Febuary Football gossip 2009

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Thursday 05th Febuary gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP
Manchester United are finally ready to sign Carlos Tevez on a permanent basis in a deal worth up to £30m. (Daily Mirror)

Aston Villa are to demand to know why Andrey Arshavin's transfer to Arsenal was only confirmed 24 hours after the January transfer window deadline. (The Sun)

Midfielder Stephen Hunt has snubbed interest from Tottenham and Everton by signing a long-term deal at Reading. (Daily Star)

Former Chelsea midfielder Sam Dalla Bona is hoping to secure a trial at West Ham after being released by Napoli. (Daily Express)

Manchester City youngster Michael Johnson is considering a summer move away from the club. (The Independent)

David Beckham has a get out clause that allows him to leave MLS' LA Galaxy for nothing on 30 November. (Daily Express)

OTHER FOOTBALL GOSSIP
Bournemouth are set for yet more financial turmoil after a takeover consortium collapsed. (Daily Star)

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis has warned a club will come a financial cropper in the 'wild west' of the Premier League. (Daily Star)

Manchester City forward Robinho has claimed he can become the best player in the world at the Premier League club. (Daily Mirror)

AND FINALLY
ITV viewers were left fuming during the closing stages of Wednesday night's Merseyside derby after adverts replaced the live action seconds before Dan Gosling's 118th minute winner. (Various)

A Manchester United groundsman has revealed how he once found one of the club's stars sunbathing on the pitch under the UV lights used to help the grass grow at the Theatre of Dreams. (The Sun)

New Arsenal signing Andrey Arshavin has a double life as a dress designer. (Daily Star)

 

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Friday 06th Febuary gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP
Manchester United are in pole position to sign Wigan midfielder Antonio Valencia after Latics manager Steve Bruce conceded it is "inevitable" he will leave in the summer. (Various)

Real Madrid are set to top Manchester United's offer for on-loan striker Carlos Tevez, with the Old Trafford outfit set to put a £75,000-a-week deal on the table to try to persuade the Argentine to stay. (Daily Mirror)

Barcelona are prepared to let former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry leave the Nou Camp in the summer for about £12m as they look to sign midfielder Franck Ribery for £25m from Bayern Munich. (The Sun)

Nottingham Forest want to sign Birmingham winger Gary McSheffrey when the loan window opens next week. (Daily Star)

Former Leeds United defender Ian Harte says he hopes to use a move to St Mirren to resurrect his dream of playing for Celtic. (Daily Record)

OTHER FOOTBALL GOSSIP
Portsmouth manager Tony Adams says he will not quit the club, despite facing a barrage of criticism from fans after the 3-1 defeat by Fulham. (Various)

Uefa president Michel Platini is ready to ban clubs from European competition, if they spend beyond their means, after hitting out at Manchester City's "ridiculous" £108m bid for AC Milan star Kaka. (Various)

Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso has lifted the lid on the power struggle at Anfield and admitted the club's American owners and manager Rafael Benitez are involved in a "tug of war". (The Sun)

England manager Fabio Capello has hinted that he will hand midfielder David Beckham the chance to equal Bobby Moore's record of 108 caps in the friendly against Spain. (Various)

Wigan signing Charles N'Zogbia has hit out at former club Newcastle and believes they should sack manager Joe Kinnear as they need someone who can control the club properly. (Various)

Birmingham striker James McFadden has been ruled out of Scotland's World Cup qualifier against the Netherlands next month after scans revealed he has ligament damage. (Various)


AND FINALLY
Fans of Los Angeles Galaxy have vented their anger at David Beckham after he said he wants to stay with AC Milan, some have said they want their money back after ticket prices and merchandise went up to help fund Beckham's salary package. (Daily Star)

 

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Monday 09th Febuary gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP
AC Milan general manager Adriano Galliani admits their offer for David Beckham is way off what LA Galaxy want - the Americans are believed to value the midfielder at £15m. (Daily Mirror)

Wigan boss Steve Bruce is lining up a summer move for Wolves and England Under-21 winger Michael Kightly. (Daily Mirror)

Tottenham are winning the race to sign Huddersfield goalkeeper Alex Smithies. (Daily Mirror)

Stoke have agreed a £1m fee to make the loan deal of Birmingham right-back Stephen Kelly permanent in May. (Daily Mirror)

Arsenal are eyeing Swindon right-back Nathan Thompson, who is also being watched by Tottenham, Everton and Newcastle. (Daily Mirror)

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish is set to offer Doncaster £1.5m to take centre-back Matt Mills on loan to St Andrews until the end of the season. (Daily Mirror)

Coventry are set to make a summer move for Hearts' £2m-rated winger Andrew Driver after the clubs failed to agree a fee for the 21-year-old during the January transfer window. (Daily Mirror)


OTHER FOOTBALL GOSSIP
Tony Adams was sacked as Portsmouth manager on Sunday after just 15 weeks in charge. (Various)

Avram Grant, Alan Curbishley and Sven Goran Eriksson will be considered by Portsmouth to replace Adams. (Daily Mail)

Grant has been lined up by Portsmouth owner Alexander Gaydamak to take over from Adams at Fratton Park. (Daily Star)

Newcastle manager Joe Kinnear will find out on Monday if he is fit enough to stay on at the club - the 62-year-old missed Saturday's 3-2 win at West Brom having been rushed to hospital with pains in his left arm. (Various)

Aston Villa striker Emile Heskey is expected to withdraw from the England squad for Wednesday's friendly against Spain with an Achilles injury. (Various)

Ipswich chairman David Sheepshanks has withdrawn from the shortlist from which the next chief executive of the Football Association will be chosen. (Daily Mail).

Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc has lost the Celtic dressing room after his behind-the-scenes bust-up with team-mate Aiden McGeady. (Daily Record)


AND FINALLY
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has blasted Premier League players for being too pampered, claiming many players from the top flight would not have survived 20 years ago and need to "toughen up". (Daily Star)

England midfielder David Beckham jetted in to London for an early Valentine's Day celebration with wife Victoria. (Daily Star)

 

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Tuesday 10th January gossip column

CHELSEA GOSSIP
Guss Hiddink in talks with Chelsea about becoming temporary boss until the end of the season (Reuters, 1152 GMT)

Chelsea will appoint a new manager within the next 24 hours from a shortlist of two - former Blues boss Avram Grant or Russia manager Guus Hiddink. (Sky Sports, 0920 GMT)

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich wants AC Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti to replace the axed Luiz Felipe Scolari. The Italian has an agreement to leave the San Siro Stadium at the end of the season. (The Sun)

Abramovich is in discussions with the Russian FA for an agreement so Hiddink can continue his duties as national team boss and take over the reins at Stamford Bridge. (Daily Mail)

Roberto Mancini and Frank Rijkaard head the managerial shortlist as Chelsea only want an experienced coach currently out of work, allowing them to take over immediately. (Daily Telegraph, Times)

Scolari's agent says Chelsea's failure to sign Robinho contributed to his downfall. "He wanted Robinho but Chelsea didn't want to spend the money," said Acaz Felleger. (Daily Mail)

Brazil manager Dunga has backed compatriot Scolari to succeed in his next managerial post. (Guardian, Daily Star)

PORTSMOUTH GOSSIP
Portsmouth are lining up former England and Manchester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson to replace Tony Adams at Fratton Park. (Various)

Ex-Chelsea boss Avram Grant and Alan Curbishley, the bookmakers' favourites, do not figure prominently in Portsmouth owner Alexandre Gaydamak's thoughts. (Daily Telegraph)

Curblishey's ambitions could be complicated by a legal wrangle with former club West Ham, whom he is suing for £1.5m. (Guardian)

TRANSFER GOSSIP
Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce will have £9m-rated Austria striker Marc Janko, who plays for Red Bull Salzburg, watched against Sweden on Wednesday. (Daily Mirror)

Hearts manager Csaba Laszlo has spoken of his admiration for Turkish international striker Ersen Martin, a player he hopes to lure to Tynecastle this summer. (Edinburgh Evening News)

OTHER FOOTBALL GOSSIP
Sir Alex Ferguson believes Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs should be knighted. (The Sun)

Rio Ferdinand wants England to emulate Manchester United's defence prowess. (Daily Star)

Arsenal and Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas says Fabio Capello has turned England into genuine World Cup contenders after getting them to play like Italy. (Daily Mirror, Express)

Club team-mate Robin van Persie says Arsenal are not scoring enough goals. (The Sun)

Liverpool striker Andrey Voronin, currently on loan at Hertha Berlin, says he would go back to Anfield to ease the striker crisis after the departure of Robbie Keane. (Various)

Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce is backing keeper Paul Robinson to become England's number one once again, despite missing out on Fabio Capello's squad to face Spain. (Express)

AND FINALLY
Steven Gerrard says he has read his favourite book, John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men, so many times "the book has almost fallen apart". The Liverpool midfielder also once wrote a story about winning the World Cup at school for an English assignment. (Daily Star)

Gerrard's wife Alex says the credit crunch has put a stop to extravagant spending by WAGs. (The Sun)