Sunday Gossip

[Thespence]

NEWS OF THE WORLD

 

West Ham face administration if they do not find a buyer within a month. 

 

Juande Ramos has just six games to save his job at Tottenham.

 

Manchester City boss Mark Hughes will embark on a £100million spree in January, with Kaka and Gigi Buffon in his sights.

 

Alisher Usmanov has been advised not to go ahead with his takeover of Arsenal and is now ready to sell his shareholding.

 

Mike Ashley could still be in charge at Newcastle until the summer.

 

Carlos Tevez's future has been cast into doubt by Manchester United's pursuit of Douglas Costa.

 

David Moyes admits he seriously considered leaving Everton in the summer - until a speech from Sir Bobby Robson stopped him in the tracks.

 

Franz Beckenbauer claims Tottenham were mad to sack Martin Jol.

 

Kevin Doyle will join Aston Villa for £7million in the New Year.

 

Spurs could make a move for Torino midfielder Alessandro Rossina.

 

Bolton face a fight with Everton for the signing of Jimmy Bullard.

 

Blackburn are trying to lure Liverpool striking hope Nathan Eccleston.

 

Newcastle are giving Danish youngster Kevin Mensah a second trial.

 

Rade Prica is set to return to Denmark from Sunderland in a cut-rice deal.

 

Sheffield Wednesday have sounded out four potential new buyers.

 

DAILY STAR SUNDAY

 

The Premier League are planning to link up with the Football League to stage competitive games abroad.

 

Tottenham's Luka Modric is a target for Juventus.

 

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has lost £12billion on the Russian stock market.

 

Rangers and Watford are the latest clubs to be lined up for foreign ownership.

 

Manchester United are lining up an £11million move for Luis Antonio Valencia.

 

West Brom are ready to bid £5million for Cardiff's Roger Johnson.

 

Manchester City is ready to fight Arsenal for Belgium's Theo Walcott - Moussa Dembele.

 

Portsmouth have dropped their interest in Stephen Appiah.

 

Newcastle manager Joe Kinnear never met former VP Tony Jimenez.

 

David Moyes was ready to quit Everton - until Sir Bobby Robson gave an 'inspirational' talk.

 

Ali Al-Habsi's agent has accused Bolton of trying to force his client out.

 

Jason Roberts has opened talks over a new deal at Blackburn.

 

Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton and Liverpool all want French wonderboy Sofiane Feghouli.

 

Fulham will put a £2million price tag on Clint Dempsey.

 

Derby boss Paul Jewell is ready to move for Hull defender Wayne Brown.

 

Wolves hope to resurrect the career of Wayne Routledge.

 

Doncaster manager Sean O'Driscoll has been told his job is safe.

 

SUNDAY MIRROR

 

Juande Ramos has six games to revive Spurs' season - and save his job.

 

Anil Ambani has put his efforts to buy West Ham on hold.

 

Manchester City's new owner is prepared to spend a minimum of £100million on players in each of the next three years.

 

Liverpool's failure to offer Rafael Benitez a new deal is encouraging other clubs that Fernando Torres can be prised away.

 

Tony Adams is set for a return to club management, with Ipswich and Charlton potential employers.

 

Roberto Mancini is desperate to manage in the Premier League.

 

Spurs legend Gary Lineker thinks the club should have stuck with Martin Jol.

 

Watford chairman Graham Simpson says up to 10 parties are interested in buying the club.

 

THE PEOPLE

 

Premier League chiefs are in top-secret talks to take the entire league abroad in a summer tournament.

 

Tony Jimenez is being lined up to replace Damien Comolli at Tottenham.

 

Liverpool's plans for a high-tech new stadium at Stanley Park could be in doubt after Tom Hicks told architects to look at extending Anfield.

 

Manchester City players are fearing for their futures under the ownership of the Abu Dhabi United Group.

 

Everton manager David Moyes will sign a double-your-money deal this week.

 

David Bentley could be poised for an astonishing move to Liverpool in January.

 

Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp wants to sign Jimmy Bullard.

 

Bolton manager Gary Megson has been alerted to the availability of Julio Cruz.

 

Aston Villa are lining up a fresh bid for Kevin Doyle.

 

Roy Keane has put the blocks on Michael Chopra leaving for Cardiff.

 

Arsenal are ready to raid Monaco for Frederic Nimani.

 

Blackburn boss Paul Ince wants Liverpool reserve striker Nathan Eccleston.

 

Barnsley manager Simon Davey has two matches to save his job.

 

Rangers have become the target for two groups of investors from eastern Europe.

 

Andy Cole is the shock name in the frame should Colin Calderwood part company with Nottingham Forest.

 

SUNDAY EXPRESS

 

The Premier League are planning to link up with the Football League to stage competitive games abroad.

 

Chelsea could be forced to sell players after Roman Abramovich lost £12billion on the Russian stock exchange. mackems.gif

 

Newcastle boss Joe Kinnear never met former vice-president Tony Jimenez.

 

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has labelled Wilson Palacios as the new Michael Essien - and is determined to sign him from Wigan for £15million.

 

David Moyes has admitted he was ready to quit Everton in the summer - until an "inspirational" speech from Sir Bobby Robson.

 

Rangers and Watford are the latest clubs to be lined up for foreign ownership.

 

THE MAIL ON SUNDAY

 

West Ham are up for sale - and owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson may have to accept as little as £50million within the next few weeks.

 

Manchester United face losing AIG as their main sponsors as the global financial crisis bites.

 

Andrei Arshavin could yet move to Tottenham in January.

 

Manchester City have earmarked Kaka as their £50million marquee signing for next summer.

 

Fenerbahce and Besiktas are showing an interest in Hull's Boaz Myhill.

 

SUNDAY MAIL

 

Kris Boyd never wants to play for Scotland under George Burley again.

 

James McFadden will consider quitting Birmingham in the summer if they don't go up.

 

Eidur Gudjohnsen reckons Celtic's Marc Crosas is destined to blossom into a Barcelona star - which is why the Catalans have a buy-back clause.

 

Partick's Chris Turner reckons Rangers' Champions League woe ruined his chances of signing for the club.

 

http://www.teamtalk.co.za/football/story/0,16368,2483_4303079,00.html

[NG32]

Lots of "coulds" in there

[Liam Liam Liam O]

Did Abramovich lose that in cold hard cash, or has the value of his investment fallen without him actually selling it.

 

Its the same as Ashley, they don't become losses until he physically realises them.

 

[Thespence]

Victims of the Dark Side? Sou must be joking!

 

THERE are few things sadder than the sight and sound of men rewriting history — and their part in it.

 

It’s bad enough being wise after the event. But far worse when that event was, partly at least, your doing.

 

And lo, we come to the latest chapters of the Geordie gospel according to Graeme Souness, pictured right, and Sam Allardyce, pictured left. A Newcastle Testament, as it were.

 

The archetypal hard luck story, in my book. Tales from the Dark Side in theirs.

 

As with most pieces of revisionism, there are kernels of truth in the self-serving arguments of this late, unlamented duo.

 

Yes, as Souness told Sky Sports last Sunday and Allardyce reiterated in print a day later, Newcastle United have, at times, been badly — nay, catastrophically — mismanaged at boardroom level.

 

Yes, as Allardyce reminded us, Newcastle finished 14th in the Premier League before he arrived and were placed 11th when he was sacked.

 

But much of what else he and Souness said is so dubious that their conclusions — that they were badly done by at an unmanageable football club — are laughable.

 

Souness, not for the first time (nor, I fear, the last), muttered of “ex-professionals” “up there” who “go out of their way to make life difficult” for players, managers and coaches.

 

“It is as if they take great delight in causing problems.”

 

Funny, but I don’t recall any of these people making life too difficult for anyone at Newcastle United during Keegan’s first spell in charge or Sir Bobby Robson’s Champions League days.

 

That’s to say, when the players, managers and coaches in question were doing a good job. Not when the manager in question was sticking Shola Ameobi on the left wing, complaining about players’ ill-fitting boots and buying Boumsong, Babayaro and Faye in the January sales.

 

“They have had some fantastic managers up there but not one of them has been given enough time because there is elements of the Press — not all of them — that constantly look on the dark side,” added Souness.

 

To which all of us Vader-esque individuals he had in mind would say two things.

 

One, that it was difficult for us to look on the bright side as Souness plunged Newcastle into what even his skipper and main dressing room ally, Alan Shearer, described as a relegation battle.

 

Two, were Keegan (last time around) and Robson, those aforementioned success stories, not given five years apiece — eons in football’s modern age — by way of time?

 

No matter, for Allardyce warmed to Souey’s theme.

 

“They finished 14th under Glenn Roeder, the year I took over, and when I left they were 11th. There was no danger of relegation — we were 12 or 13 points from the relegation zone.

 

“When I was there this time last year, we had the best start in 10 years and I think people lose sight of that.”

 

Now, there’s no doubting Big Sam had more cause for complaint than Souey at getting the chop, particularly now that Mike Ashley’s true colours have been exposed.

 

And statistics are generally better accepted than conspiracy theories by way of excuses.

 

But they can also, as the old saying tells us, lie.

 

And Sam’s chosen stats conveniently overlook other facts and figures which explain why he is unmourned by the Magpie faithful.

 

Like how that “best start in 10 years” (though Robson matched it in 2001/02) had also been Newcastle’s easiest (they didn’t play a top four club until getting thumped by Liverpool in late November) in a decade.

 

And like how United won just two of his last 12 league games in charge.

 

No, where Souness and Allardyce are concerned, the bottom line is this: if they were half as good as they’d have us believe, why are they not now managing Premier League clubs? Not now managing at all, come to that?

 

But the bottom line for Newcastle United is far more serious, and my motivation for writing this article.

 

It is that, football being a small world, the continual carping of two such failures will make the Newcastle job an even less attractive destination for managers truly worthy of it.

 

http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/news/columnists/neil-farrington/2008/10/12/victims-of-the-dark-side-sou-must-be-joking-79310-22013498/