Scottish Mag

Home match will be Aug 18th

Middlesbrough have agreed personal terms with Turkey striker Tuncay Sanli. The 25-year-old forward, who is out of contract at Fenerbahce, faces a medical next week before completing his move. Boro chief executive Keith Lamb flew to Turkey to push home his club's interest in a player who has scored 13 goals in 43 internationals. Tuncay has struck 77 goals in 207 games for Turkish champions Fenerbahce and has also scored a Champions League hat-trick against Manchester United. And he is the club's all-time leading scorer in Europe with 12 goals. Tuncay has been at Fenerbahce since 2002 and has won three league titles with the Istanbul outfit. Boro are looking to boost their attacking options following Mark Viduka's departure and have also agreed terms with Arsenal's Jeremie Aliadiere. Viduka's defection to north-east rivals Newcastle and the release of Malcolm Christie and Danny Graham had left the Teessiders with only two recognised frontmen, Yakubu and Dong-Gook Lee.

El Hadji Diouf's agent has moved to play down speculation the striker will depart Bolton over the summer. New Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce is reportedly keen on taking Diouf to the North East after the pair had an excellent relationship at The Reebok Stadium. A whole host of clubs on the continent have also been linked with the controversial Senegal international. However, Diouf's representative Alexandre Krstic is unaware of any official contact from suitors of his client. Krstic believes the former Liverpool front man is likely to be with Bolton come the start of next season, although he refused to rule out a bid from Newcastle. "Dioufy is under contract at Bolton, that is the reality," he told the Manchester Evening News. "As long as there are no offers for him then he remains a Bolton player. "As far as I know there hasn't been any contact but you would have to confirm that with chairman Phil Gartside or secretary Simon Marland. "Everyone knows it was Sam Allardyce who took Dioufy from Liverpool to Bolton. They know each other well and Dioufy respects and thinks highly of him. "There is nothing serious happening at the moment but we will see what happens." The likes of Benfica and Atletico Madrid are rumoured to be keen on Diouf, with the 26-year-old spotted in Lisbon recently. "His father lives in Lisbon, that's why he was there," Krstic added. "There is no doubt Dioufy is interesting different clubs. But there is a big difference between being interested and putting in an offer. "As I've said, if a club wants to sign him they have got to contact the club and I don't believe anyone has done that."

What is Wadworths obsession with this boy. I remember he tried to get Old Bobby to sign him at one point.

Newcastle United forward Albert Luque will not be returning to St James' Park. Boss Sam Allardyce has made it clear there is no place for the Spanish striker in his Tyneside revolution. Luque, a £9.5million signing from Deportivo La Coruna last summer, has struggled to make an impact since his arrival in the North East. PSV Eindhoven made a bid to sign the 29-year-old on loan but the deal fell through, reportedly due to the player's high wage demands. Luque's father and agent, told the Daily Mirror: "We've tried to contact Allardyce to see what plans he has. But he has not spoken to us at all."

Happy Birthday dude..

Sam Allardyce last night confirmed Newcastle have expressed an interest in Paris St Germain centre-back David Rozenhal - but United could be facing stiff competition from Borussia Dortmund. United are believed to have offered around £2m for the Czech Republic international, but Dortmund have made an offer which matches Paris' valuation of £3.5m and Allardyce is circumspect about his chances of signing the 25-year-old. Newcastle's new manager has also quickly distanced himself from reports claiming that he is hoping to sign French winger Ludovic Giuly from Barcelona and Turkish forward Tunçay Sanli from Fenerbahçe. Instead, Allardyce will focus all his energy on trying to sign Tal Ben Haim from former club Bolton Wanderers, even though the Israel international is preparing for his wedding this weekend. Allardyce told The Journal last week that Ben Haim was his number one target having already sealed deals for centre-forward Mark Viduka and midfielder Joey Barton, and that has not changed despite the interest in Rozenhal. "We have shown an interest in David Rozenhal, but that is about as far as it has gone at this stage," said Allardyce about a player he watched in the Czech Republic's goalless draw with Wales earlier this month. "A transfer isn't imminent or anything like that. "There has been some contact but it hasn't gone any further than that. The problem is, it's very difficult to keep things quiet when you are speaking to agents." Allardyce's problems are summed up by the behaviour of Rozenhal's representatives who suggested last week that their client was destined for Tyneside. Paris St Germain also indicated a deal with the Magpies was likely - possibly to force Dortmund's hand - on Monday, despite the fact the clubs are well apart in their valuation of the Czech international. That has prompted the player's agent to claim that Rozenhal now favours a move to Germany. "Both clubs are high-quality ones and both competitions are very good," said Rozenhal's spokesman Pavel Zika. "I think that he slightly prefers Dortmund, but I don't want to speak for him. The discussions with the clubs will be decisive." While Allardyce has admitted an interest in Rozenhal and Ben Haim, he has been bewildered by some of the other names linked with Newcastle in recent days. He added: "Everyone knows that we are on the look-out for players and, unfortunately, that means we are going to be linked with a lot of names this summer. But, as far as I am concerned, the stories linking us with Tunçay Sanli and Ludovic Giuly are agent talk. "My main priority at the moment is signing defensive players and that is where we are looking to strengthen. We want to get that department right before we start looking at other areas. We are very interested in Ben Haim, but he is getting ready for his wedding next weekend. It is something I will be chasing up this week." Meanwhile, the Professional Footballer's Association have entered the row between Barton and Manchester City in an attempt to resolve the dispute which has delayed the completion of his transfer to Newcastle. Manchester City have refused to pay the midfielder the £300,000 he believes he should get from a `signing-on fee' clause in his contract at Eastlands. Barton claims he did not ask for a transfer so is due the money, while City are adamant that, by asking for permission to speak to Newcastle and West Ham, he effectively asked for a transfer. Allardyce has also been critical of City's handling of the affair this week and PFA official Mick McGuire has been called in to try and negotiate an amicable settlement. McGuire said: "I have spoken to Joey, his agent and Alistair Mackintosh (City's chief executive) and I also intend talking to Sam Allardyce at Newcastle. "But this is not an easy situation because City believe Joey is not entitled to the money, because it was the player who triggered the move by activating the part of his contract that says he can talk to other clubs who bid £5.5m. City believe that by doing that, he effectively asked for a transfer. "This is a signing-on fee, not a loyalty bonus. This does not seem to be black and white, certainly as far as City are concerned. At the moment we are looking for a way forward that will be acceptable to everyone." England Under-21 defender Steven Taylor is desperate to make an impression on the European Championship after watching the draw against Czech Republic from the stands. The Newcastle centre-back was suspended for the Group B opener at Arnhem's Gelredome but is expected to return for Thursday's clash against Italy. "It's been a double frustration from my point of view," said the 21-year-old. "Having to sit in the stands and look on was disappointing. "When you come to the the first game of the tournament and you can't be involved, it's a massive kick in the teeth. The feeling is horrible."

Somehow I don't think a Scot and a Germans biggest interest at the World Cup was England. So thats another 3 games 2 of which the Czechs were beat, do you really think you can give a true judgement of a player on the back of 4 games? I know that I watched those games, but could not remember Rozenhal's performances at all tbh. I am surprised that someone does after a whole year though. But going by the match reports from Germany's leading magazine, he did have some good/ok games against the USA and Italy but a shocker against Ghana. If 2bias really does remember his performances then credit where credit is due. Aye fair enough but if we are going to judge people based on their world cup performances does that mean we would pass the chance to sign the likes of Lampard, Gerrard etc?

Somehow I don't think a Scot and a Germans biggest interest at the World Cup was England. So thats another 3 games 2 of which the Czechs were beat, do you really think you can give a true judgement of a player on the back of 4 games?

How many more times than the Wales game last weekend?

How many times have you seen him play?

Newcastle United have bid £2m for Paris St-Germain Czech international David Rozenhal. They are still waiting to hear from the French club but United boss Sam Allardyce is expecting that he will bring in the first of three defenders he so desperately needs. Rozenhal is keen to switch from Paris to Tyneside and United would not expect any problems when they sit down and talk to the player and his agent about wages. With striker Mark Viduka already in the bag and midfielder Joey Barton all but tied up, Allardyce has made no secret of the fact that defenders are a priority - and Rozenhal could be the first. United are still very much involved in talks to sign Tal Ben Haim despite Chelsea offering £60,000 a week to the player who was a success under Allardyce at Bolton Wanderers. And they have spoken to Marseille about their experienced defender and captain the 29-year-old Habib Beye, who can play both at full-back and at centre- half. However, even if United do get two of these three targets, I understand there is still scope for Sami Hyypia to bring all his experience to St James' Park. But one player who looks like missing out on the move he wanted to United is Wigan Athletic left-back and England Under-21 international Leighton Baines. Chris Hutchings, who has replaced Paul Jewell at the JJB Stadium, has slapped a £5m price tag on the in-demand Baines. United will not pay this, but in any case, after studying the goals conceded last season, Allardyce found that a lack of aerial authority by the full-backs was one of the reasons, and Baines does not have the height the new manager is looking for in his defenders. What must be encouraging for the supporters is that as they wait to hear Mike Ashley's plans for the club, Allardyce and Kenneth Shepherd, acting on behalf of his father Freddy, are keeping up their search for the players United so desperately need.

I think its obvious it wasn't all tongue in cheek, its not the first time you have made a "Geordie Nation" type post...

Who let Fat Freddie back on the forum?

Rob Hulse and Danny Murphy too. What odds are you getting on them being relegated this season?

Bolton Goals For - 47 Bolton Goals Against - 52

Sadly it's more a case of how much we need a player of his ability. Going by our current defensive legions, I'd say we might have to push the boat out in order to secure him. Its an Anal O story, the figure of £60k is probably bullshit...

Hes not Scottish though...

Get your resident mice to put on a wee show for him...

You were right and I have removed it.