KaKa

The sad thing is that Martins was our only consistent source of gaols all season. We wentinto every game knowing that if Martins didn't score we pretty much weren't going to score any goals.

So everyong watches his every move so closely and of course it is then easy to pick apart his game. You only have to see how pathetic and uninvolved Owen was in his two games back to understand and appreciate what a good achievement 17 goals in such a mess of a team was.

I am happy we now have a good manager, one who has an experience of working with African players and getting the best out of them. Hope Martins stays.

It's such a shame we will lose him durign the African Nations Cup though as this really won't be ideal.

I guess what we all have to ask ourselves is this ...

Does a young striker who scores 17 goals in his first season at Newcastle, when he had every excuse going to fail, deserve a couple more seasons to grow and get better?

Is it in our interest to give him at least two mroe seasons to see what he can become?

Pace, power and workrate. Bramble was pretty quick, was as strong as they come, and tried hard...just wasn't very good at football though unfortunately.

 

Wow ... I can't believe you just went there. You ought to be ahamed of yourself.

 

Absolute nonsense. Worst comparison ever.

 

Martins never broke into the Inter Milan team as they never committed to him as a first team player. They just brought him off the bench for the most part. Besides he is very much a premiership player as the Italian league is not a fast paced league. It is all defending and sitting deep which is not ideal fior the likes of Martins.

 

I have to say a very twisted side of me is hoping he ends up at Arsenal just so I can hear what you have to say for yourselves when he lights up the league.

 

But I will hope he stays over Owen and Big Sam clicks with him instead, because I know exactly what will happen. That number 9 on his back will look so much more at home.

 

I'd be a lot more inclined to listen to the way you talk with such authority about the player if there was ANYTHING to back up your claims that he's some sort of wunderkind.  You're just making ludicrous predictions about how amazing he is and how stupid we'll all feel when he proves it.  Until such time that your predictions come true, you'd do well to recognise that that's all they are - predictions.  In the real world where the rest of us live, Obafemi Martins looks nothing like the player you seem to think he is.

Fair enough.

They are just my predictions but I grew up following his career closely and I hve seen him at his confident best and I have no doubt that with a bit of guidance he could be special.

Don't mean to come accross as being pushy but my faith in him is very strong. Not only does he have the ability but he has the committment too.

I guess we can only wait to see what happens as you say.

Pace, power and workrate. Bramble was pretty quick, was as strong as they come, and tried hard...just wasn't very good at football though unfortunately.

Wow ... I can't believe you just went there. You ought to be ahamed of yourself.

Absolute nonsense. Worst comparison ever.

Martins never broke into the Inter Milan team as they never committed to him as a first team player. They just brought him off the bench for the most part. Besides he is very much a premiership player as the Italian league is not a fast paced league. It is all defending and sitting deep which is not ideal fior the likes of Martins.

I have to say a very twisted side of me is hoping he ends up at Arsenal just so I can hear what you have to say for yourselves when he lights up the league.

But I will hope he stays over Owen and Big Sam clicks with him instead, because I know exactly what will happen. That number 9 on his back will look so much more at home.

I just have to ask also ... do you think Mourinho and Wenger are mugs?

There is a reason they have both enquired you know. Mourinho was already sniffing around in January!!!

Martins has all the raw materials. Pace? check. Power (despite his smaller frame)? check. Workrate? check. Left foot shot? check. Right foot shot? check. Heading? check.

 

Touch?  f***!  Control?  s***!  Movement?  Bastards!  Clinical finishing? Bollocks!

 

You've listed the basic requirements to be a striker, not the things that set someone apart and make them any good.

Basic requirements they might be, but he is outstanding at all of the things I have mentioned.

The only thing i would agree he sometimes struggles with is his touch and control just like Drogba initially did.

Not clinical? So he misses some easy chances towards the end of the season when the team was playing crap and morale in the camp was at an all time low and everyone was fighting each other and he isn't clinical?

Please see his finishes againas AZ at home, as well as the deft little flick over the on rushing keeper at home (I forget who we played).

If Martins is a first team player in a team that is pulling together and performing as they ought to be he will be absolutely dynamite.

If Martins has as a good a season next season for Newcastle as what Drogba did for Chelsea last, I will name my first child Obafemi. No chance will he.

If Martins is in a first team eleven and not used off the bench next season you can expect a minmum of 20 goals (15 of which will be premiership goals).  This will be the absolute minimum from him, assuming no long term injuries etc.

Dude ... your kid is going to be a legend at school because everyone will know who you named him after when Martins becomes the player I know he will if he remains in a first team.

Martins=Drogba tbh.

Ridiculed in his first season but showed flashes just like Martins did. People said Drogba's touch was awful, they said he wasn't an intelligent player ... ya da ya da ya da.

If Martins goes to Arsenal you just watch what Wenger does with him. Just as Mourinho has moulded Drogba.

Martins has all the raw materials. Pace? check. Power (despite his smaller frame)? check. Workrate? check. Left foot shot? check. Right foot shot? check. Heading? check.

We actually have just recruited a manager whose management brings the best out of players and people want to let him go? Wow ...

It's a shame Martins ended the season so poorly because apparently everyone has forgotten how dynamic he was when he hit form.

I don't think people appreciate how well he did this season considering the awful midfield he had behind him. Considering it was his first season ever as a first team striker. Considering he is still so young. Considering he isn't the biggest striker you've seen and had to adjust to the physical demands.

Don't blame Martins! Blame Duff, Dyer, Sibierski, Parker and Emre.

If Martins ends up at Arsenal it will haunt us for years to come. All of you who have claimed he isn't good enough will be reminded every week just how clueless you are.

Would also mean at least one Englishman in their starting eleven which is probably an attraction also ...

Classic move by Wenger.

 

Getting a top top player for a relatively small fee. While Chelsea will probably spend 20s of millions on Tevez and Man U might spend 30s of millions on Eto'o and Liverpool the sam on Villa, Arsenal get Owen for around £10 million.

 

I could definitely see this happen. Henry does a lot of his work outside of the box so it would be a great partnership. Could you imagine Owen making the types of runs he does with the players Arsenal have threading passes through to him? Scary stuff ...

 

The good thing about this is who we could get off of them!!!

 

Flamini and Bendtner plus a couple of million would be brilliant business!!!

 

If we're only selling because of the release clause, I doubt we can get player exchanges involved.

 

BTW, his transfer fee may be low but his signing on fee and basic wage will not be.  Wenger will steer clear.  I'm pretty confident of that.

Very good point about the wages, could be a sticking point. However, considering he will cost £10 million when he really should cost £17 million they may deem it worthwhile to pay him the wages.

But I do agree with you the wages would definitely make them think long and hard about it. However, claiming Owen isn't an Arsenal player is nonsensical to me, with the runs he makes he would be lethal on that team.

Not an Arsenal type player at all. Be very surprised but I guess the press just aint going to sleep properly until he has left us.

Wenger probably just said that he thinks Owen is a good player.

Wankers. We will get lots of this now... going to be a lot of slow news days for them

Not an Arsenal player???

Look ... I know you don't want to lose him, but claiming they won't want him because he is 'not an Arsenal player' is profoundly DELUSIONAL!!!

Classic move by Wenger.

Getting a top top player for a relatively small fee. While Chelsea will probably spend 20s of millions on Tevez and Man U might spend 30s of millions on Eto'o and Liverpool the sam on Villa, Arsenal get Owen for around £10 million.

I could definitely see this happen. Henry does a lot of his work outside of the box so it would be a great partnership. Could you imagine Owen making the types of runs he does with the players Arsenal have threading passes through to him? Scary stuff ...

The good thing about this is who we could get off of them!!!

Flamini and Bendtner plus a couple of million would be brilliant business!!!

Would be comical if he did.  I don't know what he has against us, but it might be a good thing if he did go to Pompey because it would increase the chances of Campbell leaving. 

Speaking of Campbell and more experienced defenders in general, we are being linked with Hyppia today also as it looks like he will be let go by Liverpool this summer.

Distin heading for Portsmouth

Chris Taylor

Monday May 21, 2007

The Guardian

Sylvain Distin will this week join Portsmouth from Manchester City after snubbing a return to Newcastle. The out-of-contract French defender, 30, has agreed a £40,000-a-week package with Pompey after rejecting a new deal at City.

Distin, who spent eight months at St James' Park in 2002, turned down the chance to become Sam Allardyce's first signing as Newcastle's manager.

Portsmouth's manager, Harry Redknapp, has been chasing Distin since the summer. Redknapp said: "I like Distin. He is a big, strong player and will be a great free transfer. People like him can command good wages because there is no transfer fee."

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Pompey are also close to clinching a club record £9m deal for Udinese's Ghana midfielder Sulley Muntari. Redknapp added: "Peter Storrie, our chief executive, is working on that and I would love to have him here."

Wolves' highly rated winger Michael Kightly is to be offered a new deal by the club. The 21-year-old has impressed since making his loan from non-League Grays permanent in January and will be given an extension to his 2½-year contract.

Kightly was reportedly a target for Manchester United on the eve of signing at Molineux but Wolves' manager, Mick McCarthy, is keen to sign him up long term. McCarthy told the club's website: "Will Michael be offered a new deal? Absolutely! Kites came in the day after the play-offs and said he wants the No7 shirt for next season. I've told him that unless we sign David Beckham then it's his!"

Alonso in demand as Juve return to Serie A

By Alberto Laconi

Published: 21 May 2007

Relegated in disgrace 10 months ago for their part in the Italian matchfixing scandal, Juventus won promotion to Serie A on Saturday following their 5-1 victory over Arezzo. "We have shown once again that we are the strongest," their French international striker David Trezeguet said after the game. "Now let's party."

Trezeguet was among a clutch of big names who decided to stay with the club despite their disgrace and a season out of Serie A and the Champions League (from which they were also banned). However, their return to Serie A meant that speculation immediately intensified in Italy as to which star names would be joining them in the summer, including several now playing in the Premiership.

The Liverpool midfielders Xabi Alonso and Momo Sissoko are both thought to be on Juve's wanted list as well as the Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins. Others said to be attracting their attention are Ajax's coveted forward Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Vincenzo Iaquinta, who plays up front for Udinese and the Roma defender Cristian Chivu.

Trezeguet was among the scorers against Arezzo, as was their captain Alessandro Del Piero who scored twice. Del Piero was another star player who stayed as did the Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, Mauro Camoranesi and the Czech midfielder Pavel Nedved.

Serie B is surprisingly weak and even with a nine-point penalty Juve were able to win promotion with three games to spare. They have been managed by their former player Didier Deschamps who has managed the side with dignity, never degrading the standard of the opposition but remaining ruthlessly focused on returning to Serie A straight away.

The former France captain has been rewarded for practically begging to coach the side when few others wanted to know the club after they were demoted following the biggest scandal to hit Italian football. Juve were stripped of their 2005 and 2006 titles after former general manager Luciano Moggi and others were found guilty of a series of corrupt activities including securing favourable referees. Deschamps, who helped Juventus to European Cup glory in 1996, did not feel managing in Serie B was below him despite his achievements in coaching Monaco to the Champions League final in 2004.

His task was made more difficult by the departures of talent such as Patrick Vieira and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (who were snapped up by Internazionale) Fabio Cannavaro and Emerson (who followed manager Fabio Capello to Real) while Lilian Thuram and Gianluca Zambrotta went to Barcelona.

The demotion coincided with an already-planned switch to a smaller stadium, the Stadio Olimpico. Players and fans had long bemoaned the Stadio delle Alpi for its poor atmosphere, and the move meant the team could play in a more intimate stadium where the lower Serie B crowds would be less noticeable.

Juve made a steady start but fresh momentum came in November when their points deduction was cut to nine on appeal. They never looked back and easily secured promotion but it is now that the real work begins."In 2008 we need to be realistic," Deschamps said recently. "It will be a complicated year. For now the scudetto is a utopia."

What is clear, though, is that the club will be busy in the summer. The defence will be bulked up with Jean Alain Boumsong, who endured a nightmare spell at Newcastle United. Germany's Torsten Frings has already turned the club down though. Buffon's future is also in doubt while Trezeguet and Camoranesi could leave despite the promotion.

Chelsea join Real in the race to sign £40m Tevez

By Jason Burt

Published: 21 May 2007

Chelsea have entered the bidding to sign Carlos Tevez although they are facing strong competition from Real Madrid. The two clubs are the only ones to have made serious inquiries about the 23-year-old Argentine, although West Ham United are hoping he will stay at Upton Park for at least one more season.

Tevez's representative Kia Joorabchian has yet to inform West Ham of his intentions - or what transfer fee he wants for the player - although it is hoped that a meeting may take place as early as this week with the club's chairman Eggert Magnusson.

It could be that if neither Chelsea nor Real meet the asking price - which sources claim could be anywhere between £20m and £40m - that a deal may be structured to keep Tevez at Upton Park. That would undoubtedly be met with a further outcry from clubs who have questioned the £5.5m fine meted out to West Ham over the controversial signing of Tevez and fellow Argentine Javier Mascherano last summer, and the non-disclosure of the full terms of the agreement.

So far Liverpool - for whom Mascherano now plays - and Manchester United have not lodged interest in Tevez, who was West Ham's player of the season. The club holds his registration and has torn up the agreement with Joorabchian and the companies which own Tevez's "economic rights" so, in theory, they could receive a transfer fee. However, this will not happen as it would certainly lead to West Ham being successfully sued by Joorabchian and MSI.

Despite the problems caused by his arrival, West Ham want Tevez to stay and believe it may be in his interests to do so. He has settled and, having avoided relegation, there are ambitions plans in place to push for Europe next season.

However, the allure of Chelsea or Real will be hard to resist for Tevez who gave a press conference on Friday, following his return to Argentina, at which he said it was time for him to "join a European giant". However, he added that "despite any offer that could arrive, what I want to say is that West Ham has priority".

Chelsea were offered the player last year and if Tevez arrived at Stamford Bridge, it would be part of the re-building process that has now started in earnest following Saturday's FA Cup final victory over United.

The win should also mean that manager Jose Mourinho remains for at least another year, although owner Roman Abramovich has still to express that he definitely wants to keep Mourinho. On Saturday night, sources indicated this would happen soon and Mourinho was almost certain to earn a reprieve. Abramovich was at Wembley on Saturday and Joe Cole confirmed that the billionaire had visited the dressing room after the match, something he has not done since falling out with Mourinho. "Roman came in and celebrated with us," Cole said. "It was nice to see him."

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon yesterday reiterated Mourinho's claim that three players are expected to leave and up to four players arrive. He also repeated the assertion that "I doubt we'll have big-name signings because I don't think we need it". Chelsea are not planning to spend the tens of millions of previous seasons although Tevez, or another top-quality striker, could prove to be the exception.

Reading's Steve Sidwell is expected to arrive on a Bosman free transfer - although Newcastle United will make one last attempt to intervene when he returns from holiday - while, despite Mourinho's objections, Chelsea have begun to apply for a work permit for the defender Alex from PSV Eindhoven.

Agent Pini Zahavi is still hopeful he can persuade Chelsea to sign Talal Ben Haim from Bolton Wanderers but the Israeli is also wanted by Newcastle.

Glen Johnson has returned from his loan spell at Portsmouth while the Blackburn Rovers striker Benni McCarthy is hoping to move to Chelsea. He would not play for South Africa if he did move and therefore would not be at next year's African Nations Cup for which Chelsea might lose four players including Didier Drogba.

Kenyon insisted that neither Michael Ballack nor Andrei Shevchenko will be sold despite their indifferent seasons. "I'm confident they're going to be here as big players with Chelsea next season," he said. "They want to contribute a lot more, they feel they have a lot more to give. It takes time to settle in."

Chelsea will re-open contract talks with John Terry and Frank Lampard, who both want improved deals and insisted after Saturday's game that they wanted to stay. Terry said that suggestions he was to hand in a transfer request were "ludicrous" adding: "Now the season's over I'd like to see things get sorted out." Lampard said his "intention" was to remain at Chelsea "for life".

However, Chelsea will not give into the demands of Arjen Robben. The Dutch winger not only wants a new contract but assurances he will play more regularly. However, despite links with a move to Bayern Munich, he said he would remain at Chelsea next season.

How much have these jokers Atletico Madrid spent recently?

They are absolutely useless. The manager will get sacked tomorrow.

Aren't they at home too? Goodness grief!!!

*tin hat on*

2 questions ...

Are Atletico Madrid the Newcastle of La Liga?

Will Fernando Torres be the riskiest sigining as far as top strikers go this summer?

Yes and yes.

Marcus Bent

Lord have mercy ...

I see Aruna Kone play every week and he's a decent player but not a great player. He's a very poor finisher, not what we need IMO.

Fair enough ...

The thing is though ... we could do with some 'decent' players at this club.

Kone is rubbbish. He looks OK in the Eredivisie but he deosn't exactly set the world on fire in that division.

 

Very harsh. He's had a superb season... 18 goals and 11 assists, and some of his goals have been absolute peaches. Heck of a strike on him.

 

And his ability to beat players is first class.

Exactly ... he is a very good scorer and he sets up a lot of goals as well. That's why I think he would be very useful for us. He does so much excellent outside of the box as well as in it.

I like the look of Nugent but I think he'll be off to Everton.

 

The latest seems to be that he won't be coming here because Preston are asking for silly money.

 

£10m for an unproven player with 12 months left on his contract. I'd be surprised if anyone buys him if they are really asking for that much.

Outrageous figure ...

This is why English players don't get the opportunities they do and then everyone claims there are too many foreigners blah blah blah.

But at the end of the day, why would I buy David Nugent for £10 million when I could buy Davidoff Nugentienté for £3 million?

Koné is a little short isnt he?

 

Nope ... same height as Bent.

Emre on his way to Bayern then?