Memphis

The free interview on the official site is amazing. His answer about motivating the players was extraordinary - I'm paraphrasing, but it was something like: "There will be a lot of players in this dressing room who have played for big clubs, Real Madrid, Liverpool, some have played 60, 70, 80-odd times for their national side, but what I'll tell them tomorrow is that you've never played for a bigger club than this."

Anal actually struggles with the mask before pulling it off for the big reveal... "IT'S ME!!!!!!" I'm sure this has to rank as one of the proudest moments in Lee Ryder's journalistic life. Straight man to the most embarrassing reporter on Earth.

Two things: 1. Who cares what anyone else thinks about what "might" happen, or tension that "may" exist? Some media members and outside fans will have a pop and a laugh, but what does it really matter? Owen is a professional, Keegan is a professional - Keegan plays 10000% more attacking and entertaining football than BSA, Souness, or Roeder ever could, so a forward like Owen should be loving life right now. 2. It is very likely that an older and more mature Owen, and a wiser, more refreshed Kevin Keegan will get along just fine.

It's more likely to have meant that only 15k had been sold to that point.

I understand completely the OP's sentiments, but after three straight managers who stifled creativity and either bored us to tears or made us furious with negative tactics, this is a breath of fresh air. If Keegan fails, hire Deschamps. But this club needs positivity and solidarity right now more than it needs "outside respect" or what have you. Keegan is the ultimate embodiment of that positivity.

It seems clear Deschamps is being intentionally coy here. I'm not even sure I know the difference between an official and an unofficial approach in this case. The bigger issue here is that he is an exciting young candidate who meets all the listed requirements from Mort, has taken an unfancied club to the CL final, and most importantly, would find us "an exciting challenge". Very promising.

Got that bit right.

Would be a very ambitious and risky hire. Extremely exciting if it happens.

Another bonus: Houllier fell out with Cacapa towards the end of his time at Lyon. Less Cacapa means more points.

Incredible that after Souness, Roeder, and Allardyce anyone would complain about potentially bringing in Houllier. He represents such a step up in class and expertise it boggles the mind.

The way this process has gone - with complete silence from the Club and random speculation from all and sundry and in the press - I'd expect an announcement to be sudden and decisive. Remarkably, Mort and Ashley seem to have kept everyone's lips sealed on the issue, so it would not surprise me to see an official announcement completely out of the blue as soon as tomorrow, but anytime really.

Given is a fantastic shotstopper, there's no denying that - but his command of the area and communication are both quite poor at times. He's by no means a dominating presence and we probably could have done with one of those considering the state of our defence. That said, he is still a major asset to the team.

Van Gall, Hitzfeld, and Houllier are all far better candidates than Redknapp ever was.

We've got three separate threads focused on information gleaned from SSN, but do we have any reason at this point to believe any of it? The two main sources for the Redknapp stuff appear to be SSN and Anal - both seriously lacking credibility. Everyone else, including officials at both clubs and other ancillary figures, is saying or intimating there's nothing on. Until I see something a bit more official, I'm not convinced 'Arry is the main target.

15 million http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_3038866,00.html Changed above - thanks.

Anelka's Transfer Fees: Arsenal to Real Madrid - 22 million Real Madrid to PSG - 20 million PSG to Man City - 12 million Man City to Fenerbache - 7 million Fener to Bolton - 8 million Bolton to Chelsea - 15 million Total: 84 million in transfer fees

14 million for a proven goalscorer who will no doubt have renewed ambition after his nomadic period away from the Champions League is a bargain.

Not reading much into suspending Mourinho, just an interesting development. And ladbrokes have taken down the betting altogether.

SkyBet have suspended betting on Jose Mourinho, for whatever it's worth. http://www.skybet.com/skybet?action=GoEvEv&id=11082720

If it is true about the search involving only British candidates, I have to join in with the chorus of people shocked by the limited scope of the club's ambition. I have no idea whether or not the club could attract the likes of Mourinho or even Houllier, but to limit the candidates so sharply so soon would be incredibly stupid. I can only hope the club is either being misquoted or intentionally deceptive. And if it's McClaren, I can't imagine anyone being the least bit happy.

Like any corporate figurehead, I'm sure Mike Ashley's behaviour is motivated to some degree by a desire to generate positive PR. Sports Direct have had some horrendous PR since it became a public company, damaging Ashley and his company in the eyes of many analysts and potential investors. Unquestionably his role as Newcastle's "sugar daddy" humanizes him to a large extent and helps his (previously negative) image. To me, it's an ideal situation. It benefits the club to have the club benefit Ashley, if that makes sense. If we are indeed his distraction, his plaything, his midlife crisis, as some have previously written, then all the better. The better Newcastle do, the better PR for Ashley. The fact that he has likely been legitimately taken in by the atmosphere at and around SJP and the city is fantastic. It will only deepen what may have started as a flight of fancy. In short, it's a symbiotic relationship. We help him, he helps us. Perfect. Now bring us Kaka in January.

Amoebi was awful tonight. He has been awful for some time. He will be awful in the future. There's no way he should get a game ahead of Martins or Smith up front. That said, the service from midfield (and Steven Taylor) was horrible. Absolutely no creativity and no idea how to break down a very poor, but hard-working Derby side. A genuine step backward for the first time under Sam. We will see what the response is.

Really enjoyed watching Nobby play. Class on the ball, great passing, composure, solidity. I will miss seeing him in black and white.

Best of luck to the young man. He was clearly not Premiership standard. I was always quite nervous when I saw his name on the team sheet.

Or the fact that one deal could be completed, and they're just waiting for theother to be confirmed before they announce both? Could be. I was trying to put together a scenario involving a third deal, but your theory is just as plausible. Does anyone know if Faye was at the training ground today? Apparently both were there. Thank you.