Craig

TRANSFER RUMOURS Arsenal are close to securing a season-long loan for Real Madrid's Julio Baptista, with Jose Reyes returning to Spain for a year. (Various) Arsenal may also be about to sign the two finest young players in South America - Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez - from Corinthians. (The Times) Tottenham will offer £5m for Liverpool's Harry Kewell and also wrap up a £5.25m deal for Wigan's Pascal Chimbonda. (The Sun) Spurs will also sign Steed Malbranque from Fulham, with Wayne Routledge going the other way on loan. (Guardian) While Martin Jol has made a last-ditch bid to swoop for Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing. (Daily Mirror) If they cannot sign Downing, Spurs may turn their attentions to Lyon's Hatem Ben Arfa. (Daily Mirror) Ashley Cole has resigned himself to fact that his move from Arsenal to Chelsea will not go ahead. (Various) Though Arsenal could still accept a £20m offer from the Blues. (Daily Mirror) And if they don't, Chelsea could yet pull the plug on Robert Huth's £6m move to Middlesbrough. (Daily Mirror) Meanwhile, Chelsea have been rebuffed by Juventus with a cheeky £8m bid for left-back Giorgio Chiellini. (Daily Express) Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger wants to wrap up a deal for 18-year-old Japanese striker Sho Ito. (Daily Mirror) Blackburn boss Mark Hughes could sign Egyptian centre-back Wael Gomaa to cover for injured Ryan Nelsen. (Daily Mirror) Manchester United have not given up hope of signing Owen Hargreaves from Manchester United. (Daily Mail) Manchester City may try to sign Marcus Bent from Charlton after Birmingham's £2m bid to get him collapsed. (Daily Mail) PSV Eindhoven have submitted an improved bid for Liverpool defender Jan Kronkamp. (Guardian) Portsmouth are hoping to tie up deals for Ghanaian World Cup stars Stephen Appiah and Sulley Muntari. (Independent) Harry Redknapp is also set to complete a deal for Croatian World Cup striker Niko Kranjcar. (Daily Mirror) Roy Keane wants Blackburn defender Andy Todd to be his first signing as Sunderland manager. (Independent) The Black Cats boss also wants to grab former Republic of Ireland colleagues Graham Kavanagh and David Connolly from Wigan. (Daily Mail) As well as landing Man Utd reserve Liam Miller, Portsmouth defender Andy O'Brien and Blackburn midfielder Jonathan Douglas - all Irish. (Daily Mirror) Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill is hoping to sign Barcelona striker Javier Saviola before the transfer window slams shut at midnight. (Independent) But if O'Neill does not sign the Argentine, he could yet make a bid for Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe. (Independent) Having signed Nicolas Anelka, Bolton have now set their sights on Paris St Germain winger Vikash Dhorasoo. (Daily Mirror) Southampton boss George Burley wants to sign his old Derby playmaker Inigo Idiakez from the Rams. (Daily Mirror) Liverpool are still hoping to sign Blackburn defender Lucas Neill but may have to up their bid to £4m. (Independent) Brighton have accepted a bid from Sheffield United for livewire striker Colin Kazim-Richards. (Guardian) Carlisle's Michael Bridges has handed in a transfer request in a bid to secure a move to Hull. (Daily Mail) Plymouth boss Ian Holloway wants to boost his squad by signing Dutch defender Marcel Seip and young England striker Cherno Samba. (Independent) Ipswich have sold striker Nicky Forster to Hull for £200,000 and will sign Crystal Palace frontman Jon Macken on loan. (Daily Star) Celtic have had a £500,000 bid for New England Revolution midfielder Shalrie Joseph rejected by American Major League Soccer. (Daily Record) OTHER GOSSIP Kevin Keegan could make an extraordinary return to management with Doncaster Rovers, as replacement for Dave Penney. Doncaster chairman John Ryan is a close friend of the former England boss. (The Times) Didier Drogba has told William Gallas: Stop tearing Chelsea apart. (The Sun) Sir Clive Woodward is set to leave Southampton and quit full-time professional football in the process, with an announcement expected in the next 48 hours. (Guardian) Jens Lehmann is leading a revolt of Germany players who want to wear their own sponsored boots, not adidas. The Football League have stopped the practice of demoting Premiership referees to their games after they have made serious errors in top-flight games. (Daily Mail) Steven Gerrard says he doesn't care if Man Utd fans boo him during England's Euro 2008 qualifier with Andorra at Old Trafford on Saturday. (The Sun) Lomana LuaLua has been banned from wearing the initial of his dead son on the back of his Portsmouth shirt. (The Sun) FUNNIES Michael Ballack was fined £47,000 for failing to declare to German customs a handbag that he bought for his wife in Dubai. (The Times) Fulham right-back Moritz Volz believes David Hasselhoff could play a role in solving the world's ills. "People laughed when he tried to claim that Baywatch had played a part in brining peace to the world but I think he had a point," Volz tells FourFourTwo magazine. England midfielder Steven Gerrard says a team bonding trip to a comedy club has done wonders for the spirit within the squad. "It was a good night. We all enjoyed it," he said. "One of the comedians was a Manchester United fan and he was right after me - then there was a Scouser and some of the United boys got a bit."

Can't speak for the others, but my main gripe is to do with the fact that club have left it all to the last minute to try and get this sorted and it smacks of "the only prospect we've got is one of the kids from Man Utd". You said yourself that a month ago it wouldn't have been your first choice. As an aside, I've heard that the person who recommended to Fergie that he comes to work under Glenn Roeder to get some experience is non other than Michael Carrick - the very man who left Newcastle as a young un as there was no prospects! Oh, the irony.....

You cutting and pasting Gol's earlier post?

By the time Rossi goes back to Man U, Owen will only be a few months away from coming back. If anything, it's just buying a bit of time until that happens. I can't see anything wrong with this deal whatsoever. Who's to say there'll not be another one in tomorrow anyway? 188218[/snapback] Try 6, minimum... He's done the anterior cruciate, not the medial ligament remember!

Kenneth Shepherd got FM2006 for his birthday tbf

Newcastle fans wanted to sign Forssell, not loan him! In the same respect a lot of us wanted Gudjohnsen this summer who also, it seems, had become somewhat of an outcast. We need permanent acquisitions tbh, not be a fucking merry-go-round wih someone new getting on every time the music stops!

He was sh*te last season, but the inital season where Birmingham took him on loan, he was excellent. To me this just as likely to go that way, than say a Carlton Cole to Charlton type thing. Worth the risk that's for sure. 188203[/snapback] So you're accepting that we're now on a level playing field with the likes of Birmingham and Charlton are you? It's the backwards move in terms of ambition I have a real problem with.

Forssell did well last season like!

A Scunny lad managing Doncaster? More likely to see Shearer managing the Mackems tbh

Shepherd obviously didn't!

http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=4...5&clid=1&cpid=8 Interesting, eh? 188176[/snapback] Speaks volumes of a properly run club! Oh and to Jonny2J, it's Shepherd who set us back by appointing Souness in the first place!

we're not that lucky...

If he was brought in for cover, fair enough.... But he's been brought here to gain first team experience. Shall I point that out a bit clearer? Man Utd are sending us one of their kids to give him experience!!! 3 years ago, we'd have laughed at the notion - the common denominator (fat bastard) in our downfall is, of course, totally blameless for this 188150[/snapback] He will not start more than 10 games if Shola and Martins don't get injured. You can quote me on that too. 188153[/snapback] So now Shola is our first choice striker, and we've signed a man united player to cover him when Man United actually want him to get first team football? Bet there's a clause saying he has to play 70% of games. 188158[/snapback] Roeder's said all along that Ameobi is in his plans. 188161[/snapback] Remember when we were challenging for the title? Where's Leazes? 188162[/snapback] Yeah but that was 10 years ago, this is now. And plus our target is top 6, that's what the fat fuck said anyway. 188165[/snapback] so the season we easily finished 3rd we weren't going for the title, were we not?

2 years ago we challenged Man Utd for the signature of Wayne Rooney, now we're loaning their kids.... And there WILL be some clause to say that, when fit, Rossi will be playing - no point in Man Utd loaning him otherwise...

Get your fucking acts together Glenn & Fred!

AAARRR NEE JOY!. Blue arrow, the lads an emotional wreck! 188152[/snapback] So would any of us in this predicament tbf!

If he was brought in for cover, fair enough.... But he's been brought here to gain first team experience. Shall I point that out a bit clearer? Man Utd are sending us one of their kids to give him experience!!! 3 years ago, we'd have laughed at the notion - the common denominator (fat bastard) in our downfall is, of course, totally blameless for this

Luque looked good on a youtube video, man Anyone who thinks this is a planned move by Glenn rather than a panic move is deluding themselves IMO. Either that or we really have got it all horribly, horribly wrong...

He's a "prospect for the future" in the same way Chopra (and Brayson before him) was classed as the same here. You only have to look at the quality of teams who loan Man Utd's reserve players (Birmingham, West Brom, Watford, etc..) to realise what our level of ambition is these days.... Very, very disappointing tbh 188097[/snapback] I came on here to get a more sensible outlook than on N-O, but it seems the miserable cunts have infiltrated here as well. 188098[/snapback] Think you'll find that echo's the sentiment of many. Effectively we've replaced Shearer and Owen with a virtual unknown (and unproven in the premiership) and one of Man Utd's kids...

i'd get full backs in first before another striker tbh. 188045[/snapback] Taylor should be at right back. We should be signing a new centre half to replace Boumsong and a new left back to replace Baba. 188091[/snapback] Campbell and Bridge would have done nicely...

He's a "prospect for the future" in the same way Chopra (and Brayson before him) was classed as the same here. You only have to look at the quality of teams who loan Man Utd's reserve players (Birmingham, West Brom, Watford, etc..) to realise what our level of ambition is these days.... Very, very disappointing tbh

So I guess we can consider being classed as 'second-rate' by Man Utd these days??

no we havnt done shite weve done ok. 188022[/snapback] Holy-mother-of-christ, wake up to yourself Laz, we've been a fucking shambles! Considering the time, we've had, the state of the squad we had, and the money allegedly available, we should have bought 5-6 players since July 1st. 2 of them would have been free as well! I will never understand Roeder's logic on not going for either Hasselbaink or Campbell...

2 when they could actually buy players...