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Completely forgot this guy was on a free! Linked to Man U in tomorrows News of the World. So I guess it might be either him or Anelka as a cheaper option for their vacant striker position. I think it is very possible that no one is interested in Michael Owen as there just seem to be so many other options out there. Players who have been fit and producing in the last couple of seasons unlike Owen. Maybe Freddy was being honest when he said no one was interested even for the reported £9 million fee. I guess this makes his agents efforts to tout him around all the more understandable. At a guess I would imagine the following ... Eto'o to Arsenal in a swap for Henry. Anelka to Man U. Saviola to Liverpool. McCarthy to Chelsea. Owen? Well ... certainly looks like he will be back with us next season, wether he likes it or not.

Training revolution: The night time is the right time for Sam With Sam Allardyce currently working on a number of signings and negotiations ongoing to bring various off-field personnel in, some details of what Newcastle players can look forward to next season are emerging. One of the most radical innovations to have come from the scientific analysis of training methods Allardyce introduced at the Reebok is the staging of training sessions at match times. Rather than the traditional morning sessions, afternoon training to replicate the conditions of weekend games and evening workouts to prepare for midweek fixtures are on the cards. And after extensive dietary investigation, it's not only the type of food that the players eat that will come under scrutiny, but also the timing of their pre-match meal. Scientific findings suggest that peak on-field performance depends partly on the metabolic rate of the individual - with different players best served by eating at different times, rather than all together. In practice this is slightly impractical, with a partial compromise achieved by taking an average of the team's rate and setting a meal time based on that. Any wide variations to that average see those players eating at different times - at least one member of Bolton's first team squad last season having their pre-match meal an hour before his team mates. And we don't want to spoil the surprise, but one or two current Toon players with slightly unusual "refueling" habits may be in for something of a shock when Sam's boys start monitoring them closely - very closely..... http://www.nufc.com/

Voronin looks like he will be a good acquisition for Liverpool. If Anelka ends up at Man U ... everyone else can just forget about the league. He really looks good at the moment.

Anelka!!!!! What a goal!!!!

Anyone watching France vs. Ukraine on Eurosport? Samir Nasri got the start just behind Anelka. Interesting to see how he plays.

Wales vs. Czech Republic was a pretty good game. It was only Wales but I liked the look of Rozenhal. Very fluid, athletic and pacy for such a tall guy. Also did a good job of bending his knees and getting nice and low when in one on ones with quick players, making it hard for them to go past him. Very promising.

Might be worth a peep. Let's see what Rozenhal looks like. Hopefully he can keep that loud mouthed dwarf quiet.

What is his official position? If we signed him where would he play?

You got something against Afros then? RACIST ALERT!!!!!!!!!

This summer has been so crazy already. I mean I knew it was coming but I can't believe it has actually been finalized now. Scott Parker is gone! Wow! Good luck to him, shame he couldn't pass or shoot really.

Reo-Coker is a really good young player, who had an error of judgement that was more down to immaturity than anything else. He is only 21, and he went into a sulk because he wasn't allowed to speak to Arsenal when they came in for him whish is somewhat understandable. To be fair to him he never demanded a move or caused as big a stink as he could have, and he at least remained on the pitch and towards the end of the season managed to get back on track. I have no doubts that with a strong manager (which we now have) and away from London, and the real West Ham plonkers Ferdinand and Zamora, he would be excellent and committed. He would have learnt from his mistake this season and I doubt he would carry on like that again. This boy was made captian of his team at age 20 and is the current captain of the England under 21 squad and I think that speaks volumes about his temperament and character. It will be interesting to see how he performs this summer in the under 21 championships. I think after watching him many on here would be impressed. I for one would have him in a swap for Parker.

Parker is asking for trouble if you ask me. He thinks it was tough here because a few fans got on his back after a game when the majority don't have too much of a problem with him? Has he met any West Ham fans? You want to talk about a group of fans that are absolutely mental when they get on a players back? Knowing he is on those wages won't help him either because if he performs anywhere near to what he did here last season and West Ham struggle early on he will be getting it from their fans a thousand times worse than he ever did here. I hope he does well though, as he is a good guy. He honestly just wasn't good enough and should have been transformed into a strict defensive midfielder with no attacking responsibility, as this was his only chance. For a player with such a reputation I have never seen a worse shooter or forward passer in my life! It actually made me cring many a time, as I felt embarrassed for the lad. Hope he does alright though.

So you think we will be playing 4-4-2 then? I'm not sure Sam will move away from the 4-3-3 which has brought him so much success. Owen won't fit, and Martins might not either. Should be interesting.

You'd better be joking, tbh. might be Or might be not. What think you?

That's what I thought Lord have mercy! I am so glad at least a couple of you grasped the point I was making! My point was that he is a good pickup because he was really good last season, but that he has the potential to be even better which would be brilliant. I believe he could get 20 prem goals next season if he is fitter and therefore plays every game. Yikes ... it's English people, simple English.

As god as Viduka was last year he still didn't look in great condition. Can you imagine whathe will be like if he buys into Sam's fitness and dietary regime? Would make what seems like a decent move even better. I must say if Roeder was still here and he made this move, I can't say I would have been as pleased about it. Big Sam's history of getting the best out of the aged is second to none.

The midfield three were Speed, Campo and Nolan if I am not mistaken. So did both Campo and Speed sit back as defensive midfielders with just Nolan pushing forward? Or did both Speed and Nolan push forward? Also, did bolton at any point play a 4-4-2 with Anelka and Davies up front? Or did Anelka come in from the left hand side of the 4-3-3? I can't ever really recall Bolton playing a 4-4-2 and with the success Allardyce has had over the last few years with the 4-3-3, could you imagine him changing to a 4-4-2? And would this be a good idea? I know the 4-3-3 isn't that popular as some see it more as 4-5-1, but i imagine with better players it would look more attractive. I think I am leaning more towards Sam sticking with what has worked for himi.e. the 4-3-3, but with talk of him wanting Owen or Martins to stay I cnnot imagine how either could be accomodated in this setup. So judging by the way he had his players setup at Bolton last year, who do you imagine out of our current players would be compatible in this system and therefore more likely to still be around?

I am no longer taking the Barton rumours seriously. I think Willie McKay is just trying to keep his players name out there, and we know he loves to link his players to Newcastle. He's probably heard Parker will be let go and is trying to tout his player to us. Freakin' slimeball. To be fair though I do think Barton is decent.

Your gaffers (Arnsen/Jol) have been gambling on youngster for a while now, although not at this end of the market. Were not challenging for the league though. Dont get me wrong, these are exciting times if your a united fan but i still think they need a quality front man. Envy is such an ugly thing dude ... You keep saying htey are unproven but so was Ronaldo. Unti they come to the league and play here no one knows yet. Somehow I think they will do extremely well, especially with Ferguson bringin them along. They will also settle quickly with the portuguese figurehead there in Carlos Quieroz not to mention Ronaldo too. I've told you already, Harry Kewell will be playing on the left-side of midfield for Tottenham next year. You guys were so sure it was Nani, so what happened?

We couldn't really afford to spend that sort of money on those players but I agree with your general point. I am a little worried that those who have actually seen him play think he wont make it though. I've seen him play recently for Ghana, and I am not surprised Sam is interested. He has been really good of late and seems to be back on the up. All those who think he won't make it saw him at Sweden, where he probably wasn't as motivated. He had just excelled at the under 20 championships and was voted Ghana's most promising player ahead of the Essiens and Appiahs and he was also brilliant for Panathanikos in the champions league but somehow ended up in Sweden (probably due to a dodgy agent). He is a good player, and at the very worst will be a solid squad player. At the very best he has the potential to be up there with Essien. I feel optimistic because he will be working with Big Sam as well so it is more likely he will play at his peak rather than underachieve. More or less my outlook on the player. He hasn't really been tested at the highest level, but Ghanian and Nigerian players have plenty of fight in them. I defer to Sam'd judgement, won't be an impulse buy that's for sure. Deal is close. What is exciting about him is that he has excellent athletic ability and pace which are the more typical African attributes, but his use of the ball is also very good. He is better with the ball than Essien is. Passes and spreads the ball around very well. I have a page where you can watch a stream of a recent Ghana vs Austria match where he plays in centre mid, but I don't know if it is okay to post it on here? It is the page for a user on filefront who has some Ghana games. Am I allowed to post this? The page doesn't actually contain the video clip itself.

We couldn't really afford to spend that sort of money on those players but I agree with your general point. I am a little worried that those who have actually seen him play think he wont make it though. I've seen him play recently for Ghana, and I am not surprised Sam is interested. He has been really good of late and seems to be back on the up. All those who think he won't make it saw him at Sweden, where he probably wasn't as motivated. He had just excelled at the under 20 championships and was voted Ghana's most promising player ahead of the Essiens and Appiahs and he was also brilliant for Panathanikos in the champions league but somehow ended up in Sweden (probably due to a dodgy agent). He is a good player, and at the very worst will be a solid squad player. At the very best he has the potential to be up there with Essien. I feel optimistic because he will be working with Big Sam as well so it is more likely he will play at his peak rather than underachieve.

Signed what?

Good shout. Think we should get Kingston in, heard nothing but good reports about him in Scotland and seems a very dynamic player and a bit of a cult hero to boost. The Russian club that owns him only want about 500k for him which would be worth a gamble in anyones book. Because our last superstar signing from Scotland turned out well. In my opinion we shouldn't go anywhere near someone who hasn't proven himself in a decent league yet. Hardly costing £8m is he? Should we wait untill he proves himself and the the price becomes extorinate? It's not like were exactly short of cash now is it. If we are aiming for the CL in the next few years we should not be going for this type of player. When did you last see one of the top 4 signing a player with his sort of background. Also it seems utterly bizarre Sam would want a new DM when we have Butt and Parker who we know are very capable DM and most likely miles better than this guy from Hearts and that Boateng. Sam showed at Bolton that you can only take a team of cheap imports so far before you hit a brick wall. This is the kind of attitude that takes us backward I was so staggered and dissapointed by that comment I couldn't even muster the energy to respond, with all the crap we have done in the last few years how can there are still be some people with such an outlook. Then to have the nerve to have a dig at Sam for "hitting a brick wall"? It is quite unbelievable ... if Sam is hitting a brick wall then what the hell have we been doing? We ain't even anywhere near the damned building man!

A clock which has stopped shows the correct time twice a day. This list can only do one right out of 403. I was thinking more along the lines that Ronaldo couldn't even be held back by this mathematics. He beats it as well. He just had a great season in evrey way shape and form. Hopefully one of ours will be up there next season ...

You only have to look at Man u too .... not exactly all world beaters when they were bought, although they were expensive. Van Nistelrooy had only really done it in Holland. Ronaldo had only done it in Sporting Lisbon's reserves? Rooney was very much on the rise but hadn't really achieved anything out of this world at Everton. Carrick was good for Tottenham but wasn't exactly a Riquelme or any of the sexier names out there. Even Hargreaves as good as he is, isn't exactly a typical superstar signing. Throw Vidic in there as well. No one even knew who he was!!!