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Mid-Day Ticker: Jones demoted, BBC’s Panorama report on FIFA and more

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

By AVI CREDITOR

In one of the odder personnel moves of the season, United States midfielder Jermaine Jones and two other players have been sent down to the Schalke reserves in Germany's fourth division by coach Felix Magath.

Magath has reportedly been upset with Jones' attitude during matches. He pulled the midfielder off at halftime of Schalke's 5-0 loss to Kaiserslautern over the weekend. Despite advancing to the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League, Schalke is currently in 15th place in the Bundesliga with just 13 points through 14 matches.

This isn't the first incident this year involving a spat between Jones and Magath. The U.S. international was reportedly among a contingent of players caught partying until 4 a.m. a couple of days before a German Cup match in October.

Hans Sarpei and Alexander Baumjohann were demoted to the reserves along with Jones. It's unclear how long they will be kept away from the first team.

Here are a few more stories to carry you through your Tuesday:

BBC'S PANORAMA REPORT

In the event that you have yet to see BBC's Panorama episode regarding corruption in FIFA, take a look:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjlZw9NGSlU&w=440&h=360]

Part Two:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wQy4eT4M9I&w=440&h=360]

VAN DER VAART COULD MISS MONTH

Tottenham midfielder Rafael Van der Vaart said he could miss up to a month of action with a nagging injury to his hamstring, which he fears is torn.

Van der Vaart had to be subbed off after just 11 minutes of Spurs' come-from-behind victory over Liverpool over the weekend. Should he face an extended period of time on the sideline, he would miss Tottenham's final UEFA Champions League group stage match in addition to a key league fixture against Chelsea, among other games.

SERIE A STRIKE DATE SET

The Serie A Players' Union has threatened to strike ahead of the games scheduled to be played on Dec. 11 and 12 as the drawn-out conversations between players and league haven't yielded a resolution.

The conflict over the collective bargaining agreement goes back to September, when another threatened strike was averted. There is still a chance that this threat goes unfounded as well, assuming progress is made in the next two weeks.

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Are you worried about Jones' attitude, or do you think this has more to do with the manager? Do you hope Jones transfers elsewhere in January? What are your reactions to the Panorama episode? Do you think Tottenham can continue its run of form without Van der Vaart? Can you see the Serie A players actually going through with their threat to strike?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Supposdly that is one of the reasons why Jones wanted to play for the USMNT. He has said that his personality fits in better with what seems to be a pretty tight bunch of guys.

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  2. Well, if Jones had done the same thing a couple of days before playing for the USMNT, Magath wouldn`t have made a huge deal out of it.

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  3. That Panorama report is hilariously self-indulgent. Still, it’s good work. Nothing more than what people suspected, but it’s good to have proof anyway. The beginning of the second vid, with Jack Warner, made my blood start to boil.

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  4. That Panorama report is hilariously self-indulgent. Still, it’s good work. Nothing more than what people suspected, but it’s good to have proof anyway. The beginning of the second vid, with Jack Warner, made my blood start to boil.

    Reply
  5. Wow, that Baumjohann is a player. I saw him score an incredible goal a season or two ago. A long, slaloming run and clinical finish. I can still hear Ray Hudson calling that run and goal in my head.

    I’d guess the issue is with the manager as Jones and Baumjohann are two gifted players. This sounds like a “if these guys can get whacked then anyone can” type of move to scare the team straight.

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  6. Wolves starting Wayne Hennesey over Hahnemann is a non-issue to me. Both keepers are about equal skill level, and Wolves need to develop the mentality of their younger keeper if Marcus is indeed moving on. Also, they only have Marcus on a one-year contract, what did they expect? At least they have a good back-up, which is why they signed Marcus anyhow.

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  7. Could also be a move by Mick to light a little fire under the butts of the rest of the squad… similar to a goalie being pulled in hockey.

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  8. Just go to YouTube and look up Jermaine Jones and checkout the second video. Then you’ll see why he’s our most skilled Central Midfielder.

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  9. In “other news of Americans players losing thier starting spots” : Yahoo is reporting that Marcus Hahnemann has been benched by Mike McCarthy, manager of the Wolverhampton Wolves. UK papers are saying that the reluctance of Hahnemann to sigh a new deal with Wolvewrhampton and his recent comments about coming back to play in the MLS have the Wolves management decising to audition new keepers!

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  10. specifically, Jones’ distribution is much better than any other US player. That alone separates him from Edu and Bradley. What makes Mix a better option(besides age)?

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  11. You’re kidding me right?? Did you even watch the 2 games that he played with the USMNT? He is easily our most skilled CM. Saying that he’s only slightly better than Clark is a joke.

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  12. I know it’s just me, but I don’t get Jones at all. To me he’s Ricardo Clark only slightly better. Playing him with Bradley is a waste of time when Mix or Edu are probably better options moving towards 2014

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  13. Yeah, you’d think those German’s would have a feel-good attitude towards work and play since they’re so carefree in how they approach life. Oh wait…

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  14. I am going to go out on a limb and say that it is the coach, not Jones.

    And I’ll take that a step further in assuming that Jones is pissed off that the team blows, and he gives 120% while others don’t.

    Because watching his on-field performance and attitude, there is not a thing to be upset about.

    Reply
  15. As for the larger issue of Jones’ suggested attitude problems, it’s easy for us to deal with. If he displays behavior that is detrimental to the team or the manager, stop calling him up.

    I’m not saying he will. He seems to respect his teammates and Bradley. Time will obviously tell.

    Reply

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