The latest from the transfer rumour-mill has West Ham striker Freddie Sears as the next Newcastle United transfer target and potential exits for Campbell and Enrique. I'm not sure where the Sears rumour started but various reports have Pardew bemoaning the fact that the team suffered on Saturday due to the absence of Carroll and [.

Having already promoting promises of their maturity this season, Arsenal, once again left some question mark for their fans' hopes after the Gunners surprisingly suffered a 1-0 in the Carling Cup against Ipswich Town, despite fielding a pretty strong squad.

One of the cause of the defeat is being placed in the defensive department as with many injuries facing their main defenders, the substitutes' quality seemed far behind.

After a two-year absence, the MLS Supplemental Draft is back. Why not just have more rounds in the MLS SuperDraft? We don't know. However, we will list everyone right here and provide follow-up if the Chicago Fire select anyone. MLSSoccer.com has a rundown of the top players available.

Round 1 Pick Club Player's Name Position School/Previous Club 1
2
3
(from DC)
4
(from CHV)
5
6 7
8
9 10 11 12

(from DC, CLB)

13
(from NY)
14 15
(from SJ) 16 17 18
(from COL)

Rounds 2 & 3 after the break.

What do you get when you cross an eccentric, former footballer turned aspiring actor, with a footy team whose glory years have long since been relegated to the history books? The return of the New York Cosmos?

A new Frenchman has landed in the Big Apple and if past experience is anything to go by, he intends to take the New York Cosmos to the top of the football ladder.

By the time you've read this AEK will have signed 29 year old,Nabil Baha,a Morrocan who has been plying his trade with Malaga in Spain's top league.Baha is a striker,who will be coming to Athens on loan till the summer,where we"ll then have an option to buy him outright.In 107 appearances for Malaga he has scored 43 goals.

With Andy Carroll missing the next two games and possibly even more after that - Shola Ameobi, Nile Ranger and Peter Lovenkrands are the players who can get the job done for Newcastle in Andy's absence. Peter Lovenkrands - big opportunity for Peter tomorrow We should all hear back later today about just how bad [.

Just when things seems to start going well again for Chelsea, the London club once again left disappointed last weekend after dropping more points from the teams above them in the league after Carlo Ancelotti's boys failed to secure the three point against Aston Villa.

Despite getting a 3-2 lead with just a few minutes left in the clock, the Blues bottled their lead and gave away a late equalizer in injury time which left the Italian coach bitter, claiming the absentees in defense were one of the important aspect that cost the the three points.

The Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been talking frankly about the transfer window, and has admitted that if Thomas Vermaelen does not react well to his latest treatment then the Gunners may be forced to buy another centre-back to cover the Belgian's absence. Wenger admitted: "Yes, should Thomas Vermaelen not come back quickly that is an [.

Has to up the ante from now onwards

This was not something immediately made known after the Leeds United game. It turned out that Sebastien Squillaci has pulled some sort of hamstring and might miss a certain number of games. Examining the statement again, it is not hard to understand why Arsene Wenger might be forced into a January purchase for a centreback.

You can tell the true value of a player by their absence. On Sunday, Luka Modric jogged purposefully on to the pitch at half time and proceed to transform a lacklustre Tottenham team. Before and after – the footballing equivalent of a Head and Shoulders advert. Before – dry and dull, all the shine has [.

In the absence of any confirmed transfer news, speculation continues to dominate the tabloids and online rumour mills.

One of the names to be linked with a move to Spurs this month is Mark Van Bommel who was apparently been told by Bayern Munich that he can leave the club. The player is out of contract this summer and at 34, Bayern could be looking to cash in now for a fee in the region of £3m.

Having already promoting promises of their maturity this season, Arsenal, once again left some question mark for their fans' hopes after the Gunners surprisingly suffered a 1-0 in the Carling Cup against Ipswich Town, despite fielding a pretty strong squad.

One of the cause of the defeat is being placed in the defensive department as with many injuries facing their main defenders, the substitutes' quality seemed far behind.

Manchester United goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak has insisted that he finds in himself a suitable replacement for 40 year-old Edwin van der Sar claiming he is good enough to fill in the gloves when the Dutch finally calls quit.

Van der sar has been recently out with a flu, and the current Manchester United number 1 is considering his options concerning either retiring or going on for Manchester United.

As many of us have started to realise, there is very little wrong with our first eleven, and this was again evident in our comfortable 3-0 win away at West Ham. We controlled the game and although West Ham had the odd chance, they never really got into the game, the absence of Scott Parker playing a role in this of course.

Union

According to the Geman newspaper Nürnberg Zeitung, Toronto FC are also interested in Marek Mintal. In the report, FC Nürnberg Sports Director Martin Bader confirms the interest in Mintal from the Union: "There is a free request." The report goes on to say that "Mintal himself was tight-lipped yesterday and would not comment on the speculation surrounding his future.

Two London based clubs, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspurs are chasing each other in the league table at the moment and their battle could soon expand into the transfer market zone after both teams reportedly are competing to sign Everton's Streven Pienaar.

After Chelsea submitted an offer around three million pound last Sunday, latest report from England also confirmed that Spurs' have already done the same thing and at the moment both teams are allowed to negotiate with the player.

Were you ever in a gang at school or shortly after, maybe not a gang but a group of people you always gravitated towards?

Security in numbers: there is often a leader that others look to whose presence empowers and energises the rest; when missing there is a tangible drop in the collective self belief but on his return confidence is restored and a feeling prevails that things can be achieved when at other times they might not.

The transfer window finally kick started this week Aston Villa made sure it wouldn't be a dull one, but what does the less glamorised move of David Wheater from Boro to Bolton mean for the next 11 days of the market? Having signed for an initial £2.3m, Wheater steps into a defence that is predominantly English, with Zat Knight and Gary Cahill established at Trotters rear, in front of the eternally youthful Jaaskelainen.

NEWCASTLE, England Newcastle manager Alan Pardew fears Alan Smith could be out for the season with the ankle injury he sustained in last weekend's derby against Sunderland. The midfielder had a scan on the joint on Wednesday and complications from a previous injury mean his absence is likely to be far longer than first [.

An important part of Newcastle's game this afternoon against Spurs, is how our two big front men perform, in the absence of Andy Carroll. Leon Best - an important player for Newcastle this afternoon Shola Ameobi and Leon Best will again get the chance to bang in some goals for Newcastle, and how Newcastle perform [.

As expected Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has made just one change to his starting line-up from the team that started at Sunderland last Sunday. As Alan said earlier in the week, Danny Guthrie comes in to the middle of the park in the absence of the injured Alan Smith and the suspended Cheick Tiote.

Arsene Wenger is relieved to see the progress of summer signing Sebastien Squillaci as the former Sevilla defender recovers from a hamstring strain.

In the absence of Squillaci as well as long-term absentee Thomas Vermaelen, the Gunners have only had the starting pair of Laurent Koscielny and Johan Djourou to rely on in the central defense.

'La Magicast' return with the fifth episode on everything AS Roma. This episode of La Magicast marks the return of Julian after a one-week absence along with the ever-present Greg (Alex misses out due to time constraints). topics include: Julian's hatred for the Coppa, Menez and Mirko as super-subs, Totti's locker room influence, Mexes and DDR's revival.

The news on Gareth Bale's injury could be worse, but it looks like the player is set to be in the middle of a battle between club and country .

For the time being at least, the player will not need surgery for the back problem which has been troubling him for some time and which forced him off in the Newcastle game.

Tottenham have received the devastating news that star midfielder Gareth Bale is set to miss two weeks. Bale is suffering once again from a recurring back injury, and a specialist has advised the Welshmen to sit out for two weeks. Bale has been a crucial player for the Spurs this season as he has attracted worldwide attention for some scintillating displays.

Benfica have confirmed that they have received an offer from Chelsea for David Luiz and they are involved in negotiations. It is further proof that Chelsea are getting close to signing the Brazilian defender, who has been of great interest to Carlo Ancelotti for the past year or so. It is rumoured that Chelsea have had a £21 million bid plus the offer of Nemanja Matic rejected.

The Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Manuel Almunia has returned to the Arsenal squad after a prolonged absence through injury, but he will not automatically return as first choice in the Gunners squad. "He has been injured for a long time and in a situation like that you feel jobless," Wenger said.