stozo

This is illogical. If it is a loan it will not happen. Others are willing to pay money. This is not the optimal strategy to acquire the player. In fact, it is a defeatist admission that we will not complete the transfer. I think it is very sensible to try for a loan. It looks as if he could end up costing £7/8m which is, realistically, going to be a decent chunk of our transfer budget this summer. Obviously we don't now what the budget is but IMO the number one priority should be signing a good striker and if I had to choose between a good striker and Ben Arfa I'd choose the striker. The move needs to be right for the club and while it is good to go after a target such as Ben Arfa when they become available, it should not comprimise out overall transfer strategy for the summer. This may mean the player goes to a different club because we can't afford the fee but that is reality. Personnally, I also have reservations about his role. He plays the majority of the time as a left winger and that position is already filled by a very capable player. Now, if the plan is to have him play the majority of the time in central midfield then I am even more in favour of a loan as we don't want to get him here and find out he is more of a left winger after we have paid £7m.

Former football agent on Twitter who is usually spot on with his transfer gossip says that Ben Arfa move will only be a loan if it happens.

Thought I'd put on a small bet for the opening weekend. Put £5 on Reading and Charlton @ 2.54.

How many times does Hughton need to say "We are not interested" before people start believing him.

Anyone know his injury status? When is he likely to be playing again?

Gosling for free would be brilliant.

Exactly.

but there wasn't. i think we can be quite sure if he hadn't handled it would have went in. I think he is talking about a hypothetical situation which he is correct about. You'd need to be 100% certain it is going in to award a goal, which would be very difficult without the benefit of video replay.

I think their are several reasons more players do not go abroad, some stated in the above article. In general, far more European's have better language skills that they have picked up from primary school onwards and I think it a tough decision for a English player to move to a country where he cannot speak the language and knows nobody. This is combined with the fact wages tend to be tighter on the continent in recent years. Most players would need a pay rise for them to see going abroad as worthwhile and often that is just not available so they stay with what they know.

For £45 the home shirt would have to be amazing for me to buy it. This year's is far short of amazing so I will be keeping my wallet in my pocket.

They sent a crazy number of their kids out on loan last season so I presume they will be doing the same again meaning they don't want to compete in a Reserve League.

The fact he's ringing Bolton, shows how low we've stooped Get over yourself. We are not the club we were 5 years ago. If we finish 17th this year it will have been a good season. Bolton finished 14th last season. At the end of the day we do not want to be playing kids like Kadar out of position against Arsenal, Chelsea or Man U. In my eyes it is only a good thing that we are looking at cheap cover for a position where we already have a definite first choice.

By the sounds of it all Hughton has done is rang up Owen Coyle and asked what players are available and how much we would need to pay. I don't see anything wrong with that.

Age, injury problems and a winger is not a priority. no match winners in our side. Enough said. Petrov can't win matches if he is injured for half the season. Also, if we are working on a limited budget with a wage cap we shouldn't be signing players for positions we already have filled. We have several players who can play on the wings and the priority has to be a striker, central midfielder and defensive cover. Furthermore, he is 31 and will have been given at least a two-year, if not three-year, contract at Bolton. Is he really going to be a match winner at the age of 33 in two years time?

Age, injury problems and a winger is not a priority.

If we are intending on loaning Kadar he would be a good signing as a backup.

France, Ivory Coast and Spain. France and Ivory Coast are pretty obvious. Spain are in trouble because I think Chile will be an extremely tricky game which they likely have to win.

Weird French back 4. Is Abidal playing CB and Sagna RB or is it vice versa?

It's a shame the Puma badge is in the middle on the black and white one.

http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/sport/newcastle-utd/newcastle-utd-news/2010/05/23/swedish-teen-sulemen-sarajlic-agrees-nufc-move-79310-26503168/ Sulemen Sarajlic will be joining us according the the Sunday Sun.

Quotes from Hughton about Wilshere: http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12874_6168696,00.html

119.950

"It wasn't dangerous play. I'll prove it by grabbing him again" To be fair if your going to get sent off you might as well get sent off for doing something.

I rate Motta for grabbing the Barca lad after he was sent off. Disgraceful dive from the Barca player.

Wolves, WBA, Play-Off Winners, Wigan, Bolton and West Ham. They will all be fighting it out with us and then add in teams like Fulham, Stoke, Blackburn, Sunderland and Birmingham who could have an off year and get dragged down into it as well. All in all the Premier League has a lot of crap clubs and therefore plenty of chances for us to stay up.