Martin Lol

If the numbers being suggested are anywhere near accurate, I wouldn't be devastated. I still believe that Keane has only really played well with 1 striker (Berba) and looks less able with more arm waving with any others. I'd have no complaints about Crouchie coming back either.

Alan Smith wasn't THAT bad at Man Utd tbh.

It's Voetbal International that are saying it's been completed, I would guess subject to a medical. I'm more encouraged by an assortment of ITK's who are agreed that Gomes will be completed tomorrow or Saturday and, to quote one, "Robbo moving ever closer to Villa, could be done soon." yup, i'd be more encouraged by the schizophrenic ramblings of a bunch of anonymous internet saddos who spin s**** for the amusement of thick cretins, than i would be by reports from the oldest and most established football newspaper in the netherlands with a readership of almost a million a week. Anyone seen Glenn Roeder's rant at ITK dick heads? Whilst Voetbal International said Gomes' transfer was completed, I said it was probably subject to.........etc. The announcement on the Spurs OS subsequently confirmed it was subject to personal terms, medical and work permit. Similarly, Diego Capel's transfer to Spurs should happen very soon, it's not completed yet. That also is not saying I know something you don't. That's me saying I'm sharing something that has been said on a Spurs forum which I believe to be accurate.

Sorensen reputedly being lined up as a back up to Gomes.

Conceding 23, 25, 18 and 24 league goals in his 4 seasons at PSV is very respectable in any league and far better stats that Robbo has achieved. Other notable stats are: Gomes has kept clean sheets in 60% of his appearances for PSV in the Eredivisie, a percentage that no other keeper has bettered in the league's history. He once went 971 minutes without conceeding a goal (between 14/08/2004-12/12/2004) - the second longest period in Eredivisie history. He's since notched up further shut-out streaks totalling 956 and 817 minutes. He holds the record for the highest number of shut-outs at the start of the Eredivisie season (5). While stats aren't everything, his record suggests he is a significant upgrade on Robbo, there's no doubt in my mind that Spurs would have beaten PSV in the Uefa Cup last season had the two goalkeepers swapped sides. Incidentally, the fee as disclosed by the Dutch was €9m, not £9m.

They actually win stuff tho. F**k me they have revamped their team and we've done nothing but the Spears kid. Come on Mikey, get your wallet out man. I suppose that's the hard bit for a Newcastle fan to take as there never is a great difference in the two clubs, Newcastle have fallen just short in the Premiership and the FA Cup, while Spurs, never challenging for the League, have picked up the occasional bit of silverware. I think the fans' views would have changed a lot had Newcastle won one of the the FA Cups, one cup success can generate a lot of optimism for following seasons. It's the 'we've done it once, we can do it again' thinking, not 'is it possible to win something this year?' As for revamping the squad, I'm surprised, I thought the Newcastle management would have done a lot more than they have. Maybe not so much that no-one for the first team squad has been signed but the lack of links to players who may be added. I'm not rubbing at old sores but Gomis looked poor in the Euros and Arshavin now looks to be completely out of reach, so does Turan. But are £15m players (give or take) really what Newcastle need when the squad overall needs significant improvement? My view, rightly or wrongly, is that Newcastle needs to adopt a Portsmouth approach, a bigger squad mainly made up with experienced freebies or players costing around the £7m mark. Diarra, Muntari, Kranjcar, Utaka, Defoe and Johnson individually look decent enough but put together they're a lot more effective than the sum of the individuals. As for the Spurs squad, there still seems to be more work in progress with a solid DM, Bentley and 1 or 2 CD's left on the list (plus a new striker if Bent moves on). The pleasing thing from the Spurs point of view is that Ramos wanted most of the new purchases to be made before the start of pre-season training so they could bond together better and, so far, that's been happening. For the opening day of the season, the team could look something like: Gomes Hutton - Woodgate - King/New - Bale New/Zokora New/Lennon Dos Santos Modric Keane Berbatov Subs: Pick 7 from: Alnwick - Gunter - Gilberto - Dawson(?) - Zokora - Malbranque - Jenas - Huddlestone - O'Hara - Bent Diarra is still the #1 pick for DM, whether he can prised away from Pompey is another thing, Bentley has to tell Ince to his face that he wants away before that can progress and the list of CD options is almost as long as the GK list prior to Gomes' arrival. I'm happy with how it's gone so far. That midfield lookslike one that will be good at home but will get trampled all over away especially playing with two very attack minded full backs. Tottenham, as with last season, be a good team to watch. For away games I think it's quite likely for Ramos to go 4-4-2 and leave Gio out in favour of a more defensive minded MF. If we did happen to sign Diarra for example, I could imagine Diarra and Zokora (or Jenas) being in the centre of MF with Modric on the left and Lennon possibly being replaced by Malbranque, depending how much defensive capability was needed for a particular match. With the option of Gilberto and Bale being the LB/LM pairing for some matches, I think there's a lot more flexibility than has been previously. Doesn't mean to say we'll win more games though!

http://www.newcastle-online.com/nufcforum/index.php?topic=53451.0

They actually win stuff tho. F**k me they have revamped their team and we've done nothing but the Spears kid. Come on Mikey, get your wallet out man. I suppose that's the hard bit for a Newcastle fan to take as there never is a great difference in the two clubs, Newcastle have fallen just short in the Premiership and the FA Cup, while Spurs, never challenging for the League, have picked up the occasional bit of silverware. I think the fans' views would have changed a lot had Newcastle won one of the the FA Cups, one cup success can generate a lot of optimism for following seasons. It's the 'we've done it once, we can do it again' thinking, not 'is it possible to win something this year?' As for revamping the squad, I'm surprised, I thought the Newcastle management would have done a lot more than they have. Maybe not so much that no-one for the first team squad has been signed but the lack of links to players who may be added. I'm not rubbing at old sores but Gomis looked poor in the Euros and Arshavin now looks to be completely out of reach, so does Turan. But are £15m players (give or take) really what Newcastle need when the squad overall needs significant improvement? My view, rightly or wrongly, is that Newcastle needs to adopt a Portsmouth approach, a bigger squad mainly made up with experienced freebies or players costing around the £7m mark. Diarra, Muntari, Kranjcar, Utaka, Defoe and Johnson individually look decent enough but put together they're a lot more effective than the sum of the individuals. As for the Spurs squad, there still seems to be more work in progress with a solid DM, Bentley and 1 or 2 CD's left on the list (plus a new striker if Bent moves on). The pleasing thing from the Spurs point of view is that Ramos wanted most of the new purchases to be made before the start of pre-season training so they could bond together better and, so far, that's been happening. For the opening day of the season, the team could look something like: Gomes Hutton - Woodgate - King/New - Bale New/Zokora New/Lennon Dos Santos Modric Keane Berbatov Subs: Pick 7 from: Alnwick - Gunter - Gilberto - Dawson(?) - Zokora - Malbranque - Jenas - Huddlestone - O'Hara - Bent Diarra is still the #1 pick for DM, whether he can prised away from Pompey is another thing, Bentley has to tell Ince to his face that he wants away before that can progress and the list of CD options is almost as long as the GK list prior to Gomes' arrival. I'm happy with how it's gone so far.

It's Voetbal International that are saying it's been completed, I would guess subject to a medical. I'm more encouraged by an assortment of ITK's who are agreed that Gomes will be completed tomorrow or Saturday and, to quote one, "Robbo moving ever closer to Villa, could be done soon."

Wenger is keen to sign Veloso according to the player's agent.

Sunderland, Villa and Everton have all made bids for Darren Bent, all fallen short of Spurs' valuation and so rejected. The offficial line is still that DB is not for sale. Selling DB and then Berbatov demanding a move wouldn't put Spurs in a strong bargaining position when buying a replacement.

If his wages are as high as they're always reputed to be, get him out now, on a free if necessary. Then bring in 2 or 3 squad players whose wages would be covered by the savings made on Viduka's exit. That's what Arnesen did when he first arrived at Spurs and it worked well. Can't see any reason why it wouldn't work for Newcastle.

One of Crouch's mates says that Redknapp will be putting in an increased bid. Or at least that's what Redknapp has told PC.

Now being widely reported, general agreement that the fee will be £5m. Good deal for Spurs imo. He was a £10m keeper 2/3 years ago, but he's not worth £5m now. A change of scenery might be good for Robbo too. Robbo's been given permission to talk to Villa so that would suggest that the deal to bring in Gomes, Boruc or Viviano or whoever is well advanced, if not completed. My money is still on Gomes.

I think that's Marca picking up on the Sunday Mirror story at the weekend. Ramos wanted him and with a lousy Euro tourno there might have been a very very slight chance of getting him. As it is, absolutely no chance at all (imho).

Has looked good, like most of the Croatia squad tbh. Another in a fine bunch of players at Schalke, can't see him going anywhere soon. Shame. Maybe "realistic summer targets" isn't the best place to put this but from Football Transfer Rumours has this contribution: I know for a fact as I am related to one of the couts at Newcastle United that the geordies ar egonna get Arshavin £18 million David Villa £20 million Arda turan £8 million Orlando Elengaar £2 million Richard Dunne £5 million Total Out £53 million and theyll sell Milner (Liverpool) £10 million N'Zogbia (Tottenham) £14 million Enrique (Valencia) £8 million Alan Smith (Rangers £5 million Viduka (LA galaxy) £8 mill Total In 45 mill http://www.football-rumours.co.uk/

Last week, the PSV Chairman said Spurs had bid €12m for Gomes, Monday the Sun said Spurs had bid €12m for Viviano and last night Polish TV were saying Spurs had bid €12m for Artur Boruc. The numbers are the same, only the names change!

When Spurs sold him for £4.5m in 1989 it was Spurs' biggest profit on a transfer deal for a player who had been bought in. It was only bettered when Carrick was sold to Man Utd.

He's just had one. Sorry I was obviously too ashamed to admit I got this from the S*n*erland Echo http://www.sunderlandecho.com/nufc/Liverpool-and-Villa-warned-off.4216039.jp Newcastle United have warned Liverpool and Aston Villa off James Milner. The two clubs are keen to sign the winger, who had looked destined for the St James's Park exit this summer door after four years on Tyneside. Neither, however, has made a firm bid, and United have made it clear they have no intention of letting the England Under-21 international under contract at the club until 2011 leave Newcastle. Manager Kevin Keegan has never wanted to part with Milner, but the 22-year-old is one of his most saleable assets, and it was suggested the club would listen to offers of around £9m for a player signed by Sir Bobby Robson for £3.6m from Leeds United in the summer of 2004. Liverpool were looking to do an exchange deal for Milner with the likes of Jermaine Pennant and Danny Guthrie possible makeweights while Villa, where Milner spent a season on loan under David O'Leary in 2005-06, were understood to be preparing a cash deal. For his part, Milner is keen to know where he stands, and the prospect of playing Champions League football for Liverpool is an attractive proposition, while he enjoyed his time at Villa Park, and would relish playing for Martin O'Neill. His representative has enquired about a new long-term contract for Milner, whose present deal which kicked in last summer was negotiated around 18 months ago with then chairman Freddy Shepherd. But United, while keen to keep Milner at the club, are unwilling to open talks at this stage, with the contractual situations of Michael Owen, Steve Harper and Steven Taylor higher up the agenda, with all three out of contract at the end of next season. Meanwhile, Newcastle's determination to hold on to Milner means the chances of a move for Tottenham Hotspur winger Aaron Lennon have receded. Hopefully KK will convince everyone that Newcastle needs Lennon as well.

I'd take Lennon and Bent, wouldn't want the others. There's a reason they want rid. Didn't think you'd accept other clubs' cast-offs btw. Most players sold are cast-offs, just depends on the quality of the cast off. All of the above for those prices would enhance our squad, some of them straight into the 1st team. I don't mind good business, and they would be good business. Ramos thinks Kaboul may have moved into the Premiership too early but isn't writing him off. He may still go to WBA on a season long loan, other clubs are also in the mix for a loan. Of the others, Spurs won't sell Bent for £8m while Sunderland are in regular contact, Chimbonda may go for £4m, Lennon a bit more than £6m and Hudd may possibly go to Blackburn as part of a deal for Bentley, depends on who Ince actually wants to be added to his squad. Seems like mostly s*** clubs are the only ones interested, giving a truer valuation of their worth. Newcastle and Wham are the only clubs showing interest in Lennon. Newcastle have also made noises about Chimbonda, Pompey want Kaboul. Not all exactly s*** clubs. BTW, the Sun is saying that Spurs won't sell Lennon to Newcastle as they want to use him as bait to get Bentley. That's not true, Lennon has refused point blank to move to Blackburn. MJ can you please confirm that this Dawson talk is nonsense. We all know you probably can't REALLY confirm this, but we'll all play along for this rumour at least. Cheers mate Newcastle asked about his situation a while ago (no offer or bid) and I've heard nothing since. Maybe the current rumour is leading from that or maybe there has been more recent conversations, I don't honestly know. You are supposed to confirm that it is nonsense dude. What the heck is wrong with you? I'm living in hope tbh!

I'd take Lennon and Bent, wouldn't want the others. There's a reason they want rid. Didn't think you'd accept other clubs' cast-offs btw. Most players sold are cast-offs, just depends on the quality of the cast off. All of the above for those prices would enhance our squad, some of them straight into the 1st team. I don't mind good business, and they would be good business. Ramos thinks Kaboul may have moved into the Premiership too early but isn't writing him off. He may still go to WBA on a season long loan, other clubs are also in the mix for a loan. Of the others, Spurs won't sell Bent for £8m while Sunderland are in regular contact, Chimbonda may go for £4m, Lennon a bit more than £6m and Hudd may possibly go to Blackburn as part of a deal for Bentley, depends on who Ince actually wants to be added to his squad. Seems like mostly s*** clubs are the only ones interested, giving a truer valuation of their worth. Newcastle and Wham are the only clubs showing interest in Lennon. Newcastle have also made noises about Chimbonda, Pompey want Kaboul. Not all exactly s*** clubs. BTW, the Sun is saying that Spurs won't sell Lennon to Newcastle as they want to use him as bait to get Bentley. That's not true, Lennon has refused point blank to move to Blackburn. MJ can you please confirm that this Dawson talk is nonsense. We all know you probably can't REALLY confirm this, but we'll all play along for this rumour at least. Cheers mate Newcastle asked about his situation a while ago (no offer or bid) and I've heard nothing since. Maybe the current rumour is leading from that or maybe there has been more recent conversations, I don't honestly know.

I'm only conveying what others who know him better have said. I've only met him once at the end of the season and he didn't say much. 'Hello' if I recall correctly!

I don't think Bentley is a RW, he can't consistently beat a defender, more of a RM with an ability to cross the ball. SWP went to Chelsea for £21m and the Waddler was better than SWP. One of my favourite players, along with Gazza and Ginola, always entertained.

Low wages and sky high season ticket prices. We pay through the nose to watch average players, it's about time the quality level went up a notch or two. Gomes seems to be the preferred choice right now, but having been linked with Gomes, Coupet, Lloris, Viviano, Hart, McGregor, Neuer and a couple of Spaniards whose names I've forgotten, I'll be happy with anyone who is an upgrade on Robbo. Gomes has conceded 23, 25, 24 and 18 league goals in his 4 years with PSV, I'd be happy with him if he is indeed the first choice.

The Sun is saying today that Spurs have bid £9.6m for Emiliano Viviano, the Brescia GK. Viviano was definitely in our thoughts, I mentioned him here 3 weeks ago on page 34, but the fee quoted is similar to the bid for Heurelho Gomes. Maybe they're mixing the two keepers up.