Manager
Pep Guardiola: No new striker for Manchester City due to coronavirus impact
Manchester City’s strikers will have to rediscover their scoring touch because reinforcements will not be signed in January, manager Pep Guardiola has said. Guardiola explained that even with the backing of their Abu Dhabi owners, City were subject to the same financial pressures as their rivals due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. City have scored only twice in their last three league games but hope to welcome back Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus for Tuesday’s League Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. However, the League Cup holders’ record goalscorer Argentinian Sergio Aguero is sidelined by an undisclosed issue having had knee and illness problems already this season. Asked about the prospect of new blood coming to the club, Guardiola replied: “No I don’t think so because the eco...
Bernd Leno: Arsenal ‘don’t have time’ to feel sorry for themselves
Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno says there is no time for the players to feel sorry for themselves after an eighth Premier League defeat of the season ramped up the pressure on manager Mikel Arteta. Sunday is an unhappy first anniversary for the Gunners boss as he reflects on a 2-1 reverse at Everton that extended their winless run to seven league matches and left them just four points above the Premier League’s bottom three. “A lot of things are going wrong for us but we don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves, we have to fight for every ball, for our team-mates,” said Leno. “Now the confidence is not at the top level but the only thing that can be said is we should stick together and come out of this situation.” The 28-year-old German said Arsenal showed a good attitude in the second h...
Laurent Blanc named new Al-Rayyan manager
Laurent Blanc returns to management 4 years later. He hadn’t managed since he left PSG, and now, he will try his luck at Al-Rayyan in Qatar. 4 years after leaving PSG, Laurent Blanc will return to management with Al-Rayyan, the Qatari club announced. The French manager, 55, signed for a year and a half, and his mission will be to improve their position in the Qatari league, as they are 6th and 12 points from top, Xavi Hernández’s Al-Sadd. Blanc was champion of the world in France 98 and of Europe in Belgium/Netherlands 2000 as a player, also managed Bordeaux for three seasons, spent 2 years at France and 3 at PSG. Curiously, his appointment as Al-Rayyan manager comes not long after he assured that he wouldn’t manage professionally anymore: “I no longer like football, I would only manage ch...
Uproar: Lil Wayne Actually Sold The Young Money Catalog To Universal Music Group?
Source: Prince Williams / Getty There are more layers to Lil Wayne’s recent business moves than we all thought. It has been seemingly confirmed that he sold the rights to his Young Money imprint. Last week, it was reported the Trump supporter had sold his master recordings for a whopping $100 million dollars. There were several layers to unpack with regards to this monumental sale when you consider that it was announced that he plead guilty to federal weapons charges. As spotted on Music Business Worldwide the New Orleans native actually sold the Young Money Entertainment catalog to his parent company Universal Music Group. His former manager Ronald E. Sweeney is claiming he was cut out of his rightful earnings which add up to about to $20 million dollars. Sweeney’s lawsuit alleges th...
Pep Guardiola: Manchester City miss Sergio Aguero
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola opened up on his side’s goal scoring troubles after a goalless draw against Man United. He also talked about missing star striker Sergio Aguero. He said: “We miss Sergio but for the last six months, not just today, he was injured a lot of times. One step at a time, he still isn’t fit”. “Other players are working hard. Today he had a problem in his stomach and couldn’t make a session. He was at home”. “Of course, we miss Sergio, he is the best striker in Manchester City’s history”. “In the next short time, we will go without him and I am sure when he is fit, he will be back.” Sergio Aguero missed the Manchester derby due to sickness. The Argentine has been absent for much of City’s season till now. He was carrying an injury into the start of the new sea...
Pep Guardiola: Kun Aguero not ready to start Manchester derby
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says Sergio Aguero won’t start Saturday’s derby against United at Old Trafford. The Argentine, who has been troubled by knee injury and hamstring issues this season came off the bench to score Manchester City’s 3-0 win against French club Olympic Marseille on Wednesday night. Aguero has featured in five games across all competitions for the Citizens this season. Guardiola has said he will not take risks with the 32-year-old and will not be tempted to throw him in from the beginning at Old Trafford. Asked if Aguero could start the derby, Guardiola simply said: “No.” On his general performance, he added: “His instinct to score will always be there. He’s had three or four training sessions and the reaction was good. “He had 25 minutes and scored a goal. S...
Mikel Arteta expects difficult January transfer window
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says the club do not have much room to manoeuvre in the January transfer window and may have to offload players before they can add to the first-team squad. Arsenal are reportedly looking for a creative midfielder, with RB Salzburg’s Dominik Szoboszlai and Olympique Lyonnais’ Houssem Aouar among the options being considered, while Arteta would also like to improve his defensive options. “We are planning, talking with (technical director) Edu and with the club about the things we can do in January,” Arteta told reporters. “But at the moment it’s pretty difficult, unpredictable as well. In terms of places, we are very restricted in the moment. “We will need to do something knowing the limitations of that market in January and the limitations we have as well to si...
Napoli boss rues Victor Osimhen’s absence
Napoli manager Gennaro Gattuso says the absence of Victor Osimhen is being felt within the team despite Sunday’s 4-0 win over Roma in a Series A tie. Osimhen suffered a shoulder injury while on duty for the Super Eagles during the international break, which has seen him miss a couple of games for the San Paolo Stadium outfit. And Manager, Gattuso while reacting to Napoli’s big win over Roma praised his team’s mentality but rues the absence of the Nigeria international. “We have missed Osimhen in recent weeks, remember, he is an important player,” Gattuso said of the Forward, who is gradually returning to fitness having commenced light training and gym work. Osimhen linked up with the Partenopei from French club Lille in a record deal in the summer. He has played a total of six matches for ...
Alex Ferguson teams up with Marcus Rashford after making poverty pledge
Agence France-Presse Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has teamed up with Marcus Rashford to tackle child food poverty. United striker Rashford was awarded an MBE following his recent campaign which saw the government change their minds on providing free school meals for children during holidays. Now the 23-year-old has said Ferguson is set to pledge up to £2 million ($2.6 million) towards the FareShare charity for which Rashford is an ambassador. An appeal in the Times is aiming to raise funds and Rashford revealed Ferguson, alongside billionaire Michael Moritz, will match donations up to the aforementioned sum and described the news as “incredible”. Ferguson, 78, grew up in Glasgow in tough conditions and believes Rashford has done a great job in highlighting the plight faci...
Andre-Villas Boas: Marcelo Bielsa’s nomination for The Best FIFA Coach award ‘scandalous’
Marseille boss Andre-Villas Boas has taken a swipe at Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa’s nomination for The Best FIFA Coach Award. The Argentine has joined a five-match shortlist that also includes Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, Sevilla’s Julen Lopetegui and Bayern Munich’s Champions League-winning coach Hansi Flick. Bielsa was at the helm as Leeds returned to the top flight of the English game for the first time in 2004, but Villas-Boas has suggested that these achievements pale into comparison with other coaches who have been overlooked. “Bielsa? Bielsa has to win a prestigious trophy,” he told the media on Friday. “But he’s not among the best five coaches in the world in 2020. It’s a scandal. He won the Championship!” Villas-Boas, who risks provoking the M...
Leeds, Liverpool managers shortlisted for FIFA men’s coach of the year
Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa and Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp have been named on the five-man shortlist for FIFA men’s coach of the year. World football’s governing body has released the shortlist for its seven individual awards to be presented at The Best FIFA Football Awards on December 17. Bielsa was an eye-catching inclusion on the five-strong shortlist for Best FIFA Men’s Coach, with the Championship-winning manager named alongside Hansi Flick, Julen Lopetegui, Zinedine Zidane and Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp. Future England manager Sarina Wiegman has been shortlisted for the women’s coach award along with Emma Hayes, who has three of her Chelsea players shortlisted for women’s player of the year. Ji So-yun, Sam Kerr and Pernille Harder are joined on the shortlist by Manchester C...
Premier League star tests positive for coronavirus
Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson has revealed that Ivory Coast forward Wilfried Zaha is self-isolating after testing positive for Covid-19. Zaha was missing from the Palace squad for their Premier League match at Burnley on Monday as a result of the illness. “He has tested positive unfortunately for coronavirus so is self-isolating, and is awaiting the results of the next test,” Hodgson said. “He is not feeling particularly ill, but unfortunately the test proved positive and he is following the procedures.” Zaha’s absence is a blow to Palace after his fine start to the season. The 28-year-old has scored five goals and provided two assists for Hodgson’s team. He was due to make his 200th Premier League appearance in the Burnley match, but will be sidelined for the length of his quarantine...
