Considering the way the past season has been, it's been one of our quieter news weeks this week. Not that I'm short of anything to talk about, oh no. The week that I write, "Sorry, nothing to see here" on this part of the website shall most likely be when the River Styx freezes over leaving Charon reaching for the WD40.

As the renewal packs, generously, erm, frozen (Article), (Article) and containing gimmicky vouchers, winged their way to their lucky recipients (or indeed their lucky recipient's neighbour. Yes the postie has been at it again.), transfer talk has been the order of the day, starting immediately after the draw with Chelsea. This of course saw Robert say goodbye in a way only a Frenchman can (Article) and then later in the week demand a free transfer! (Article) He's dreaming if he thinks he can just piss off for nowt. I'd rather see him rot in the reserves than just give him away. I will miss some of what he can do with the football; I won't miss his oft "-misquoted" mouth or the times he should have stood up to be counted and simply went AWOL.

Another one away was of course Kluivert. (Article) As has been said many a time by others within the tf bunker he has it all and has just pissed it away during his stint on Tyneside. Sad. Actually for both Kluivert and Robert I can't help feeling that they could have made themselves legends on Tyneside if their application had been a tenth of their undoubted ability and I can't help but wonder how much more application they would have shown had they been managed in a different way.

There's been plenty of transfer hints made by the manager, (Article) calls for "new beginnings" (Article) and promises that the "money will be spent wisely." (Article) We've heard this all before though and I'll believe anything only when I see it myself. And hopefully the idea of spending money wisely extends to not putting any more of it into the hands of his mates at Rangers. (Article)

Whilst I'm on about Scottish teams now is as good a time as any to mention Craig Bellamy. Everybody else seems to be so I suppose I have to as well. Aston Villa, or at least their manager, seems keen to have him at Villa Park. From murmurings early in the week (Article) (Article) and (Article) to full on admission from the Birmingham side by the weekend (Article) and (Article) this has all the elements of a saga emerging from an epic of a marathon. He is obviously, and in some ways quite rightly, biding his time, I can't wait to have shot of him. At least then he won't remain as a spectre in the wings, keeping wounds and divisions within the crowd and the club open.

One player Villa did get their hands on was Aaron Hughes, to an unusually mixed response from their Burberry clad, car less following. (Article), (Article) and (Article) Again the point is made elsewhere and I'll just back it up by saying I can think of MANY more I'd like to have seen out of the door before him. I see similarities with Steve Watson in that ultimately his versatility may have been his downfall. But I can't think of a better defender available for £1million and I can't help but feel that we've let Villa pick our pockets again.

Sticking with transfers let's have a quick run through other suggested ins and outs this week. Excluding The Journal who hedge their bets by naming almost every player available from the Premiership (Article), possible ins include Robbie Keane, French failure at Juve, Olivier Kapo (Article) and eccentric (i.e. shite) Portuguese stopper and Academy Award nominated actor Ricardo (Article) whilst the outs are Butt, to Birmingham (Article) or Bolton (Article) depending on who you believe and most worrying of all Shay Given, whose future receives more and more speculation as the days go by, especially after his words of concern this week. (Article) and (Article) Mind you if he decided he'd had enough of covering for the buffoons in front of him I don't think many of us would blame him or wish him ill for doing so.

Also letting off steam to the press this week was Jermaine Jenas, linked with Spurs apparently. (Article) and (Article) I'd ask JJ to have a look at himself first before he starts complaining about people "losing their hunger." And surely if you had performed at the level we know you are capable of more consistently then you wouldn't be worrying about your England place would you? Another young man for who next season is crucial if he is to develop like he should.

This week also saw Graeme Souness do a 2-part Q&A session for the Evening Chronicle. (Article) and (Article). The BBC seemed to think that this was a "grilling." (Article) All I can say is, if ever I am captured behind enemy lines I hope the interrogation team was trained by the BBC. Whilst it was a little better than Shepherd's PR exercise last week, I don't think it went far enough or hard enough. Nor does anyone else I have spoken to about it. Still, better than facing it live on the Radio, eh? Meanwhile our chairman used his friends at Sky Sports to defend the Rooney wild goose chase and at the same time play further transfer speculation games. (Article) and (Article) I'm surprised he had time to make any comments though. Between being Sporting's guest at the UEFA cup final (Article) (if you saw it, it was there for the taking, bloody bottlers!) and staying on for the G-14 meeting (Article).

And so what to leave you with this week? Well would it surprise you that one of our players hit The Sun this week following a brawl outside of a nightclub? No? Me neither. That said at least this time the player in question, Celestine Babayaro, was being fought over, and not with! (Article) You can insert your own jokes about bouncers here if you like. And what women see in millionaire footballer Peter Crouch I just don't know.

NM