Scottish Mag

Can you blame the man for expecting a "Proper" wage..

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bowyer has never lived up to the hype surrounding his time at Leeds, however I hope by Bowyer going it does not mean that we will be left with Faye and/or Butt who I would much rather have seen leave first.

The thought of going into next season with our existing centre halfs is frightening..

There has never been any truth that we did infact approach O'Neill most of it is on hearsay or opinions based on bullshit read by Anal Oliver.

Maradona on Shearer and Owen... I bet they are glad hes lost all that weight now, fuck having that fat bar steward on you...

Chelsea forward Eidur Gudjohnsen is reportedly close to joining Barcelona with only a transfer fee required to seal the deal. The Iceland international has concurred on a three-year deal with the Catalan giants with the option of a fourth season. Barca are believed to have offered The Blues around €10 million (£6.8 million), although Chelsea want nearer €15 million (£10 million) for the former Bolton man. The Spanish champions look to have beaten off for Gudjohnsen's services, with Real Madrid, Manchester United, Arsenal and Middlesbrough all keen on the forward. Barca also have an eye on another player in the shape of England international Frank Lampard and are believed to have made an enquiry. However, Chelsea are likely to have swiftly rejected the move, even with Deco possibly on offer in exchange.

Togo's World Cup plans have been thrown up in the air after coach Otto Pfister quit. Pfister walked out of the job after storming out of the team's hotel on Friday night. It is thought that Pfister walked out because of the ongoing row between Togo's players and the national football federation over bonuses for appearing at the finals. The row has been rumbling on for some weeks now with players thought to be asking for £80,000 each to play in the tournament and then an additional £20,000 each per win and £10,000 per draw. "I'm giving up my work as national trainer," Pfister told German newspaper Tagesspiegel. "I will not be at the World Cup. I'm not going to let myself be messed around any longer." Pfister's former assistant Kodjovi Mawuena has been placed in charge of the side for their Group G games. Pfister only took charge of Togo at the start of the year after Stephen Keshi was axed following their poor performance in the African Cup of Nations. The decision leaves Togo's preparations in disarray as they get ready to play South Korea in their World Cup opener next Tuesday.

Mines updated..

Engerland one up already..

England: Robinson, G Neville, Terry, Ferdinand, A Cole, Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard, J Cole, Owen, Crouch. Paraguay: Villar, Caniza, Gamarra, Caceres, Toledo, Bonet, Acuna, Paredes, Riveros, Valdez, Santa Cruz.

Similar to Stella Artois' print campaign with the hidden films and Virgin's viral game and Spot The Song commercial, Absolut has created a puzzle where you need to find all 82 iconic Absolut bottles in the picture.

Glenn Roeder will seek talks with Steve Harper in a bid to convince Newcastle's under-employed goalkeeper he is pivotal to his plans at St James's Park. But with Shay Given having committed his future to United until 2011, the Irishman's accomplished deputy will return to the club for pre-season training this month well aware that another long spell on the sidelines is beckoning. Harper has started just two Premiership games in the last five seasons and, having been denied the chance to make a loan move by Graeme Souness last term, a player who craves first-team football looks certain to resume his familiar role on the substitutes' bench. The former Seaham Red Star favourite admitted in December that if Given signed a new five-year contract, he would be forced to reassess his own future in the North-East. And with Roeder planning to discuss the matter with the player when he returns from his short break in Turkey, it is a situation the Magpies manager is clearly determined to address as soon as possible. Having carried out a thorough audit of his first-team squad, Roeder knows that despite Given's remarkable fitness record in recent years, it is vital to ensure he has sufficient cover for the impressive Irishman. The club's goalkeeping ranks have already been weakened this summer by Tony Caig's departure to Canada to play in the United Soccer League with Vancouver Whitecaps. Tim Krul has furthered his growing reputation with some excellent performances for Holland at the Toulon Under-21 Tournament. But although the highly-rated Dutchman will be confident of receiving a first-team squad number for the first time at St James's Park, Krul's inexperience means he will continue his education in the reserves next term. Roeder knows he could have no better cover for Given than Harper - a player who, given the dearth of English keepers in the Premiership, must wonder if he would have been in contention for a World Cup place had he not spent years in the considerable shadow of his talented team-mate. Such has been his inactivity since his longest run in the United goal seven seasons ago, the deep frustrations he expressed last season are understandable. Speaking in December, the 31-year-old said: "I will be 32 when my contract is up and I don't want to retire at 36 having only played 130 games. I don't want to tell my children that when I retire." Roeder is sure to sympathise but, with Given's talents, the Newcastle boss cannot promise Premiership football. Whether he can assuage the obvious concerns Harper has remains to be seen and the best Roeder can hope for is that he can persuade his ambitious keeper to see out his present deal before moving on. The United boss will hope to have all such matters ironed out before pre-season training and, having already begun to speak to those whose futures are uncertain, Roeder will return from his holidays determined to start his restructuring plans in earnest. Roeder has already met with James Milner - a summer target for Aston Villa, Wigan and Bolton - and is understood to have spoken to Nicky Butt after his loan at Birmingham. But his hopes of retaining the services of Michael Chopra appear to be fading. A player offered a 12-month contract by Newcastle is a target for Barnsley and Cardiff, with sources in South Wales last night insisting the Bluebirds are close to agreeing personal terms with the 22-year-old.

Newcastle United defender Steven Taylor has set his sights on returning to action in the Intertoto Cup. Taylor missed the second half of the season after suffering a recurrence of a shoulder injury in the Boxing Day defeat to Liverpool. The England Under-21 international had a run-out in Alan Shearer's testimonial last month and he is raring to get back playing competitively. Newcastle qualified for the Intertoto Cup on the last day of last season and Taylor sees the competition as the ideal preparation for him for next term. "The Intertoto Cup's not far away, and I can't wait for pre-season," said Taylor. "I'm already looking forward to getting back, as I missed so much of last season. "The Intertoto Cup's a massive thing. We need to get into Europe - this club's massive and that's where we should be. "There will probably be new players coming in to strengthen the team, and that can only help us. "I'm ready to start again, to be honest, but I'll have a rest this summer and then I'll come back fresh and raring to go."

Newcastle United will not be moving for Manchester City's controversial midfielder Joey Barton. Manager Glenn Roeder does not want to bring in any player to St James' Park who has as much baggage as Barton. Reports over the weekend and talk on Tyneside have suggested that United are ready to make a cut-price £1.5m offer for Barton, who has another 12 months of his contract to run at the City of Manchester Stadium. But Roeder insists that this is not the case, and I believe that the United manager has another top Premiership midfielder in his sights. And, quite frankly, after all the off-the-field headlines Barton has had in the past couple of years, nobody can blame United and Roeder for looking elsewhere. Barton's agent is Willie McKay, and United are still ruing the last player they brought in from the Scotsman's stable - Jean Alain Boumsong. United are hoping that their £8.5m defender has a good World Cup with France and that McKay can find Boumsong a new club before the season starts. Meanwhile, Roeder will have to cross one name off his shortlist of candidates for the Academy manager's job vacated by himself at St James' Park. Roeder admitted his admiration for Ipswich Town's Bryan Klug last week, and said he was the sort of Academy manager he was looking for. But, as reported in The Chronicle on Wednesday, Ipswich are likely to appoint Klug as Director of Football to new manager Jim Magilton at Portman Road.

Shit, just checked my diary and I have a meeting on the afternoon of the 15th so will struggle to see much of that game and on the 20th I have to be present at a convention in the SECC and will be struggling to get home for that too.

From the Mirror

As good as, if not better, than Ramage IMO. Whilst he may never have been good enough for us I was surprised to always hear that he was the better of the two Caldwells, yet Stevie got all the chances and Gary never got a look in whilst with us.

Decent back up, but IMO do not see him being any better than that though..

GLENN Roeder says he has no intentions of allowing Peter Ramage to leave St. James' Park despite speculation linking the defender with Watford. Ramage played 30 consecutive games last season after breaking into the side in October, but he finished the campaign on the sidelines with Titus Bramble and Craig Moore playing well at the heart of defence and Stephen Carr in possession of the right back berth. And with Roeder making no secret of the fact he is on the look-out for another defender, Adrian Boothroyd's newly-promoted Hornets are rumoured to be tempted to make a move in the hope that Ramage could be allowed to leave. But Roeder is a big admirer of the Ashington-born 21-year old, and was full of praise for Ramage's attitude when he volunteered to turn out for the reserves after losing his place in the first team picture. The United boss told nufc.co.uk: "I saw the speculation linking Rammy with Watford in the newspapers this morning, but that's all it is - speculation. "I certainly wouldn't encourage anyone to come in for Peter, he showed last season that he can do a job for us and he has a future here with us at Newcastle United."

He has already agreed to join Villarreal.

Newcastle's Nolberto Solano has denied allegations that he has a drink problem. The 31-year-old recently escaped serious injury in a car crash in his native Peru, despite reports that he had fallen asleep at the wheel. A local TV reporter is believed to have branded Solano, who was also banned from driving in 2001 for a drink driving offence, an alcoholic. The midfielder has shrugged off the accusation as ridiculous, and insisted that he was jet lagged after flying out to Lima for a holiday. "That (calling him an alcoholic) was a stupid thing to say," he told his homeland press. "How could I be an alcoholic and still play football in Europe for the past five years? "I blinked for a second and lost control. Then I hit the kerb." In the interview Solano also stressed that he only liked to have the odd beer now and again, and thanked God that he walked away from the crash with just a minor head injury.