Saturday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh has confirmed he will be joining Arsenal in the summer, saying: "It is not easy in England but the challenge in my career has always been to learn every day, keep improving and always help my club to success."(The Mirror) 
West Ham striker Mido claims he turned down an offer of £45,000 a week from another Premier League club in order to prove himself at Upton Park.(Daily Mail) 
Wigan boss Roberto Martinez has lined up a £4m summer swoop for Espanyol striker Jose Callejon.(The Mirror) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says he is happy to accept the 'green and gold' anti-Glazer campaign.(Daily Mail) 
However, he has insisted that there is "no chance" of the Red Knights persuading Manchester United supporters to boycott games in their battle to wrest control of the club from the Glazer family.(The Times) 
Birmingham have announced pre-tax losses of £20.5m for the year ending 31 August 2009, blaming 'the decision taken by the previous members of the board to retain most of their playing staff from the previous Premier League season'.(Daily Mail) 
Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan claims manager Neil Warnock only quit the club for London rivals QPR "for the money". (Daily Mirror) 
Wembley Stadium is to have its pitch re-laid for the 10th time since the rebuilt venue reopened in 2007 after fresh criticism in the past week.(The Times) 
Michael Essien is set to miss the rest of the season after a serious setback in his recovery from knee surgery.(The Sun) 

AND FINALLY

Newcastle United managing director Derek Llambias has urged supporters to cease their abuse of owner Mike Ashley and the club's board, saying: "Enough's enough. It frustrates me because we know what we've done behind the scenes and what Mike's committed to financially. We'd like to be able to go out on the town after a win - we always used to - but it's very difficult for us to do that now."(The Guardian)

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