Monday 18th July 2005

Well it finally happened.  I hate to come over all Journal on you but I told you so.  Having been linked with us since the first week of June (Article) Belozoglu Emre (or is it the other way round?  Perhaps I’ll just stick with Emre eh?) finally put pen to paper this week on a five year deal that sees him become Souness’ second summer signing.  About bloody time too!

Flying in on Monday night, inevitably with Sky Sports News cameras present (wonder how they found out eh?) (Article) for a medical on Tuesday (Article) the club announced he would “sign on Friday” after passing his medical and retuning to Milan to wrap up his affairs there. (Article) Of course he duly signed on the Thursday.  (Article)  I know I’m picking hairs but couldn’t we have at least told the press the right day?  It doesn’t look good, well not to me anyway.  Cue then though the almost predictable “Turkish Delight” headlines (Article).  Oh and the slightly better “Turk of the Toon” (Article).  Divvent use them all up at once lads please, there’s a long season ahead to dust them off I’m sure.

Souness meanwhile is keen to see Emre emulate Tugay.  (Article)  Personally I have been a bit hacked off of late with the will he won’t he pantomime that had been allowed to develop.  However if he really IS that good, so good that politicians tried to make him go home to Turkey, and can mix skill with hard work he can become a favourite here.  How many times have we said that before about others who have come and gone?  I know my Turkish connections (one a Galatasary supporting Turk in Newcastle, the other a Wallsend lad who is a regular at Fenerbache, living in Istanbul) are excited about his arrival.  At least his first touch should be better than Nicky Butt and his concrete boots.

Next in line for arrival would appear to be Fulham’s Luis Boa Morte.  (Article)  He’s been another regular link over the past few weeks.  By the middle of the week he was quoted in the Portuguese press as being keen (Article).  Prompting an interesting reaction from his manager Chris Coleman  (Article) that had turned into a full strop by the weekend. (Article) (Article)  (Article)  I get the feeling that he knows he is fighting a losing battle and is simply trying to push the price up as high as he can for a player he knows is on his way.  And I don’t blame him.

Funnily enough that’s something that our own manager has been accused of this week with regards to Jermaine Jenas.  The departure this week of Arsenal’s Patrick Viera to Juventus sparked a media scramble with JJ being named as Wenger’s prime target for replacement.  (Article) (Article) (Article) “For £20million the chairman might be tempted.” (Article)  Another throwaway line said in haste or a genuine marker for what the club consider is a fair price?  By the weekend all sorts of deals were being suggested with cash plus Sol Campbell (and his rumoured £10500 per week wage demands) being the most common. (Article).  Personally I don’t think it fits Wenger’s style or plans to have JJ as a direct replacement for Viera.  I would suggest that they need more experience in their midfield engine room than JJ would bring and, more importantly, he’s not French.  Doesn’t stop me worrying about it though.  Let’s just keep everything crossed. 

In amongst the JJ reportage this week, one of Souness’ more interesting comments can be found in this weekend’s Sunday Mirror.  (Article)  The paragraph that ends; “The aim has been to get rid of the people who brought us headlines for the wrong reasons. You won't win anything without unity. I want us to concentrate on football - the moves we've made this summer will help us."  These words are interesting when you consider the other major transfer link we’ve had this week was for one Nicolas Anelka.  (Article)

Now is it just me or what?  We’ve just got rid of one trouble making, sulky French gobshite, what the hell do we want with Anelka?  He’s got his head right apparently. (Article)  That’s reassuring.  I wonder what the definition of “proper player” is exactly?  And just as our chairman spent another 2 pages in the Chronicle (Article) bemoaning SBR signing “too many players with baggage” amongst other things (I’ll say it yet again; please Fred – shut it and just lets see some action and not just buying more shares (Article) ) we get linked to this fruitloop.  (Article)  (Article)  (Article)  Anelka has already dampened the fire a little with these quotes attributed to him (Article).  Yep, certainly sounds desperate to come to me like.  Desperate is the right word.  As Michael Walker rightly points out, there certainly is a feel of a “scattergun” transfer policy at St James’ right now (Article).  We certainly need more in, as Alan Shearer has demanded (Article).  The manager himself says he wants possibly as many as 5 more in.  (Article)  Time is running out.  The current tf mantra sums it up.  GET IT RIGHT!

So what else has made us headlines this week?  Plenty!  Dyer’s new role (Article) and new contract (Article).  HOW MUCH!!???  You’ve now been given enough rope for the last round up; just don’t hang your self with it yet again.  I for one won’t be surprised if you do.  Titus Bramble threw plans of all kinds into disarray after breaking his elbow in a training ground accident with Michael Chopra.  What price Aaron Hughes now eh?  (Article)  Lee Bowyer, despite being given a new squad number (Lee your name is also on the back of your shirt, we’ll still know who you are), looks likely to join Darren Ambrose at Charlton (Article) (Article) and another outgoing could well see Viana leave for Stuttgart (Article).  Time will tell on both of these but they seem to come from good sources. 

That’s nearly all for this week but as ever I’ll leave you with a couple of things to talk about.  Firstly, in their infinite wisdom the game’s rule makers have had a tinker with the offside laws yet again (Article) and people are already pissed off about it (Article).  Oh the joys of another hour spent at the dining table with non-believers trying to explain offside with assorted condiment bottles.  Cloughie had it right for me; “If you’re not interfering with play what are you doing on the pitch?”  Meanwhile the Internet rumour of the week could get tongues wagging if it hit the popular press.  (Article)  And no, I don’t believe it for a minute either.

NM