Thursday's gossip

[@yourservice 67]

Liverpool look set to beat Chelsea in the race to land Lyon midfielder Florent Malouda after the French footballer of the year indicated he would move to Anfield in a £10m deal. (Daily Mirror)

 

Tottenham are poised to do battle with Aston Villa for the signature of Ajax midfielder Wesley Sneijder. (The Sun)

 

Liverpool will have to take on AC Milan if they are to land Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o. (The Sun)

 

Billionaire Mike Ashley has moved a step closer to taking over Newcastle because chairman Freddy Shepherd has agreed to sell his shares. (The Sun)

 

Spain coach Luis Aragones, whose side are second in Euro 2008 qualifying Group F, will step down from his role when his contract expires after the finals of the tournament. (Daily Mirror)

 

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba says the Blues will reclaim the Premiership title next season and he will again be the top scorer in the division. (Daily Mirror)

[Craig 6702]

Talksport were reporting the same this morning but stated that Shepherd is likely to stay and remain the person doing the day to day running of the club.

 

I..........FUCKING.............HOPE............NOT!

[Scottish Mag 3]

From the Daily Mail

 

He remains the favourite to land Middlesbrough striker Mark Viduka, is waiting for an answer from Bolton’s Israel international Tal Ben Haim and is closing in on Paris Saint-Germain defender David Rozehnal, who will cost around £3m.

 

The former Bolton boss is also lining up experienced Brazilian centre back Claudio Cacapa from French champions Lyon on another free transfer, and Auxerre left back Jean-Sebastien Jaures, who will cost £700,000.

[Scottish Mag 3]

TRANSFER RUMOURS

 

 

Liverpool look set to beat Chelsea in the race to land Lyon midfielder Florent Malouda after the French footballer of the year indicated he would move to Anfield in a £10m deal. (Various)

 

Tottenham are poised to do battle with Aston Villa for the signature of Ajax midfielder Wesley Sneijder. (The Sun)

 

Wigan want to sign defender Mario Melchiot, who is a free agent after a year at Rennes, and Liverpool centre-half Sami Hyypia. (Various)

 

Villarreal's former Arsenal winger Robert Pires has urged Gunners striker Thierry Henry to join him in Spain by moving to Barcelona. (Various)

 

Reading are preparing to swoop for West Ham midfielder Hayden Mullins. (Daily Mail)

 

Liverpool will have to take on AC Milan if they are to land Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o. (The Sun)

 

West Ham are set to pip Chelsea to the signing of Fredrikstad striker Tarik Elyounoussi, 19. (Daily Star)

 

Colchester striker Jamie Cureton may return to Norwich, despite having a transfer request turned down. (Daily Star)

 

Tottenham and Celtic want striker Marlon Harewood, who has been told he can leave West Ham. (Daily Mirror)

 

Chelsea are believed to be preparing a £2.7m move for Hertha Berlin striker Marko Pantelic. (The Times)

 

Fulham will make a renewed bid for Southampton defender Chris Baird after having a £2.5m offer turned down. (The Times)

 

Derby may hijack Ipswich's bid to land Blackburn striker Francis Jeffers because they are prepared to meet the £1.5m asking price. (Daily Mirror)

 

West Brom defender Curtis Davies, who has been linked to Newcastle, Tottenham and Arsenal, is considering his future after the club missed out on promotion to the Premiership. (Daily Mirror)

 

Sunderland have launched a bid to sign Preston striker David Nugent in a part-exchange offer involving Stern John. (Daily Mail)

 

Portsmouth have offered £2m - £100,000 more than Fulham - for QPR winger Lee Cook. (Various)

 

Middlesbrough are targeting Fulham forward Collins John. (Daily Mirror)

 

Goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen, who has been the subject of a failed £2m bid by Sunderland, could leave Bolton after contract talks stalled. (Daily Mirror)

 

Everton are considering a £3.5m swoop for Blackburn striker Jason Roberts. (Daily Mirror)

 

Celtic keeper David Marshall, who had a spell on loan at Norwich last season, wants to return to Carrow Road. (Daily Record)

 

Brentford striker Jo Kuffour is close to joining Bournemouth after rejecting the chance to go to Huddersfield. (Daily Star)

 

 

OTHER GOSSIP

 

 

Former England captain David Beckham has said he will help fire his national team to the Euro 2008 finals after continuing his comeback by inspiring them to victory in a qualifier against Estonia. (Various)

 

Scotland boss Alex McLeish, whose side are third in Euro 2008 qualifying Group B, says his squad must maintain the belief that they can still qualify for the finals. (Various)

 

Norwegian shipping billionaire John Fredriksen is understood to be one of the people interested in buying Tottenham. (Daily Mail)

 

Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor has hit back at the critics who believe he misses too many chances. (Daily Mirror)

 

Spain coach Luis Aragones, whose side are second in Euro 2008 qualifying Group F, will step down from his role when his contract expires after the finals of the tournament. (Daily Mirror)

 

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba says the Blues will reclaim the Premiership title next season and he will again be the top scorer in the division. (Daily Mirror)

 

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that he gave winger Cristiano Ronaldo, whose Old Trafford future was in doubt last summer, the same pep talk that persuaded Eric Cantona and David Beckham to stay longer with the Red Devils. (Daily Mirror)

 

Manchester City are giving former Thailand prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra 48 hours to close the takeover of the club or the deal is off. (Daily Mirror)

 

Former Brighton boss and ex-Aberdeen and Celtic striker Mark McGhee is a leading contender for the Motherwell managerial post. (Daily Record)

 

Former Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager Sergei Baltacha has rejected an approach from Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov to become the new manager at the club. (Daily Record)

 

Chelsea's Michael Ballack, who has been criticised during his time at the club, wants to become the irreplaceable midfielder at Stamford Bridge. (Daily Express)

 

The Football League is set to close the loophole that allowed Leeds and Boston to avoid carrying 10-point penalties into next season by going into administration when they were set for relegation. (The Guardian)

 

 

AND FINALLY

 

 

Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo says manager Sir Alex Ferguson can still deliver his famous 'hairdryer treatment'. Ronaldo said: "He shakes me up and screams at me now and again. He is like my mother or my father. He sets my limits and my aims." (The Sun)

 

Sheffield United keeper Paddy Kenny has raised £10,000 for a local children's hospice by running 78 miles in three days from Skegness to his South Yorkshire home. (Daily Star)

[Barney 0]

 

 

Sheffield United keeper Paddy Kenny has raised £10,000 for a local children's hospice by running 78 miles in three days from Skegness to his South Yorkshire home. (Daily Star)

 

 

How did Pork-Pie manage that?

 

 

 

How many miles in a marathon btw?

[JJ 0]

 

 

Sheffield United keeper Paddy Kenny has raised £10,000 for a local children's hospice by running 78 miles in three days from Skegness to his South Yorkshire home. (Daily Star)

 

 

How did Pork-Pie manage that?

 

 

 

How many miles in a marathon btw?

 

I think a marathon is 26 miles 385 yards. Something like that. God knows how Paddy Kenny ran 3 marathons in 3 days.

[Guest alex]

It's the distance between Athens and Marathon (26 miles). But I heard that the 385 yards was something to do with King George VI and the London Olympics ages ago:

"The marathon at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London was set to measure exactly 26 miles and to start on ‘The Long Walk’ – a magnificent avenue in the grounds of Windsor Castle. At his own request it was scheduled to be started by King Edward VII personally. It was only on the day before the race that it was extended by 385 yards from its set 26 miles so that the King could start the race in the Great Courtyard of the Castle (385 yards up the hill) because he had a cold and his doctors had advised him not to go out. This way the runners would still cross the finishing line in front of his wife Queen Alexandra in the Royal family's viewing box in the White City Stadium at Shepherd’s Bush in west London) - so the length became 42.195 km (26 miles 385 yards)."

The full story nicked off wiki. Got the king wrong so I did.

Edited June 7, 2007 by alex

[geordieshandy 0]

 

 

Sheffield United keeper Paddy Kenny has raised £10,000 for a local children's hospice by running 78 miles in three days from Skegness to his South Yorkshire home. (Daily Star)

 

 

How did Pork-Pie manage that?

 

 

 

How many miles in a marathon btw?

 

I think a marathon is 26 miles 385 yards. Something like that. God knows how Paddy Kenny ran 3 marathons in 3 days.

 

By var nigh walking them. He wasn't going proper marathon pace you know.