Monday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Everton have joined the race for Middlesbrough's £6m-rated winger Adam Johnson.(Daily Mirror) 
Manchester City striker David Ball is wanted on loan by injury-hit Championship side Sheffield United.(Daily Mirror) 
Former Celtic manager Gordon Strachan will put Huddersfield keeper Alex Smithies at the top of his wish-list when he takes over as boss of Middlesbrough.(Daily Mirror) 
Manchester United right-back Danny Simpson, who is on loan at Newcastle United, is ready to quit Old Trafford.(Daily Mirror) 
Manchester City face competition for Barcelona striker Thierry Henry, with the former Arsenal star also wanted by Major League Soccer side New York Red Bulls.(Daily Mirror) 
Coventry's number two keeper Dimi Konstantopoulos says he may seek a loan move away from the Ricoh Arena if his lack of match action continues. (Daily Telegraph) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has revealed that it was only on the team coach going to Anfield that he decided to use Spanish striker Fernando Torres from the start against Manchester United. (Daily Mirror) 
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp blamed suspended Jermain Defoe for his side's defeat to Stoke, saying the in-form striker would have made the difference on Saturday. (The Sun) 
Portsmouth manager Paul Hart says he will be responsible for improving the club's fortunes over the coming months and not new director of football Avram Grant.(Daily Express) 
Meanwhile, Portsmouth have received a £15m 'loan' from Israeli property developer Levi Kushnir as new owner Ali Al-Faraj attempts to restructure the club financially.(The Sun) 

AND FINALLY

Football could be heading for a swine flu crisis after Blackburn stars David Dunn and Chris Samba were diagnosed with the virus. (Daily Mirror) 
Millwall have vowed to ban for life the fan who taunted Leeds United supporters by wearing a Galatasaray shirt during Saturday's League One match. Two Leeds fans were stabbed to death the day before the Uefa Cup semi-final against the Turkish club in 2000.(The Sun)
www.bbc.co.uk

Ipswich Town - Newcastle United

After eight rounds, Tractor Boys still don’t have a win and from pre-season play-off contenders became a team that probably will struggle to avoid relegation. Popular Keano entered the season with very solid team, but also faced with the riot in the dressing room and some players are written off. Lately, team has been showing the signs of progress, but it seems they still play under the pressure of big expectations, especially at their Portman Road. At their home, three draws (Leicester, Preston and N.Forest) and one defeat (C. Palace), so far. From these clubs, only Preston perhaps could be considered as a top Championship team. Today’s opponent is the strongest so far, pressure permanently raises and in case of convincing defeat Keano’s position would be everything but safe. Midfielder Jack Colback and striker Tamas Priskin are pushing for starts after coming off the bench to score in last weekend's 3-3 draw at Doncaster. Defender Gareth McAuley is back after a ban but is doubtful with a calf injury. The Blues have only won one of their last nine games against Newcastle in all competitions and if lose they will have made their worst ever start to a Football League season.

Newcastle came in the season with big turbulences within the club. One period nobody knew who will be the club’s owner, manager or which players remain in the club. But all these concerns haven’t affected the players too much. Magpies have noticed six wins (draw and a defeat) in opening eight rounds and occupied a spot that guarantees a direct promotion. Beside that, they made the best defense record in league, keeping five clean sheets and leaking only four goals. However, team noticed two consecutive defeats on the road. First, faced with big injury problems, Newcastle weren’t capable to resist against Blackpool (1-2), than in Cup encounter with just two regular players lost vs. Peterborough (0-2). Those two games showed it won’t be as easy as it seemed in one moment. Players are fully focused again and situation with the injuries becomes better. Marlon Harewood came from Aston Villa on loan deal to substitute long time injured key striker Shola Ameobi. Excellent Argentinean Jonas Gutierrez won’t be in action for a while. Midfielders Joey Barton (foot) and Danny Guthrie (one-game ban) also won’t appear today, while full-back Danny Simpson is doubtful with an ankle injury. But, manager Chris Hughton has a “long bench” and these missings should be adequate covered. 

For home side it is obvious even now, there won’t be any promotion race this season and the middle of the table could be the highest achievement. Some improvements are visible, but I doubt it can be upgraded against maybe the best league team. For me, Newcastle are the big favorite here. Away win should be treated as a gamble bet, but additional covering a draw seems as a very safe option. High stake.

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Peterborough Utd. - Newcastle United

Peterborough needed eight rounds in Championship to got paid for some earlier good performances and notice a win. They overplayed QPR on the road (1-1), before that Palace at home (also 1-1), were fine at home against league giants WBA (2-3) and Sheff.Wed. (1-1) and their good displays finally turned into points. Against Reading at Saturday, Posh were two goals down at half-time, but came back and won 3-2. Manager Darren Ferguson (better known as Sir Alex’s son) now wants something more and he’s set to name a full-strength side, the same eleven as against Royals. Key defender, Charlie Lee remains sidelined with the ankle injury, but Ferguson has no other injury problems.. This is just the start of the season and I think we’ll wait some time to see the final limits of this squad. So far, obvious characteristics are fighting spirit and lack of respect to anyone especially at their home, London Road. Peterborough have scored 16 goals in their 10 matches in all competitions this season, failing to score in just one game. In combination with the shaky defence, it usually brings goals on both sides. Tonight’s opponent is the most expensive team in the league, bookies and audience have already written off the Posh and that should be more than enough for the hosts to be fully motivate for a tough battle.

Start of the season showed Newcastle’s clear ambition not to stay too much in the second tier. Big turbulence in the club about new owner, havn’t made serious impact to the players. Six wins from eight games launched them into direct promotion zone. But, they faced a big problems with injured players, lately. Excellent striker, Shola Ameobi broke his foot and won’t be in action for a while, while midfielder Jonas Gutierrez has a hamstring injury and also remains sidelined. New face at medical service is on-loan right-back Danny Simpson who picked a knock against Plymouth on Saturday and his appearance is doubtful. Another on-loan signing (and another defender), Zurab Khizanishvili, is ineligible for the game having already played in the second round of the competition for Blackburn. Beside these missings, boss Chris Hughton intends to rest some keys for Saturday’s trip to Ipswich and will give a chance to his youngsters, like Nile Ranger, Kazenga LuaLua, Tamas Kadar, Ryan Donaldson or Haris Vuckic. For the Magpies, return in the Premier is absolute priority. In the previous Cup’s round, they were struggling and defeated League One represent - Huddersfield Town 4-3, coming from two behind on the half-time. On the other hand, they surely won’t play with the club’s name and their pride. Peterborough should be beaten and that’s something what everyone expects from this game.

Hosts want to defeat a big name, additionally raise their confidence and “money moment” shouldn’t be overlooked. They pay attention to this competition and will play with the strongest squad, but will have to cope with strong opponent and some problems in defence line. Newcastle don’t rank this competition too high and will play with some fringe players and youngsters, but even like that should win at London Road. I predict an open game and goals on both sides. Expext offer 1.95. Over.

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