Louis Van Gaal went back to work training Manchester United stars yesterday after the club denied he had offered to resign. According to some media, Van Gaal faces a crunch meeting with United executive vice chairman Ed Woodward amid supporter anger over the 1-0 defeat by Southampton.
Van Gaal went back to the Netherlands after the Old Trafford loss for a planned family visit and the players were given Sunday and Monday off. Amid intense speculation about his future, a Manchester United club source denied reports that the 64-year-old former Dutch national boss had offered his resignation on Saturday.
And Van Gaal was seen arriving at United’s Carrington complex to take training. Media reports said he was to have talks with the English giants top management later yesterday. After suffering a sixth league defeat of the season, Van Gaal must also lift his players for Friday’s FA Cup fourth round trip to Derby County.
Loud jeers rang around Old Trafford as the team left the field following Saturday’s loss and another poor result would heighten pressure for change at Manchester. With United now five points off the top four, out of the Champions League and having only won only three of their last 13 matches in all competitions, Van Gaal said later he could understand fans’ frustration.
“I’m very disappointed that I cannot reach the expectations of the fans,” he said. “They have—or they had—great expectations of me, and I cannot fulfil them.”
Chelsea and West Bromwich fined after fracas
Chelsea and West Bromwich Albion have been fined for failing to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion during their Premier League game on Jan. 13, the Football Association said.
Chelsea were fined 65,000 pounds ($93,288.00) and West Brom 35,000 pounds. The charge referred to the heated aftermath of West Brom’s Claudio Yacob escaping a second booking after fouling Diego Costa in the second half of the 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.
The game was a fractious affair with firebrand Chelsea striker Costa involved in several spats, including an incident with most of the West Brom team after the final whistle. Chelsea were also fined for misconduct in November following their bad-tempered Premier League clash with West Ham United.
Adebayor joins Palace until end of season
Emmanuel Adebayor has joined Premier League side Crystal Palace until the end of the season, the club announced yesterday. “Crystal Palace are delighted to announce the signing of striker Emmanuel Adebayor until the end of the season,” said a statement on the club’s website.
Togo striker Adebayor, 31, was released from his contract at Tottenham Hotspur in September but will now move from the north London side to south London top-flight rivals Palace. Adebayor first came to the Premier League when he joined Arsenal from French side Monaco.
He joined Manchester City in a £25 million ($36 million, 33 million euros) deal during 2009 before loan spells at Real Madrid and Spurs ahead of his permanent move to White Hart Lane in August 2012.
Palace are currently 11th in the Premier League table.
Roma’s Ivorian forward Gervinho heads to China
Roma’s Ivorian striker Gervinho has signed with China’s Hebei Fortune, the team said, the latest European-based star to be lured east by the increasingly wealthy Chinese Super League.
“Gervinho has joined Hebei Fortune,” the club said in a one-line statement on its verified Sina Weibo account, a Chinese version of Twitter. The announcement did not say how much the deal was worth.
Gervinho has scored only six league goals for Roma this season and doubts over his future mounted when coach Rudi Garcia was sacked two weeks ago.
Ahead of Roma’s defeat on Sunday, club officials confirmed he had asked for a transfer. The player won a French league and cup double with Lille in 2011 before moving to Arsenal, where he scored just 11 goals in two years.
Roma reportedly paid around eight million euros in 2013 to secure his services. Gervinho’s move is the latest in a string of high-profile transfers involving foreign players and coaches in China, where the top league is increasingly flooded with cash.
Last week Asian football champions Guangzhou Evergrande sold their Brazilian top scorer Elkeson to rivals Shanghai SIPG for as much as 20 million euros ($22 million), the official Xinhua news agency reported.
New Zealand women qualify for Rio after PNG fail to show
The New Zealand women’s soccer team have qualified for this year’s Rio Olympics after Papua New Guinea failed to travel to Auckland for the second leg of their qualifying final having failed to obtain the necessary visas.
New Zealand had won the first leg of the Oceania qualifying final 7-1 in Lae last Saturday and returned home to prepare for the second leg yesterday.
The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and New Zealand Football (NZF) said on Tuesday Papua New Guinea had withdrawn from the tie due to the visa issue.
NZF Chief Executive Andy Martin was happy the team had gained an Olympic berth but would have preferred the game to have been played.
Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal was seen arriving at Carrington complex to take his players.
