Birmingham - Most popular for January 2008
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The second half of today's transfer rumours haul... Reading's Steve Coppell will prise open his
wallet and shell out £700,000 on Czech Republic international midfielder Marek Matejovsky.
(Mirror) Bolton's Gary Megson wants to bag Real Madrid's Javier Saviola and hopes his arrival will
paper over the cracks of Nicolas Anelka's iminent departure.
Tottenham boss Juande Ramos has a list of players he wants to kick out, and it consists of eight
players: 'keeper Paul Robinson, Jermain Defoe, Pascal Chimbonda, Lee Young-Pyo, Anthony Gardner,
Paul Stalteri, Wayne Routledge and Hossam Ghaly. (The Sun) ...And on the other side of the coin
Rangers full-back Alan Hutton has yet again reached [.
Part two of Monday's piping hot batch of rumours... Birmingham manager Alex McLeish is still
sniffing around Schalke 04's Danish winger-striker hybrid Peter Lovenkrands. (Mirror) Gareth
Southgate is determined to stop the Middlesbrough exodus which started in the summer with Yakubu
and Viduka jumping ship, and looks set to continue with Jonathan Woodgate by slamming the [.
Lots of rumoured transfer cross-polleination in today's batch of rumours. Arsenal's Lassana Diarra
told Arsene Wenger that he wasn't in the right frame of mind to play against Spurs in the Carling
Cup, and now Man City look to be at the front of the queue for the unstable midfielder. (Guardian)
...Midfielder Gilberto Silva will deal with [.
All the latest transfer guff from the papers... The latest manager expressing a desire to take a
swig from the St James' poison chalice is ex-Liverpool supremo Gérard Houllier. (Various)
Manchester United chief exec David Gill has told anyone who will listen that the Old Trafford
transfer S.W.A.T. team will remain dormant for the January transfer frolics.
Three Arsenal players have temporarily left Arsenal for the African Cup of Nations, which will take
place between January 20th and February 10th.
Alex Song earned a call-up to the Cameroon national team after some impressive Carling Cup
performances as a center back. The 20 year-old, who has made 10 appearances this season, has not
yet earned his first cap, but will be hoping to do so during the Cup of Nations this January and
February.
A veritable swarm of transfer rumours for friday.... Newly re-crowned Toon king Kevin Keegan is
attempting to hit the ground running. Armed with a huge vat of cash but with just two weeks to
spend it, Keegan will try and nab both Jermain Defoe (to add to Newcastle's phalanx of strikers)
and Shaun Wright-Phillips [.
Rangers manager Walter Smith will throw his hat into the ring for the race to sign Everton's James
McFadden. The Ibrox club will have to contend with interest from Birmingham and Celtic, with
Birmingham's Alex McLeish ready to bid up to £5.5m to try and bag McFadden. (Sunday Herald) Fulham
gaffer Roy Hodgson is preparing a [.
The first swig of a two-part heady brew of midweek transfer rumours... Everton and Portsmouth are
both after Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell after the ginger maestro turned down a loan move to
Sunderland. (The Sun) Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp is close to bagging Arsenal midfielder Lassana
Diarra, luring him in with promises of first team football.
Arsenal's arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur travel to the Emirates for the first leg of the Carling Cup
semifinals on Wednesday to face the mighty Gunners for the third time this season.
Arsene Wenger has already defeated two of Juande Ramos' sides this season, including Sevilla in the
Champions League before the Spaniard made the switch to North London.
Everton's ginger supremo David Moyes remains confident that Joleon Lescott will sign a new Everton
deal despite being linked in the ‘mee-ja' with a move to Arsenal or Manchester United. (Various)
Birmingham boss Alex McLeish has managed to nab Aston Villa defender Gary Cahill , beating Boltonto
his signature.
The second transfer rumour batch of the day... Birmingham's Alex McLeish is still trailing
Everton's James McFadden and he has cranked up his transfer stun gun from 'derisory' to 'bite their
hand off' with a £5.5m bid. (Daily Record) ...And Birmingham will snap up Hibernian's David Murphy
for £1.5m.
The second swig from Caught Offside's potent daily transfer pint... Chelsea's powerhouse Ivorian
striker Didier Drogba has admitted that he would love to team up with Samuel Eto'o at Barcelona
next season. (Various) Fulham gaffer Roy Hodgson wants to snap up Teemu Tainio after Spurs boss
Juande Ramos told the Finnish midfielder that he was finished as [.
Part one of todays bulging and mewing burlap sack of rumours... Liverpool full back John Arne Riise
has claimed (via his agent) that he isn't about to jump the Anfield ship and scuttle over to
Newcastle. (Various) ...Meanwhile on the other side of Stanley Park, David Moyes is confident that
star defender and goal machine Joleon [.
Upsets left right and centre in today's FA Cup action. But what was the biggest shock?Coventry
somehow managed to obliterate Blackburn 4-1, whilst League One Huddersfield beat Birmingham 2-1.
Special mention should also go to Sheffield United who booted out Bolton with a 1-0 win lowly and
injury ravaged Oldham, who beat Everton 1-0 at [.
The second slice of steaming transfer scheming... Despite Manchester United's firm denial that they
will be bringing anyone in over the January transfer window, they are being linked with a swoop for
Hertha Berlin's left-back Gilberto who could be used as back-up for Patrice Evra. (Daily Mail)
Bolton gaffer Gary Megson will bring in AZ [.
A steaming pile of weekend transfer rumours courtesy of Sportingo... Liverpool's lanky paperclip of
a striker has had enough of the transfer guff being spoken about him and he has reiterated his
desire to stay at the club. This will come as a disappointment to Sven Goran Eriksson, who was said
to be monitoring events [.
The Times has lovingly compiled the Top 25 January signings, and in at number one is David
Bentley's transfer from Arsenal to Blackburn. Times journo Tom Dart writes: "Already on loan,
Blackburn made the deal permanent two years ago. Whatever the undisclosed fee was, it was a bargain
– Bentley blossomed and was [.
Liverpool gaffer Rafa Benitez is set to celebrate his new transfer kitty by splurging on Argentine
skillster Pablo Aimar from Real Zaragoza. (News of the World) When Fabio Capello announces his
first England squad there will be one major surprise; Reading's ginger strike sensation Paul Kitson
will be included.
The Daily Telegraph reports that when Gunners boss Arsene Wenger was asked if his team's 1-1 home
draw with lowly Brum was their worst effort this season, he instantly replied with a resounding
"yes". Wenger unflinchingly called it "The poorest game we have played," And Arsenal's last two
home games, draws with Tottenham [.
A host of January transfer high jinks... Everton's David Moyes has finally had enough of Alex
McLeish's farting around with miniscule £2.5m bids and has told the Birmingham City manager that
James McFadden will not be leaving for anything less than £5m. (The Express) Arsenal boss Arsene
Wenger is trailing Marseille's £5million-rated Ghanaian whizz-kid Andre Ayew.
The ever-popular Three Things series has expanded to include matchday action, and this weekend
we'll be dealing with the glorious FA Cup. Some people saw this match in all its live glory, others
on the telly, and some not at all. Either way everyone probably saw it differently and here's your
chance to tell each [.
League leaders Arsenal host 16th-placed Birmingham on Saturday as the London giants look to stay
clear ahead of Manchester United at the top of the table.
The Gunners are unbeaten in their last nine games in all competitions, having won seven and drawn
two. They have not lost a game in the Premier League since early December, and have every reason to
believe that their recent unbeaten run will continue on Saturday.
Contrary to earlier reports, Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann will be staying at Arsenal until the
Summer. I reported on Wednesday that the keeper had all but signed a deal with Borussia Dortmund
with only minor details to be sorted out. However, Lehmann has decided to stay in the Premier
League, promising to fight for a starting spot rather than be ensured regular first-team football
in the Bundesliga.
Barclay's English Premier League leaders Arsenal may lose their top spot to Manchester United today
when the Red Devils host Newcastle United at Old Trafford. The Gunners went into the weekend two
points ahead of their nearest rivals, but dropped two unlikely points at home against lowly
Birmingham.
The Blues were outplayed throughout most of the 90 minutes, and Arsenal looked sure to win after
taking an early lead thanks to an Emmanuel Adebayor penalty kick.
Manchester City and Birmingham City have agreed to a transfer fee
for Greek international striker Georgios Samaras. The player is
currently negotiating personal terms with Birmingham.
Samaras joined Manchester City for 6m pounds
from Dutch side Heerenven FC two January transfer windows back in
2006.
If Didier Drogba leaves Chelsea, Avram Grant will try and nab Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o and are
rumoured to be willing to pay up to £40m. (Sunday Express) ...And Drogba's Ivorian teammate Yaya
Toure has let the cat out of the bag, saying that the striker fancies a move to Barcelona, AC Milan
or Real Madrid.
Part two of our rumour jamboree... Fulham boss Roy Hodgson is showing that his years on the
continent have turned him into a fine tuned scouting machine. He is now demonstrating that he has
his finger on football's pulse by rescuing veteran Finnish international Jari Litmanen from the
nackers yard. (Various) Blackburn Rovers are about to [.
Hailed by all and sundry as one of the best buys in the history of football (ok, that is possibly a
tad over the top), Blackburn Rovers defender was actually considering leaving the UK because of
homesickness and a primal fear of rotten Lancastrian weather. Thankfully, faced with cowering in
fear and loneliness under [.
Liverpool fell further behind in the title race on Sunday after failing to convert any number of
chances against Manchester City. The gap between them and league leaders Arsenal is now thirteen
points, causing Reds manager Rafael Benitez to take the unusual step in declaring tonight's match
against Wigan as 'must-win'.
Egyptian international Hossam Ghaly was all set to join Birmingham City at the start of this
season. The player was set to seal a £3 million move from Tottenham before the transfer hit a snag
- namely that then-manager Steve Bruce was upset by some of the supposed comments that Ghaly had
made about training [.
Saturday, 19 January 2008 Birmingham 1-2 Chelsea - Chelsea will win this one, but not as
convincingly as they would like. Put money on James McFadden to score on his debut from 30 yards
out. Blackburn 1-1 Middlesbrough - Boro are slowly curling out some half decent results, and I
think they could be good value for [.
Birmingham City are doing all they can to stave off relegation and are signing the players with
class and quality to help them sustain top flight status for at least one more season. Goal.com
reports that the Midlands Blues have signed promising Argentine young striker Mauro Zarate from
Qatar club Al-Saad on loan for until [.
Newcastle buzzed with electricity. The entire town pitched in, stealing Burger King hats and
spray painting them black and white. The Geordie Messiah took the pitch to a rockstar's welcome.
Mike Ashley ordered a whopper, but he didn't have it his way as Newcastle drew Bolton 0-0 at St.
James park.
Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish has abandoned plans to sign Manchester City
striker Georgios Samaras.
But McLeish has decided to concentrate on trying to strengthen other areas of his team after
signing James McFadden from Everton and Mauro Zarate on loan from Al Sadd.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has every reason to be unhappy these days. His team are
two points behind Arsenal in the English Premier League and his players are hitting the headlines
for unenviable reasons (read party, booze and rape). And now the Old Trafford crowd too appears to
have taken the cue.
James McFadden has been reduced to a few cameo performances for Everton this season, although the
Scottish international has an old friend requiring his services. Step forward Alex McLeish,
formerly manager of his native Scotland and now in charge of Birmingham City. According to Sky
Sports, the Blues have already had a £2.
It looks like Birmingham have again failed with an ultra stingy James McFadden bid; upping their
original £2.5m, to £3m. The Press Association reports that: "Blues boss Alex McLeish will have to
splash out around £5million to secure McFadden's services, but City striker Garry O'Connor
believes he would be worth the outlay.
James McFadden is set to team up with former Scotland gaffer Alex McLeish at Birmingham City
reports the Guardian, Stuart James writes: "James McFadden is expected to complete a £5m move from
Everton to Birmingham City in time to feature against Chelsea at St Andrew's on Saturday. Alex
McLeish has failed with two [.
All the remaining scraps from Transfer Top Table.... Aston Villa's defender Martin Laursen has
signed a new contract with the club, to much joyous whooping and hollering. (Various) Despite
remaining tight lipped, inside sources say that Spurs' sporting director Damien Commolli is flying
to France at the weekend for talks with Lyon striker Fred.
