player and followed that with two remarkable runs as manager. As always, I wish him nothing but the best.
Celtic manager Neil Lennon resigned after combining with their recently retired Director to completely crumble in the face of a renewed challenge from Rangers. They have lost anything of meaning and sit 18 points adrift of first place Rangers at the moment ... and have a roster that's not only not working, but one that will be impossible to keep together. Time for a big shift after a remarkable run from 2016 to 2020 that saw them run up nearly obscene records under Brendan Rodgers and then Lennon.
Lennon was a Celtic legend as a player and followed that with two remarkable runs as manager. As always, I wish him nothing but the best.
Sacramento’s MLS expansion bid has collapsed with lead investor Ron Burkle pulling out. Stadium and infrastructure costs have increased substantially. His group also never acquired majority interest in the Sacramento Republic USL club. Burkle also never signed the long form MLS agreement or made any expansion fee payments to the league.
www.espn.com
Sacramento MLS team on indefinite hold after investor pulls out of deal
The proposed MLS expansion team in Sacramento is on indefinite hold after investor Ron Burkle informed the league he has pulled out of the deal.
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Juventus exercised its option to buy and made the McKennie move permanent, with a contract that runs through the 2024-25 season. He’s been very good for them, with 4 goals in 21 league matches and 1 goal in 6 UCL matches. What is Schalke doing, Juve is paying the transfer fee over 3 years. For a club with financial problems, it’s a curious move.
I know that deal was negotiated at the time McKinnie moved, so I think Schalke underestimated the player's quality and allowed Juve too much hedge on their bet. In hindsight, not only did Juve get a decent deal on a player that could be a fixture in their midfield for a freaking decade, but they got to amortize the cost over a long period. Schalke should have held out for a cash deal, but you never know with these things.
The CONMEBOL Council is meeting tomorrow to discuss issues surrounding World Cup qualifying matches scheduled during the International break later this month. All 10 South American countries are on the UK “red list” travel ban, making it unlikely that European clubs will release those players for the matches. FIFA has granted clubs more leeway in releasing players due to the pandemic and they’re not likely to face pushback from them. CONMEBOL hasn’t yet considered a European bubble for the matches, but with only 3 weeks until they’re scheduled, the logistics make it nearly impossible.
Joachim Low is leaving the German National Team after the Euros this summer, with 1 year left on his contract. He was originally leaving after next summer’s World Cup. Immediate speculation fell to Jurgen Klopp but he rubbished them, saying that even if Liverpool fired him, he was going to take a year off. Current front runners appeae to be Hansi Flick, cureently at Bayern Munich, but Low’s assistant for 8 years and Ralf Rangnick, who most recently coached RB Leipzig in 2018-19.
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