Saturday's gossip column

BREAKING GOSSIP

Former Chelsea and Brazil boss Luiz Felipe Scolari has revealed he already is being headhunted after leaving Uzbekistan champions Bunyodkor by mutual consent. "I have enough serious offers from a number of different teams. There are two offers from European clubs, another two from Asia and one from Brazilian club. But I'm not ready to decide this now," he said. (Press Association)

TRANSFER GOSSIP

West Ham have launched an audacious move to bring LA Galaxay midfielder David Beckham back to England while trying to lure former midfielder Joe Cole back from Chelsea.(Daily Mail) 
Manchester City have stepped up their interest in Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and midfielder Yaya Toure but the Spanish side are demanding £60m for the double deal.(Daily Mail) 
Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani has rejected a move to Juventus because he wants to prove his worth at Anfield.(Footylatest.com) 
Manchester United and Arsenal are competing to sign £13m-rated Belgian playmaker Eden Hazard from French side Lille.(caughtoffside.com) 
Arsenal have had a £4.2m bid for Lorient defender Laurent Koscielny rejected. Wenger had identified the 24-year-old as a potential partner for Thomas Vermaelen.(caughtoffside.com) 
Dutch star Arjen Robben has claimed Manchester City target Rafael van der Vaart wants to join him at Bayern Munich.(Daily Mail) 
Jermaine Beckford is poised to join Everton after his Leeds contract was ripped up early.(The Sun) 

OTHER GOSSIP

West Ham co-owner David Sullivan (on photo) believes West Ham can be the Arsenal of London's East End.(Daily Mail) 
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has been handed a measly £5m summer transfer kitty.(Daily Mail)

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AND FINALLY

Hammers striker Benni McCarthy is "nearly as fat as me," says West Ham co-owner David Sullivan. "He's the one West Ham player I want to go to the World Cup because he might come back fitter."(Daily Mail)

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Maybe will be some pick(s), later. Football, no tennis, no rubbish. Stay tuned.

Friday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Arsenal and Manchester City target Yaya Toure has ruled out a move to the Premier League. The midfielder insists he is settled at Barcelona.(Daily Mail) 
Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has dismissed press speculation that he might be heading for Chelsea in the summer.(IMscouting.com) 
Liverpool winger Albert Riera could leave Anfield within weeks after his outburst against manager Rafael Benitez. CSKA Moscow and Spartak Moscow are tracking the 27-year-old and may match Liverpool's £8m valuation.(The Times) 
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will invest in young talent rather than high-profile big names in the summer as he attempts to drive down the age of his ageing squad. (Daily Star)  
Sunderland manager Steve Bruce is keen to sign on-loan full-back Alan Hutton on a permanent £6m deal from Tottenham. The transfer may help rebuild the relationship between the two clubs after Darren Bent's protracted move to the Stadium of Light last summer.(Daily Mirror) 
Former Celtic midfielder Barry Robson has tipped winger Aiden McGeady to be the next high-profile star to follow him out of Parkhead.(Daily Record) 
Everton are readying themselves for a battle with Spanish side Sevilla for £8m-rated FC Twente striker Bryan Ruiz.(The Sun) 
Meanwhile FC Twente boss Steve McClaren is looking at a bid for Hull forward Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink as he attempts to bolster his fAorward line. (The Sun) 
West Ham owner David Sullivan wants Birmingham midfielder Sebastian Larsson and defender Liam Ridgewell, but Blues boss Alex McLeish has issued a hands-off warning over the pair. (Daily Mail) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Portsmouth manager Avram Grant has threatened to field weakened teams for the remainder of the season with his side all-but relegated following a nine point penalty for entering administration. (Daily Mail) 
Bristol City may approach former Ipswich and Scotland manager George Burley as they attempt to replace Gary Johnson who parted company with the club on Thursday.(The Guardian) 
Or sacked Hull boss Phil Brown will be offered an immediate return to management with the Ashton Gate side. (Daily Star)
Doncaster manager Sean O'Driscoll is another in the frame for the Bristol City position with City chairman Steve Lansdown impressed by Doncaster's performance in a 5-2 win over the Robins earlier this month.(The Sun) 
Forward Robinho could return to Manchester City this season because of a wage dispute at his loan club Santos. (Daily Mirror) 
But City feel under no obligation to take the playmaker back, and resume paying his salary, until their loan arrangement with the Brazilian side comes to an end on 4 August.(The Independent) 
Hull City must continue to pay Phil Brown as, although he is on gardening leave, he technically remains their manager. Iain Dowie has been appointed as "football management consultant". (Daily Mail) 

AND FINALLY

Ipswich boss Roy Keane has admitted he would rather throw punches than tea cups at underperforming players, adding that it is good "to go a bit mad".(Daily Mail) 
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will offer his sympathy to under-pressure Liverpool counterpart Rafael Benitez in his programme notes for the two teams' meeting on Sunday.(Daily Mirror)

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Wednesday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will not stand in the way of captain Cesc Fabregas if he wants to leave England and join Spanish side Barcelona, according to Spanish newspaper Sport.( imscouting.com) 
Arsenal midfielder Andrey Arshavin says he would understand if team-mate Cesc Fabregas leaves the Gunners for Barcelona in the summer, but hopes the midfielder will stay at the Emirates.(Daily Mail) 
Nadir Belhadj is an unlikely target for Barcelona after the Portsmouth defender was singled out for praise from Barca midfielder Xavi Fernandes.(Daily Mirror) 
AC Milan will use striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar as bait to land Manchester United's wantaway defender Nemanja Vidic.(Daily Mirror) 
Manchester City and Chelsea are on alert after Sevilla's Brazilian striker Luis Fabiano refused to rule out a move to the Premier League.(The Sun) 
Chelsea are plotting a £70m spending spree this summer to rejuvenate their squad with Borussia Dortmund's Serbia centre-back Neven Subotic, winger Angel Di Maria, of Benfica, Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik and Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger their main targets.(Daily Express) 
Tottenham's Jamie O'Hara is ready to quit the club in a bid to further his career. The midfielder is currently on loan at Portsmouth. (Daily Mail) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Crystal Palace boss Neil Warnock will ask the FA to take into account the stress he is under working for a club in administration when investigating the comments he made about assistant referee Trevor Massey after the FA Cup match against Aston Villa last Sunday. Warnock labelled Massey a "disgrace" after the decision to wrongly award Villa a corner from which they scored a late equaliser at Selhurst Park.(Daily Mirror) 
Former Crystal Palace striker Ian Wright says he would be tempted to return to Selhurst Park as a coach if Ron Noades takes over the cash-strapped Championship club.(The Sun) 
Wolves chairman Steve Morgan believes Liverpool would be debt-free had his 2004 bid for the Merseysiders been accepted.(The Times) 
West Ham co-owner David Sullivan has offered Birmingham chief Carson Yeung £500,000 to end their dispute - but the Hong Kong billionaire has rejected it.(Daily Mirror) 
Hull manager Phil Brown is ready to gamble on midfielder Jimmy Bullard to play in his side's crunch relegation clash at West Ham on Saturday.(Daily Mirror) 
Real Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo is officially the highest paid player in the world, according to a recent list published by Portuguese marketing agency Futebol Finance. The former Manchester United star picks up a basic gross salary of £11.3m. Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor is the Premier League's highest earner on £7.4m, according to the list.(Daily Mirror) 
Former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, who is now managing Inter Milan, says the Blues would have won more trophies under him had he not left the club in 2007.(Daily Mail)
Burnley boss Brian Laws has scotched rumours of a bust-up with Clarets midfielder Joey Gudjonsson, insisting the player still has a role to play in the club's battle against relegation.(The Sun) 

AND FINALLY

Liverpool's Glen Johnson has won every major trophy with the Reds - on Championship Manager. The right back has become a big fan of the computer game while recovering from his knee injury. "I'm sick of TV now," he admits. "When you're confined to the couch you'll look at anything. Thankfully, Championship Manager got me through."(Daily Mail) 
Queens Park Rangers are on the verge of signing reality TV star Hicham Abdellah. The 17-year-old striker has made it through to the semi-finals of Football's Next Star, whose winner gets a place at the Inter Milan academy.(Daily Mirror)

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Nottingham F. 1 - 0 Sheffield U.

1 - 0 R. Earnshaw 4.min.

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AC Milan 2 - 3 Manchester U

1 - 0 Ronaldinho  3.min.
1 - 1 P. Scholes  36.min
1 - 2 W. Rooney  66.min.
1 - 3 W. Rooney  74.min.
2 - 3 C. Seedorf  85.min.

Friday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Portsmouth could lose on-loan Algerian midfielder Hassan Yebda because they cannot afford the £4m it would take to buy him from Benfica.(The Daily Mirror) 
But Pompey could be in the running for former Blackburn striker Shabani Nonda, who has been released by Galatasaray on a free.(The Daily Mirror) 
Sunderland have not given up their interest in Paraguay striker Salvador Cabanas in the summer - despite the player being in hospital at the moment after being shot in the head last month.(Daily Star) 
Manchester United are interested in bringing Benfica's Brazilian Under-20 international defender David Luiz to Old Trafford.(The Daily Mail) 

OTHER GOSSIP

The Premier League could advance Portsmouth their end-of-season payment to help the club stay afloat, provided the other Premier League clubs all agree.(The Daily Mail) 
Former Manchester United striker Andy Cole is drooling over his old club's performances this season and says Wayne Rooney is in the form of his life.(The Daily Mirror) 
Manchester City midfielder Stephen Ireland, 23, feels liberated under new manager Roberto Mancini because he feels he was played out of position by previous boss Mark Hughes.(The Daily Mirror) 
West Ham co-owner David Sullivan says he is glad his mind games have worked after the team responded to talk of a pay cut with their first win of the year when they beat Birmingham on Wednesday night.(The Sun) 
Former Notts County director of football Sven-Goran Eriksson could be on his way to the World Cup as Nigeria and North Korea both want the Swede to take over as manager.(The Daily Mirror) 
Wayne Bridge has been warned he can forget about going to the World Cup if he boycotts England's next game against Egypt on 3 March.(The Independent) 
England's home weekend international fixtures could be moved to Friday nights from the autumn onwards.(Daily Express) 
Hibernian defender Sol Bamba says his Ivory Coast team-mates wanted to pull out of last month's Africa Cup of Nations after receiving death threats after the attack on the Togo team, and only the nation's president persuaded them to take part(Daily Record) 

AND FINALLY

Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher says the fact their second-top scorer this season is own goals by opponents - 10 goals - is because they put opponents under so much pressure.(The Sun)
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Tuesday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery has admitted he is tempted to link up with his France team-mate Thierry Henry at Barcelona.(The Guardian) 
Arsenal are closing in on the signing of Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh after his proposed move to Liverpool collapsed. (The Times) 
Barcelona and Sevilla have targeted Madjid Bougherra after the Rangers defender impressed during the Africa Cup of Nations. (Daily Record)
Rangers defender Stevie Smith says he will almost certainly reject the offer of a new contract in the search for regular first-team football. (Daily Record) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Liverpool have emerged as a takeover target for the seventh-richest man in the world, Indian Mukesh Ambani. (The Times) 
But, India's wealthiest man Mukesh Ambani has denied British newspaper reports on Tuesday that he is considering a takeover of Liverpool. (AFP) 
Arsenal have written to Barcelona to demand the Spanish giants stop their public campaign to try and sign midfielder Cesc Fabregas. (Daily Mirror) 
New West Ham owner David Sullivan reckons any Birmingham fans who abuse him at Wednesday's game are fools after declaring his regime at the Blues the best in the club's history. (Daily Mirror) 
West Ham co-owner David Gold has fanned the flames of controversy before the clash at Upton Park by saying the Hammers are bigger than the Blues. (The Times) 
Stoke striker Ricardo Fuller will keep his place in the squad for Tuesday's Premier League match at Wigan despite being arrested on suspicion of assault. (The Times) 
Mark Hughes is weighing up whether to become Turkey's new manager, two months after he was sacked by Manchester City. (Daily Mail) 

But Hughes could be in line to replace manager Gianfranco Zola should West Ham continue to struggle while Russia coach Guus Hiddink has also been linked to the vacant job at Turkey. (The Times)

His successor at City, Roberto Mancini, is under increasing pressure to ensure that the Blues qualify for the Champions League.(Daily Mail) 

West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola and his players will be asked to take a 25% pay cut at the end of the season. (The Sun) 
Ian Holloway has axed three of his Blackpool players for Tuesday's game at Sheffield Wednesday after they were spotted in a nightclub on Saturday night, hours after their 2-1 defeat by Leicester. (Daily Mirror) 
Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, the new England captain, is still agonising over whether he should withdraw his appeal against a four-match violent-conduct ban as a gesture of goodwill to the Football Association. (Daily Telegraph) 
Former Bradford striker Dean Windass is among the favourites to replace Stuart McCall as boss of the Bantams. (Daily Mirror) 

AND FINALLY

Kieron Dyer's time at West Ham could cost the club a staggering £30m over the course of his four-year contract. The midfielder has started only five league matches in his two-and-a-half years at Upton Park and has yet to score.(Daily Mail)
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Tuesday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Chelsea could move for Patrick Vieira as cover for Michael Essien and John Obi Mikel when they are away on African Cup of Nations duty in January - if the club can challenge its transfer ban.(The Sun)
Fulham are interested in American striker Brek Shea, who plays for FC Dallas.(The Sun) 
Fiorentina's protests over Manchester United's alleged poaching of 16-year-old defender Michele Fornasier have been thrown out after Fifa gave him permission to play for United's U18 side(Dail Mail).
Rangers striker Kris Boyd, who is out of contract at the end of the season, will be offered a new deal - but he will have to take a major pay cut to stay at Ibrox(Daily Record)

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OTHER GOSSIP

Liverpool co-owner George Gillett has told a fans' meeting manager Rafa Benitez is to blame for their faltering progress, not the club's owners(The Guardian) 
Hull's record signing Jimmy Bullard is due to make his comeback from a dislocated kneecap in the game against his former side Fulham in a fortnight's time(The Telegraph) 
Birmingham co-owner David Sullivan has told West Ham he will only buy the club if the price is reduced because of the debt he would be taking on - and could invest in Norwich, Ipswich, Cardiff, Leicester or Charlton if he cannot strike a deal(Daily Mirror) 
Businessman Barry Moat has made a "substantial" offer to Newcastle owner Mike Ashley to buy the club and still plans to install Alan Shearer as manager(The Times) 

AND FINALLY

Former Manchester United striker Eric Cantona says he no longer follows football and is unlikely to bother watching next year's World Cup. "I have another life, there are things to do," he said (Daily Express).
Former England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson says it is wrong to blame England's failure at the last two World Cups on the presence of players' wives and girlfriends around the squad.(Daily Mail)
Everton's Marouane Fellaini delayed having his wisdom teeth removed because of their injury problems - and as a result picked up a throat infection which has hampered his play so far this season.(Daily Mirror) 
A Bulgarian Third Division match had to be abandoned after four minutes after injuries reduced one of the teams to six men.(The Guardian)
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Monday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Cesc Fabregas says he has no intention of leaving Arsenal, despite continued rumours linking him with Barcelona.(The Sun) 
Aston Villa, Hull and Wolves are all keen to sign Sol Campbell - if his bid to overturn rules preventing him from joining another team before January is successful.(Daily Mail) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Portsmouth have received a £5m emergency loan from Saudi tycoon Ali al-Faraj, who is keen to buy the club, but former owner Alexandre Gaydamak could block any deal using clauses he negotiated when selling to Sulaiman al-Fahim.(The Times) 
Meanwhile, former Portsmouth boss and current Spurs supremo Harry Redknapp will face more questions over transfers he conducted at Pompey, as part of a long-running investigation into various deals.(The Times) 
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson can expect a lengthy touchline ban after he questioned the fitness of referee Alan Wiley following Saturday's 2-2 draw with Sunderland.(Daily Mail)
Dennis Wise, who lost his job at Newcastle United in April, has rejected suggestions he forced then-manager Kevin Keegan to sign Uruguayan Ignacio Gonzalez to keep South American agents happy.
"The long-term idea was we would have first option on all the best young South American kids and that was important to the club. Mike Ashley (Newcastle's owner) knew all about it and it was fine," Wise is quoted as saying.(The Sun) 
Wise also believes Ashley will retain ownership of Newcastle until at least next summer, despite recent attempts to find a buyer.(Daily Mail) 
David Sullivan, who is set to stand down as a director of Birmingham City, has denied planning a move to buy West Ham United.(Daily Mail) 
Aston Villa midfielder James Milner has called on his club's supporters not to target abuse at former Villa star Gareth Barry, who returns with Manchester City on Monday.(The Guardian) 
Notts County are ready to appoint David Platt as their new manager, after current boss Ian McParland's side managed only a draw at Cheltenham.(Daily Mirror) 

AND FINALLY

France boss Raymond Domenech is the subject of a new, chart-topping track entitled Je Kiffe Raymond (I Fancy Raymond).
The song, by former porn actress Catherine Ringer, includes the line: "If he attacked my penalty areas, I would be without defenders."(The Times) 
Barcelona midfielder Xavi has hit out at opposing sides for being "boring" in the defensive tactics they employ.
Xavi was upset as opponents Almeria parked the proverbial bus at the weekend, adding: "I have never been marked like that. It was obsessive."( Daily Star)
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