Scottish Mag

TRANSFER GOSSIP Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill believes he has won the battle to sign Wigan striker Emile Heskey and expects to seal a £3m move on Friday. (The Sun) Manchester City have offered striker Didier Drogba a double-your-money deal worth £180,000 a week to quit Chelsea. (The Sun) Arsenal hope to conclude a deal for Andrei Arshavin in the next 48 hours after Zenit St Petersburg said they would be prepared to accept an improved offer of around £15m in instalments over two years for the Russia forward. (Daily Mail) West Ham are close to agreeing a deal to sign Brescia's Savio Nsereko for a fee that could total £10m after club executives spent the past two days in Italy holding talks. (The Independent) Spurs are ready to revive their interest in West Ham's Carlton Cole after they had an £8m bid for the striker turned down at the beginning of January. (Daily Star) Manchester City are ready to pay £19m for Sporting Lisbon and Portugal midfielder Miguel Veloso, who has been a long-term target for local rivals Manchester United. (The Sun) West Ham have been told they will have to double their £4m offer for Cardiff and Wales winger Joe Ledley. (Daily Mail) Fulham midfielder Jimmy Bullard, who travelled to Hull City to undergo a medical and discuss personal terms on Thursday, is contemplating whether to become the Tigers' £5m record buy. (The Sun) Juventus have reportedly stepped up their interest in Liverpool's Dirk Kuyt as coach Claudio Ranieri tries to find a replacement for midfielder Pavel Nedved. (Daily Telegraph) West Brom are poised to make a £500,000 bid for Norwich midfielder Lee Croft, who is out of contract in the summer. (The Sun) Sheffield United and Celtic both want Manchester City striker Ched Evans, with Parkhead boss Gordon Strachan having already agreed a £1.2m fee for the 20-year-old. (The Sun) Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic, 24, will snub Manchester City for a move to Serie A club Fiorentina. (Daily Mirror) Egyptian striker Mido is desperate to quit Middlesbrough and has sent Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy a text in the hope Spurs will put in a bid for him. (The Sun) Blackburn scouts will be in Cairo on Friday when Egypt take on Kenya to run the rule over Kenya's attacking midfielder Mahmood Abdel Razek and utility man Ahmed Al-Muhammadi. (Daily Mail) Rovers manager Sam Allardyce is ready to make a £6m "take it or leave it" bid for Red Bull Salzburg striker Marc Janko. (Daily Mirror) Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish says his pursuit of Rangers striker Kris Boyd has finally ended. (Daily Mail/Daily Mirror) Celtic could be priced out of moves for Peterborough youngsters Craig Mackail-Smith, George Boyd and Aaron McLean, with the League One club looking for combined transfer fees of £15m for the the trio. (Daily Record) Dynamo Kiev are on the trail of Hearts winger Andrew Driver, who has also been linked with several English clubs. (Various) Newcastle may make a surprise move for Celtic defender Bobo Balde, who is out of contract at the end of the season. (The Herald) Hearts defender and captain Christophe Berra is prepared to leave Edinburgh and join Sunderland, if the two clubs can agree a fee. (The Times) OTHER FOOTBALL GOSSIP Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's resolve to keep hold of the Stamford Bridge club could be tested with a £750m takeover bid by a group of mainly German investors. (Daily Star) Striker Nicolas Anelka has said only victory at Liverpool next weekend will keep Chelsea in the race to return the Premier League title to Stamford Bridge after three years. (Guardian) Singer Sir Elton John and former England manager Graham Taylor are set to make an emotional return to Watford to ensure the club does not go into financial meltdown. (Daily Mirror) Europe's leading clubs and the game's European governing body Uefa have started preliminary discussions on curbing the amount of money that can be spent on player transfers or wages. (The Independent) Celtic midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura will not be joining up with the Japan squad for the Asian Cup qualifier with Bahrain as the international fixture falls between important domestic fixtures for the defending Scottish champions. (Daily Mirror) Partick Thistle manager Ian McCall is the new favourite to become manager of Inverness Caledonian Thistle, with veteran Austrian coach Bern Krauss also set to apply to become Craig Brewster's replacement. (The Sun) But the Highland club may also approach Scotland assistant manager Terry Butcher about the vacancy at the Caledonian Stadium. (Daily Express/Daily Star) AND FINALLY West Ham midfielder Jack Collison thinks manager Gianfranco Zola is one of the best players at the club - even at 42. "Some of the things he does in training makes us look silly, to be honest. It's just a joy to watch him out there," said the 20-year-old. (The Sun)

Swedish starlet Samuel Adjei is hoping to seal a move to Newcastle United. The 17-year-old currently plays for lower league Swedish side Jonkoping Sodra. But he has featured for Sweden's Under-16 side and he has caught the eye of a number of foreign clubs, with Newcastle and Porto believed to be leading the chase. Now Newcastle are understood to have made a bid for the winger, who himself is delighted with The Magpies' interest "Chances like these don't just grow on trees, so when it appears you wanna grab it," he told his local newspaper Jnytt. Adjei spent time training with Newcastle in November and he looks to have done enough to persuade the club to finalise a bid for him. "The interest is big and they want me, I hope that Newcastle and Jonkoping Sodra can make an agreement." Jonkoping are not convinced that Adjei will be leaving. "Both we and Newcastle have seen there is an interest around Samuel," said director Daniel Segerfeldt. "Our approach is that he is going to play for us." One player seemingly not on his way to St James' Park is Marco Donadel, after his agent denied that he was having talks with the North East club. It was claimed that the 24-year-old Fiorentina midfielder was keen on a move to England. "There is nothing new at the moment, but we are prepared to assess any offers that do arrive," Davide Lippi told Firenzeviola.it. "Marco has several suitors, not only in Italy but also abroad, even though he has rarely played this season. "However, he would like to remain in Florence as he wants to live in the city for a long time. "There are no concrete offers right now, but there comes a time in every footballer's career when you have to make an inevitable choice..." Donadel has been with Fiorentina since 2005, after joining from AC Milan. Meanwhile, Newcastle have confirmed that young Hungarian defender Tamas Kadar will miss the rest of the season after he broke his leg during a reserve team match. "It's a blow to the boy and to the first-team squad," coach Richard Money said. "He's been on the bench recently and has made himself part of that squad because he's been playing very well. "It put a downer on what was an otherwise terrific win. "We wish him all the best and I know he's got the character to come back."

Seamus, and I would include Martins and Beye in it, will be decent salaries and I imagine the likes of Colo and Guti are now also. Viduka, Geremi, Duff, Butt and Smith contribute very little, Barton is a probably our best central midfielder but for a reported 60k a week we should possibly have better and hes missed that many games through jailtime/suspensions/injuries and in Owens case there is no doubt he is a good player but can we as a club afford to pay one man over 100k a week.

Hes no Stevie Taylor is what you are trying to say

I am neither pro or anti Ashley either and sometimes I play devils advocate trying to look at what he is actually doing. Yes the way the supporters have been treated in terms of communication have been shocking and he made a major mistake with the Keegan/Wise situation, and also with Lambias (who appears to do nothing). But in terms of running the club has he actually done so bad by us? If the finances were so bad is there the possibility he is working with his hands tied behind his back trying to get the club financially back on the ground. I actually think that your Ambramovich's, the Man City lot etc have spoiled the game and supporters expectations. Many of us a saw a billionaire coming in and hoped he would spend, spend, spend but is that a reality, the club has to be financially stable for it to continue both now and when the time comes that Ashley moves on. In reality *if* Ashleys claim that he wanted the club to run itself financially and he would invest 10(?) million a year of his own money almost as play money was true I actually dont think that would have been too bad a deal. As I said before he has made quite alot of mistakes along the way and I am not his biggest fan but at the same time I think some expectations on our parts are often too high.

The West Ham match was IMO the slowest side I have seen at St James Park in a long time... Its scary how little pace there is in the side.

QFT and still the best striker at the club Martins is better imo gets goals and makes more of a nuisance of himself, Owen may as well not be on the pitch half the time, esp the last few games was more or less anonymous. (shouldn't be captain either but i guess we've no one else) Owen's all-round play is better than Martins' (whilst not that great), his strikerate is better and over the last season and a half his fitness record is better! Obviously Martins' pace is a miss but when he is poor he is worse than anonymous. He's an utter liability as anything given to him might as well be a pass to the opposition. I'd play both when fit fwiw. I like how he 'shouldn't be captain' as well, despite how you then admit there is no better candidate. Perhaps Owen will have to leave to be appreciated by some on here. I do agree with alot of what you say there, but I think Owen has missed Martins since his latest injury. He has been poor when playing alongside anyone other than Martins.

Erm, isn't that article referring to even earlier accounts than the ones in the OP? The lad who posted the stuff I copied from N-O is an accountant and appears to know his stuff - far more than me, or some guy from The Journal I imagine. It appears to me (from a totally uneducated eye, I admit) that Ashley has put into NUFC almost a quarter of a BILLION pounds of his own money. Does he really deserve the vitriol he gets? I know, so why not throw in another £20m to kick start the team which could then potentially lead to increase TV money, gate receipts and prize money? He probably could put the 20 million in but its the wages that are probably the bigger factor than the actual cost of the player. Its something I have been discussing with a few on here for a while but part of me can inderstand why we are reluctant to bring in more players on crazy wages whilst the existing squad has too many that are a waste of space on inflated salaries... Duff, Barton, Butt, Geremi, Smith, Viduka and even Owen (if you take into account his crazy salary for such a poor team) are arguably crippling this club financially if you take into account what they have actually contributed to the club. Someone on N-O yesterday posted this.. # That wasn't even including Duff who if reports are to believed could be on anything up to 3.5 million a year too..

TRANSFER GOSSIP Newcastle have told Manchester City they want at least £14m for goalkeeper Shay Given. (The Sun) Manchester City are targeting Chelsea's unsettled £15m-rated striker Didier Drogba and that could trigger a transfer swap deal which would take Robinho to Stamford Bridge. (The Sun) City have taken the first steps in their attempt to bring Barcelona striker Thierry Henry back to the Premier League. (The Times) The full extend of Manchester City's difficulties in the transfer window were revealed when it emerged that the club had also tried and failed to sign David Villa, Gianluigi Buffon and Thierry Henry before their aborted £91m world-record bid for Kaka. (The Guardian) Wigan and Bolton are chasing Manchester City and England defender Micah Richards for £5m. (The Sun) Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has blocked goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini's transfer to Spurs on the basis he was promised he would not have to sell any players he deemed necessary to the squad. (The Sun) Manchester City have moved in for Cudicini's services after having a £5.5m bid for Shay Given rejected. (Daily Express) Scolari is interested in Fiorentina central defender Manuel da Costa as the 22-year-old has failed to settle at the Italian club. (Daily Mirror) Andrei Arshavin's agent has hit out at Zenit St Petersburg for their "barbaric" treatment of the Russia forward as talks with Arsenal remain in deadlock. (Daily Mail) Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce is checking on Barcelona striker Eidur Gudjohnsen who could be available for £2m. (The Sun) Wigan boss Steve Bruce plans to reinvest £5m of the £14m fee received for Wilson Palacios in signing Reading's Stephen Hunt. (Daily Mirror) Manager David Moyes could bolster his depleted forward line at Everton by signing Portugal international Hugo Almedia on loan from Werder Berlin. (The Sun) Middlesbrough are on course to win the race for Crystal Palace star Ben Watson with a £1.25m offer for the midfielder, who is out of contract this summer. (Daily Mirror) However, Fulham and West Ham want to hijack the move and have matched Boro's bid for Watson. (Daily Mail) West Ham have asked about Panathinaikos right-back Bryce Moon and Bochum's centre-half Antar Yahia as manager Gianfranco Zola looks to strengthen his resources in defence. (Daily Mail) Preston are weighing up a £1m move for Stockport winger Anthony Pilkington, who is also being watched by Wigan and Bolton. (The Sun) Derby are set to make a £200,000 swoop for Coventry's Maltese striker Michael Mifsud. (The Sun) Birmingham boss Alex McLeish is hopeful of signing West Ham defender Calum Davenport on loan with a view to a permanent £3m switch at the end of the season. (Daily Star) West Ham midfielder Julien Faubert is keen to move to Lyons because he feels it would enhance his prospects of a return to the France squad. (The Independent) Coach Neil Lennon has confirmed Celtic's interest in Manchester City's Welsh international striker Ched Evans. (Various) Hibernian have offered freed Wolves midfielder Denes Rosa a deal and are closing in on Austrian defender Markus Berger. (Star) Hibs' teenage goalkeeper David Grof hopes to impress West Brom on a week-long trial. (Daily Record) Forfar have joined Angus rivals Montrose in the bid to get sacked Inverness boss Craig Brewster back playing as a striker. (Various) OTHER FOOTBALL GOSSIP Real Madrid presidential contender Florentino Perez has claimed manager Arsene Wenger is ready to walk out on Arsenal and join him at the Spanish capital. (Daily Mirror) Aston Villa are ready to hand Stiliyan Petrov, who is into the last 18 months of his current deal, a new long-term contract. (The Sun) Liverpool City Council have been accused of trying to "ruin" Everton after the club lost an inquiry to build houses on their former training ground. (Daily Express) Coach Neil Lennon was ready to quit his Celtic post in the immediate aftermath of being attacked in the city in August. (Various) AND FINALLY The training ground punch-up between Newcastle's Charles N'Zogbia and Andy Carroll shows no signs of cooling with the pair apparently talking of settling their differences "once and for all" at a venue away from the club. (The Sun) Montse, the wife of Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez, has been on local radio explaining how much the family love the region, revealing youngest daughter Agata had embraced the dialect by asking for a "butty" when she came home from school. (Daily Mail) Pop star Amy Macdonald won £1600 after backing her fiance, Falkirk striker Steve Lovell, to score against Rangers on Saturday. (Scotsman)

So it tasted rotten then?

To be fair though regardless of which team or country it does look pretty shit when houses/offices etc have flags/colours etc hanging from them...

And yet still no sign of Shinton...

NEWCASTLE United were today looking at former Borussia Dortmund defender Ahmed-Reda Madouni. The player, who has a Bundesliga title in his medal collection, has started a trial with United at the club’s Benton HQ, and joined another player from the German League in Peter Lovenkrands, who is also trying to win a permanent place in the Toon squad. The 28-year-old defender has also starred for Bayer Leverkusen, but started his career at Montpellier. However, he has played for the last two seasons on a lucrative deal with Al-Gharafa, where he won a Qatari League winner. Speaking on the situation regarding Lovenkrands, Kinnear told the Chronicle: “I’ve passed it to Derek Llambias, who is talking to Peter’s agent. “He’s thrashing out some sort of deal to the end of the season. “I thought he was excellent yesterday, and he’ll be an extra player for us. He’s done very well.” The Chronicle understands Manchester City have lodged a second bid for Shay Given in the region of £5m. That offer will be considered as derisory by the Magpies, who are desperate to keep Given. However, if the player expresses a wish to leave they may not be able to stand in his way following 11 years of loyal service on Tyneside. And it is believed that Newcastle feel such a low bid for Given is somewhat of an insult, especially given that City have already paid £12m for Chelsea’s reserve-team left-back Wayne Bridge and £14m for Craig Bellamy

http://news.google.it/news?hl=it&q=new...sa=N&tab=wn

Hoddle to take over in the summer...

That was with the current squad, the challenge is how I go now...

Never paid up front but was told I could cancel my three year direct debit last week. Thing is I was going to cancel it because of the fixture changes and the financial hassle it was causing me. Strangely though whilst I am not happy lining this bastards pockets I don't feel like I can turn cancel it whilst we are in this mess...

Where do we go from here? Things are getting worse and the noise coming from the confused flap of Joe Kinnear about a new 2-year contract for him are simply sending thousands of us into absolute despair. If Kinnear is the answer then what is the fucking question? Until now Kinnear has been tolerated by supporters - but if this is going to be a permanent arrangement then the future is postponed. There are reasons why Kinnear was out of work for God knows how long after he bombed at Forest just as there are reasons why Peter Lovenkrads was released from his contract at Schalke. It’s because they aren’t up to it. We have seen enough now of Kinnear to know he is tactically clueless, his teams are completely one-dimensional, he has no flexibility to his approach and there is not one player under his tutelage performing any better now than they were prior to his arrival, though Shay Given is getting more opportunities to show his class than is good for our collective mental health. Over-weight and out of date. There is not one area of our play where we can say we are improved under Kinnear. Defensively, we are an absolute joke. Hopeful punts down the middle aren’t dealt with and players are just not doing the basics of defending i.e. the tracking back and other dirty jobs. In midfield, it doesn’t matter who is in the team, it’s the same old laboured, one-paced, clueless bollocks and up front, well, up front is something we haven’t seen enough of quite honestly. Kinnear is out of his depth. All of the stuff about blaming the referee after Blackburn is fooling noone! We were shit and he didn’t have enough craft and guile to fashion a result against a very, very poor team. His lack of personal discipline whilst at first entertaining in an eccentric way is now embarrassing and once again, after the Hull game reveals the histrionics of a man who believes passion involves behaving like a pissed up jakey whose had his last half bottle of cider stolen from him. A joke manager on appointment and a joke manager today but please God, not in the summer. Kinnear is an appalling example to players who are now severely losing the plot! Nicky Butt – a more committed model of professionalism we have not had in recent seasons – totally lost it at Ewood Park – two ridiculous yellow card offences borne doubtless of frustration but which will cost us dear. Joey Barton, once again drawing attention to himself for non-footballing reasons. Of course he was right about Enrique trotting back like he didn’t have a fucking care in the world and not tracking his man. But fucking hell, keep it for the dressing room, man eh? He wasn’t trying to show us how much he cares was he? We’re not that fucking gullible, man! But how can Kinnear say anything to them when his response to criticism about his own lack of discipline is a shrug of the shoulders and the plaintive response – it’s just the way I am. Idiot. Be a fucking professional. Then again, talk of a 2-year contract for Kinnear could be the voices he hears in his own head or it could be more of the bull-shit he’s had fed to him by Ashley, Wise and Llambias because he says one thing one day and the opposite the next to have a few of us wondering whether his invisible bosses are just taking the piss out of poor old Joe. Kinnear has told us he is thinking over a very lucrative offer from NUFC. He wants to have a word with his wife about moving up norf permanently. Joe - do yourself a favour, bank the loot you’ve already had off Ashley and go back to pruning the roses. You might not make any dough but you’ll keep what remains of your dignity and your sanity. This NUFC thang isn’t your gig bonny lad. Get to May, get some of that reported £30K a match lolly in your poke and start having a look at those brochures for quiet holidays in Madeira or some such. If Kinnear is indeed our permanent manager-elect then Ashley is indeed embarked upon a mission to empty the stands at SJP come August. The latest rubbish is of him going to watch a player in France to decide whether he wants him. It’s the fucking 18th of January and we haven’t closed in on our targets? What kind of shambles is this? What kind of operation is Ashley and his London-based lieutenant presiding over? Meetings last week to persuade Ashley to release funds? What was the patter about available funds in November and December? Fucking amateurs the lot of them. We have indulged Kinnear so far because frankly, we have had little option but now he is showing himself for everything we feared he’d be on appointment – Dennis Wise’s bitch. Read this shit from the whopper: "Our biggest problem is a lack of strength in depth. Why wasn't it addressed by the previous two managers? I am carrying the can for it." No Joe, the last two managers operated wholly under Ashley and were not given funds to buy the players required. Had KK been given modest funds you would still be down the fucking bowls club. Even Allardyce who on the whole bought very badly told us he didn’t think Cacapa and Rozenhal were up to it but had no wedge to bring in any better. He was right. As for KK, Joe, were you fucking paying attention in the summer? Did you notice why KK was so unhappy about being used as a patsy (in my opinion) by the despicable cunt Wise? You know, the KK you have had a pop at in that thick way of yours. You do realise why you ended up with the job in the first place don’t you? It was because no one decent would touch it with a fucking bargepole and you have made a twat of yourself sticking up for Ashley, proving your lack of credibility. KK wasn’t perfect but he worked for Newcastle United whereas you work for Mike Ashley. And that is the nub. Then of course there is Kinnear opening his flap about Lucas Neill and setting West Ham off on one about a possible approach being made to one of their players without their permission. Unprofessional in my opinion! And another thing – Lucas Neill? Jesus! And then there is the question, if we get to the close season with Kinnear as manager, what player worth his salt would play for this clown? Not that he will have any say in who comes and goes – that’s Dennis Wise’s area as we persist with a model for management on the football side which just does not work in this country and which will never work in this country. And with people, namely Wise who are just not up to it and who compound their lack of ability by their sheer cuntishness. I mean, why give Shola Ameobi a 3-year contract extension on the strength of what he has put in this season? Whose judgement is so shot as to make that decision? What can we do? Well, it seems there are too many who can’t observe the boycott of all things NUFC as has been recommended in the past. Some actually believe problems are being caused by the moderate protests there have been so far, which I’ll admit has me bewildered. The problems are being caused by Ashley and the clueless bastards he has running the operation and the lack of resources going in. The simple fact of the matter is whatever happens with supporters is underway now and is happening of its own volition – people are chucking it. Direct debits are being cancelled and Mags are promising this is the last. Whether that threat is carried through from the most voluble remains to be seen but it is the supporters who are more quietly resigned who will be more likely to be on the point of walking away. And the feeling in my water is there are thousands at that stage. Anger is an energy but apathy is getting a hold of a big section of our support in a way I’ve not seen since the days of the late 80s when McKeag and Co. had flogged off the golden trinity of Waddle-Beardsley-Gascoigne and we said hello to Pingel, R McDonald, Fereday and a host of others that still make Mags of a certain vintage wake up in a cold sweat almost twenty years later. Will we go down? Who knows but one thing is for certain and that was a relegation performance at Blackburn after it went 1-0. There is no question about that. Heads dropped and whilst Kinnear has spoken about his fears for Guitteraz fitness delaying his arrival, we’ve seen this dithering before – namely away at the Mackems when it took him an eternity to take off a completely ineffectual Geremi stuck out wide when we were being over-run in the middle. Reading the local press over the weekend its now obvious local journalists have completely lost it with the club. Malcolm Macdonald (The Chronicle) articulated something I’ve heard for a while from Mags and that is if we survive this season and something big doesn’t happen over the summer then Ashley-Wise-Llambias-Kinnear are simply delaying the inevitable and we’ll slip away next season. That was a point echoed by John Gibson (The Chronicle) who rightly pointed at the quality of player who wants to leave (Given, Owen) and the quality being brought in (Lovenkrads). Neil Farrington of the Sunday Sun was particularly toxic in his assessment of the incompetence and lack of commitment running amok on Barrack Road. All of them are right and the acid criticism of the bastards running our club has now moved from the dark corners of fanzine-world and into the mainstream. What kept you? It was sobering to hear our ex-No.9 Alan Shearer on Match of the Day talk about his worry for his club and our’s. Is this the “moving together in 2009” bull-shit put out by Ashley? We should never get used to being treated like shit by Ashley. We should never stop wanting the best for our football club because we should never surrender our love for Newcastle United. But we have reached the stage where even those of us with a burning rage at how our club is being shafted are becoming weary and defeated at banging a drum not enough people are responding to. This is the worst of times but I fear we haven’t touched the bottom yet. Keep On, Keepin’ On …

Heres hoping...

He says after complaining about the depth of our sqaud that is one of the most ridiculous and fightening comments i've heard from joe yet. so we have £10m to spend. let's blow it all on one player and hope he doesn't get injured for the rest of the season when it's plain that we need at least 3-4 new players. jesus h weeping christ of nazareth Hes fucking clueless just like all the other clowns running the club... It seriously is depressing times.

Daft cunt showing how out of touch of the game he was by not knowing KK (and even Fat Sam) were desperate to geta bigger squad...

I still think if we keep JFK in place it could be the biggest difference (and not in a good way) between this season and others when we have looked in trouble...