The #LUFC Breakfast Debate (Friday 22nd March) Foxes charged with breaking FFP rules
Good Morning. It's Friday 22nd March, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road...
Foxes charged with breaking FFP rules
Championship promotion rivals Leicester City have been formally charged with breaking Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR), the Premier League have confirmed. Unfortunately for Leeds, and the rest of the Championship, the news comes too late in the day to make a dent to change the dynamics of the table, as any point reductions won't happen until next season.
According to Sky Sports journalist Keveh Solhekol, the charges relate to when they were a top flight team, hence the matter will be dealt with by the Premier League. That's not to say that their overspending hasn't had a knock on effect this season. Man for man, Leicester City arguably have the strongest (or at least the second strongest) squad in the Championship
What could be really controversial in this case is: Leicester City are in the Championship at the moment. They’re fighting for promotion, they’re second in the table just behind Leeds with nine games to play.
But there’s the very real prospect that, if they are found guilty, we know what happens in these cases, teams are hit with a points deduction. We have the very real prospect that, if they’re found guilty, if they get a points deduction, if they’re promoted, they could start next season in the Premier League on -4, -6, -8 points.
These alleged breaches happened over a three-year period when Leicester were in the Premier League, so it is alleged that they broke Premier League rules. It isn’t to do with the EFL, but I can understand why some of their competitors in the EFL would be saying they had an unfair competitive advantage because of this. I think it puts into sharp focus how controversial these rules have turned out to be.
International round-up
Joe Rodon, Ethan Ampadu and Connor Roberts all started for Wales last night, as Rob Page's side comfortably beat Finland 4-1. Dan James came on for the last 18 minutes, and netted Wales fourth in the dying minutes. Glen Kamara started for Finland. Bulgaria (Gruev), England U21's (Gray and Cresswell), Italy U21's (Gnonto) and Scotland (Cooper) all kick off later today, whilst Junior Firpo is set to make his first appearance for the Dominican Republic tomorrow. Let's hope everyone can stay injury free.
Summerville being looked by Holland could be blessing in disguise
Many were surprised when Crysencio Summerville was overlooked by Ronald Koeman for Holland's upcoming fixtures against Scotland and Germany, but could it be a blessing in disguise? We know by what we've been told by Daniel Farke, that 'Jimmy' has been struggling to overcome niggles, which has meant missing some training sessions. Although he still tops the 'Whoscored' ratings with a phenomenal score of 7.70, his recent contributions have not quite lived up to expectations.
Since Boxing Day (17 games ago), Summerville has netted five times, and provided 2 assists; furthermore, he has failed to do either for the last seven games. It is hoped that the International break will give him a well deserved rest, and time to recharge his batteries.