TRANSFER GOSSIP
Tottenham could extend striker Eidur Gudjohnsen's loan for a further 12 months. The Monaco player has scored two goals in his last three appearances and impressed in top scorer Jermain Defoe's absence.(Daily Mirror)
Manchester United are considering a move for 24-year-old Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who is valued by the Bundesliga club at about £10m. (Daily Mirror)
Bolton, Birmingham and Preston are keeping tabs on Manchester United's England Under-21 international Tom Cleverley, currently on loan at Watford.(Daily Mail)
Defender Liam Ridgewell will look to leave St Andrew's unless Blues stump up a new four-year, £20,000-a-week deal for the in-form 25-year-old.(Daily Mirror)
Hull misfit Geovanni is in talks with Greek side AEK Athens as the Brazilian hopes to leave the KC Stadium, where his £25,000-a-week wages are set to be cut by 40%. (Daily Mail)
And Geovanni's team-mate, midfielder Jimmy Bullard, will be top of Newcastle's shopping list if the Magpies secure promotion to the Premier League. Bullard, 30, has only started eight games since a £5m move 14 months ago but scored in Saturday's win against his former club Fulham.(The Sun)
Derby County manager Nigel Clough is chasing Den Haag midfielder Danny Buijs.(Daily Mirror)
OTHER GOSSIP
Roy Keane will be sacked as Ipswich manager this week, although he could make a quick return to work, with Celtic considering making him Tony Mowbray's successor.(The Guardian)
But West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola will remain in his post at least until the end of the season, despite a six-game losing streak that has left the Hammers only a point above the relegation zone. The Italian, who said he would consider his future in the wake of Saturday's loss to Stoke, has the backing of senior players.(The Times)
Or, Zola will not return to the club after taking flight to Sardinia following Saturday's home loss.(The Independent)
However, a friend of Zola's has spoken to him and learnt that he has no intention of walking out on the job and will be in charge for Sunday's trip to Everton.(Daily Mail)
Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas faces a race to be fit for Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final, first-leg against Barcelona. The former Barca trainee could be joined on the sidelines by Abou Diaby, while Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta will miss the tie with a hamstring strain.(The Guardian)
Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic fears being banned for four of the club's remaining six Premier League matches after appearing to catch Bolton's Johan Elmander with an elbow during Saturday's 4-0 victory.(Daily Mirror)
A group of Rangers fans have taken the first tentative steps towards a potential takeover of the club. The Rangers Supporters Trust has sent an exploratory document and members hope to buy the shares of majority shareholder and former chairman Sir David Murray.(Daily Mirror)
Chris Hughton has confirmed he will remain as Newcastle manager next season and insists he is keen to keep both striker Andy Carroll and captain Steven Taylor at the club, despite the pair allegedly being involved in a training-ground row that left Taylor with a broken jaw.(Daily Mirror)
AND FINALLY
Football fans will be given the right to buy their club under new proposals announced by the Labour government. Under the proposal, fan groups would get priority over other bidders. (The Times)
West Ham had a novel approach to combating Stoke midfielder Rory Delap's long throws on Saturday - deploying advertising hoardings within feet of the pitch. They even made an announcement over the public address system for a ball boy to replace a hoarding that had been knocked over. (The Sun)
www.bbc.co.uk
Peterborough 0 - 3 Derby
Watford 0 - 1 Derby
At the start of the season, club’s officials and manager Chris Coleman were stating that club has an ambition to make one step more comparing with previous seasons and make a break to the play-off position. And season started well, as 
Fiorentina 2 - 0 Liverpool
Like the hosts, Derby also had a bad run of results with four consecutive defeats (Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United, Barnsley and Crystal Palace). Manager Nigel Clough is stubborn with his 5-4-1 formation that still hasn’t been well accepted from the players. Two started wins against clubs from the bottom side of the table (Peterborough and Plymouth) gave some hope for a bright future, but mentioned bad run brought the push the problems on the surface. In the previous round, they finally noticed all three points against Bristol City (1-0). Visitors from Bristol were at least equal 55 minutes, then defender Jamie McCombe got two yellow cards for two minutes. Rams started to dominate and thankfully to Gary Teale’s late strike noticed a win. However, team is consisted of mediocre players who shouldn’t be capable to achieve anything more than middle of the table. And some experienced players like Lee Hendrie and Paul Dickov haven’t brought anything positive. The Rams can get something from the games against bottom clubs, or sometimes to surprise “middle class”, but I doubt they can cause serious problems to the top Championship clubs (like raging Cardiff). New on-loan signing, Swedish defender Fredrik Stoor, will probably make his debut.
Beside two wins in first two home games, against the teams that should finish at the bottom half of the table (Peterborough and Plymouth, both 2-1), Rams’ other results suggest a big possibility of struggling to avoid relegation. Although boss Nigel Clough repeats their performances are “positive”, his 5-4-1 formation hasn’t brought anything except a chorus of boos around Pride Park after another (third consecutive) defeat, against weak Barnsley at Tuesday 2-3 (their first league win this season). While Clough waits their positive displays to turn into positive results, pressure on him from club’s American owner rapidly raises, dressing room atmosphere is bad and injury list don’t make the things better. Striker Steven Davies is still sidelined, as well as key midfielder Paul Green and another key in defence line Jake Buxton. Strikers Chris Porter and Giles Barnes are long-term absentees. Left winger Stephen Pearson is expected to shake off a groin injury while striker Rob Hulse is on the road to recovery after coming down with a sickness bug earlier in the week. Lack of strikers in the squad Clough tried to solve with bringing on loan Everton’s talented youngster James Vaughan. But, we’ll wait to see will he make a debut, or another chance will be given to useless 5-4-1. However, tough times are in front the lads from Pride Park and I see them as one of the most serious contenders for relegation.
