David Gray who plays for United has signed for Plymouth on loan till the end of the season. Please forgive me for not posting this earlier.
will united “sell sell sell” him at the end of the season ?
He will Sail away at the end of the season me thinks. :rolleyes:
I would like to point out that it is my belief that Chelsea don’t need any more players, and rather tham commenting on any stories linking them with players, Big Phil should be spending his time trying to figure out how to get the extra 5% out of what is already a squad good enough to win that league.
It looks like Shay Given has finally realised what a joke Newcastle are. Pity he’s taken so long though.
From The Guardian:
Dejected Given says he wants a move from Newcastle
Tim Rich
The Newcastle United goalkeeper Shay Given has shocked the club and its fans by issuing a statement saying he is dismayed at the direction the team is heading both on and off the pitch and that he is considering his fu ture at St James’ Park.
The notice, issued through his solicitor, Michael Kennedy, came four days after he left the pitch at St James’ visibly upset after Liverpool had routed Joe Kinnear’s side 5–1, a scoreline that might have been doubled but for Given’s man-of-the-match heroics.
In the statement, Kennedy said: "Shay is very despondent following the very poor performance last weekend. It was the lowest point of his football career and a performance he would not wish to be repeated. When he signed a five-year contract in 2006 it was on the basis that the club would challenge for major honours. But on the present evidence all that he can see ahead with the turmoil on and off the pitch is a battle for survival.
“Having served the club loyally for over 11 years, Shay feels compelled to consider his position in the light of the interest being expressed in him by Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham.”
Manchester City have the money to pay Newcastle the 8m fee he would probably command and Arsenal have long been linked with the Irish international but, if he is to leave St James’ Park, White Hart Lane looks the likeliest destination. The Tottenham manager, Harry Redknapp, has been a long-time admirer of the goalkeeper and would welcome the opportunity to replace Heurelho Gomes.
The one consolation Newcastle have is that in Steve Harper, who has understudied Given for more than a decade and was preferred to him in the 1999 FA Cup final, they possess a ready-made short-term replacement. But the exit of a man who looked likely to break the record number of appearances for Newcastle, held by another goalkeeper, Jimmy Lawrence, would imperil a club that has been slowly clawing its way to safety under Kinnear.
Another member of a defence made up of a mish-mash of signings from several managers, left-back Charles N’Zogbia, has indicated he is ready to quit Tyneside.
Given, who was brought to Newcastle by Kenny Dalglish from Blackburn for 1.5m in 1997, has long been dissatisfied with the direction the club has been taking. Three years ago he said: “I do not want to hang up my gloves and wonder what might have been. I don’t want to finish my career without having won a trophy.” Since then he has been through four more managers and has seen Newcastle slide towards an expensive and sometimes comic irrelevance.
Last year Given calculated that during his time there Newcastle had spent 62m on defenders alone, and that though he liked to think he had “Newcastle in the blood” he sometimes wondered privately whether he had stayed too long. Last night, he gave his public answer.
I’m shocked, never thought Given had any ambition, nice to see, what took him so fucking long though?!
He has to go to Arsenal now.
Fuck Man City or Spurs. Get into the Champions League where he belongs. Could have another five or six years in him yet.
A fantastic keeper and Ireland’s best player over the last 10 years.
I hear Spurs is most likely destination, talk bout going from one shithole to another.
Given has left it too late. A waste.
Being reported Citeh have wrapped up Wayne Bridge for 10
Manchester United have completed the signings of Serbian pair Zoran Tosic and Adem Ljajic from Partizan Belgrade.
Left-winger Tosic and midfielder Ljajic arrive at Old Trafford for an undisclosed fee although reports claim a combined figure of 16.3m.
The move had reportedly been held up by Tosic’s excessive pay demands but he has now completed his switch.
The 21-year-old goes straight into United’s squad while 17-year-old Ljajic will be loaned back out to Partizan.
Tosic - nicknamed Bambi because of his lean build - has appeared 12 times for his country and can play on either flank, having also starred for Serbia’s Under-21 side.
He will join countryman Nemanja Vidic at Old Trafford and wear the number 14 shirt while Ljajic will arrive back at United for the 2009/10 season.
Tosic increases manager Sir Alex Ferguson’s options on the left wing with Ryan Giggs and Nani already battling it out in that position although in recent weeks Ji-sung Park has also played there.
2 January 2009
Tommy Black [unattached - Barnet]
Drissa Diallo [Cheltenham - Milton Keynes Dons] Undisclosed
Heidar Helguson [Bolton - QPR] Undisclosed
Adem Ljajic [Partizan Belgrade - Man Utd] Undisclosed
Adem Ljajic [Man Utd - Partizan Belgrade] Season-long loan
Lee Molyneux [Everton - Southampton] Free
Mark Molesley [Grays - Bournemouth] Free
Eddie Nolan [Blackburn - Preston] Undisclosed
Chris O’Grady [Oldham - Bradford] Loan
Tristan Plummer [Bristol City - Torquay] Loan
Andy Sandell [Salisbury - Aldershot] Undisclosed
Ryan Smith [Millwall - Southampton] Free
Grzegorz Szamotulski [FC Ashdod - Hibernian] Free
Marc Tierney [Shrewsbury - Colchester] Undisclosed
Toran Tosic [Partizan Belgrade - Man Utd] Undisclosed
Dave Winfield [Aldershot - Salisbury] Loan
1 January 2009
Richie Barker [Hartlepool - Rotherham] Undisclosed
Adam Bygrave [Weymouth - Histon] 5,000
Luke Chadwick [Norwich - MK Dons] Free
Jack Cork [Chelsea - Watford] Loan
Wayne Curtis [Morecambe - Barrow ] Loan
Lassana Diarra [Portsmouth - Real Madrid] 20m
Simon Downer [Sutton - Rushden & Diamonds] Free
Richard Graham [Dag & Red - Kettering] Loan
David Gray [Man Utd - Plymouth] Loan
Jonatan Johansson [Malmo - Hibernian] Free
Joss Labadie [West Brom - Shrewsbury] Loan
Graeme Montgomery [Wealdstone - Dag & Red] Undisclosed
The transfer window looks set for a slow start in Italy however, where Milan are the only leading Serie A side to have said that they want to do business in January.
Chief executive Adriano Galliani said on Monday that the seven-times European champions are looking for a left-back but the Italian media has suggested that Liverpool centre-back Daniel Agger is their top target amid uncertainty about Alessandro Nesta’s return from a stubborn back problem.
With Gennaro Gattuso out for six months after knee surgery, an extra midfielder could be useful too. Coach Carlo Ancelotti has said David Beckham can provide cover, but the Englishman is only staying for a few months on loan from LA Galaxy and doubts remain about whether a winger can fill Gattuso’s central role.
Juventus are thought to be looking for a defender too with Dario Knezevic and Jonathan Zebina expected to remain unavailable with injuries until March.
The Turin club have their sights set on Portuguese centre-back Manuel da Costa, who is struggling for a place at Fiorentina, while Juve are also hoping to take advantage of Valencia’s financial problems to land midfielder David Silva.
Inter’s dealings will depend on whether Adriano moves on after irritating coach Jose Mourinho with repeated indiscipline.
The leaders are being linked with Genoa’s Diego Milito, although club president Enrico Preziosi said he would not sell the Argentine forward for 30 million ($42.55 million).
Real Madrid have dominated the transfer news in Spain as the injury-hit Primera Liga champions seek to boost their chances of closing the 12-point gap to leaders Barcelona.
The club is locked in a dispute with UEFA over whether the two signings already agreed - striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar from Ajax and midfielder Lassana Diarra from Portsmouth - can both play in the Champions League. New Real coach Juande Ramos has said he is also interested in signing a winger and players named in the Spanish media as possible targets include Aston Villa’s Ashley Young, Liverpool’s Jermaine Pennant, Aaron Lennon from Ramos’s previous club Tottenham Hotspur and Wigan’s Antonio Valencia.
German champions Bayern Munich have warned their fans not to expect too many signings but they have targeted SV Hamburg striker Ivica Olic, who has had an outstanding season so far, to partner Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose up front.
“We have said we are interested (in Olic). Now we have to wait and see how things unfold,” Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said recently.
German media have also reported an interest by Bayern in Chelsea’s Florent Malouda.
Bayern striker Lukas Podolski could move from Munich back to Cologne, his former club, if the price is right, especially since the arrival of another striker, Landon Donovan, who recently joined the champions on loan from LA Galaxy.
Surprise league leaders Hoffenheim, who signed former Germany keeper Timo Hildebrand in December, want to strengthen their squad with a central defender and a left-back ahead of what could be their first Champions League experience next year.
In France, seven-times champions Olympique Lyon are ready to spend to make their mark on the European stage at last and will not be put off by the financial climate, chairman Jean-Michel Aulas told daily L’Equipe last week.
Aulas hinted Lyon would first try to sign defenders and would not let last season’s top scorer Karim Benzema go.
Fernando Cavenaghi’s agent told France Football magazine the Argentine striker would be keen to leave Bordeaux for Tottenham if the Premier League club confirm their interest in the player, who has also been linked with a move to Liverpool.
[quote=“Mac”]2 January 2009
Eddie Nolan [Blackburn - Preston] Undisclosed
[/quote]
I thought the yound Dise man would break into the rovers forst team this year, but the change of manager seemed to set him back. Good move this though, PNE are a decent side.
Wayne Bridge going for somewhere in the region of 12m is wrong.
Wenger has apparently said that he doesn’t want a keeper so that may rule out Given’s move there.
Man Utd should go for him I think. I hope they dont though.
Is Given that good or are there a few green tinted glasses involved here?
I think he is. As good as anyone.
Given is a superb shot stopper and his all round game is solid enough…His distribution can be poor at times and he doesn’t seem to be the best organiser of a defense(although I don’t think the good lord himself could organise the likes of Boumsong, Bramble, Andy O Brien and Cacapa etc)…He is definatly one of the better ones in the league, I would probably only rate Pepe Reina higher, he is every bit as good as van der sar and cech** IMO…
**Cech isn’t half the keeper he was since he got the head injury against Reading a year or two ago
Given’s very agile and an excellent shot stopper. He’s not terribly tall in comparison to Van der Sar or Cech and sometimes seems nailed to his goal-line when crosses and corners are coming in. That’s probably his main weakness. An extra bit of height or reach would probably have seen him save, for example, Henry’s curler for France against Ireland at Landsdowne Road too - great goal though it was. It’s hardly his fault that he’s had a disgraceful defence in front of him during his Newcastle career but some people will use it as amunition to argue he doesn’t marshall his defence strongly enough. As I say, it’s tough to do that if they’re generally rubbish players. Overall, I reckon he’s a very good 'keeper but a bit short (literally) of being a great one.
Given is the shortest keeper in the Premiership AFAIK. Would agree with Puke’s assessment on his distribution-always thought that was his weakness. His only one mind you. Goalkeepers can go on for years so he still has a few good ones ahead of him yet.
tardelli was touting him for serie A a few months back, milan seem to have shit keepers over the past few years so that would be a great move for him,