Sunday's gossip column

[Scottish Mag 3]

TRANSFER RUMOURS

 

 

Stewart Downing will demand showdown talks with Middlesbrough as the transfer saga with Tottenham rumbles on. (News of the World)

 

Ashley Cole has decided he wants to stay at Arsenal for another season. (The People)

 

Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry is on the verge of signing a lucrative new four-year deal with the Midlands club. (News of the World)

 

Arsenal and Manchester United are both trying to sign West Ham captain Nigel Reo-Coker before the transfer window shuts later this week. (The Observer)

 

Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp is ready to poach Steed Malbranque from under the noses of West Ham and Bolton. (News of the World)

 

Jason Euell has been put up for sale by Charlton. (Sunday Mirror)

 

Danny Mills will leave Manchester City to join Blackburn this week. (News of the World)

 

Manchester United and West Ham are both chasing Peterborough winger Jamie Day. (News of the World)

 

Bolton are the latest team to thrown their hat into the ring in the race to sign Real Madrid defender Jonathan Woodgate. (Sunday Express)

 

 

OTHER GOSSIP

 

 

John Terry will open talks on a £7m a year deal to stay at Chelsea for the rest of his career. (News of the World)

 

Several Premiership clubs are talking about bringing in end-of-season play-offs which could see the club finishing sixth winning the title. (Sunday Express)

 

Former Charlton manager Alan Curbishley says he is ready to make a return to management. (Various)

 

Wigan's Austrian defender Paul Scharner has quit international football. (Various)

[Sima 0]

Playoff idea probably the worst I have ever heard.

[Walliver 0]

Several Premiership clubs are talking about bringing in end-of-season play-offs which could see the club finishing sixth winning the title. (Sunday Express)

 

Double-you-tea-eff ?

[luckyluke 2]

Playoff idea probably the worst I have ever heard.

185806[/snapback]

 

Spot on.

[Jusoda Kid 1]

Sounds ridicolous

[Woodgate27 0]

By several premiership clubs I'm assuming they mean Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool (and probably us) as they see it as the only way they'll get their hands on the title in the near future.

 

Silly, silly idea.

[Sima 0]

Nah, Bolton, Spurs, Villa, Us, Everton, Man Citeh, etc are far more likely.

[ewerk 31195]

Or even more likely its absolute bollocks fabricated by the Express.

[Papa Lazaru 0]

Playoff idea probably the worst I have ever heard.

185806[/snapback]

 

It would be. Prove yourself to be the best over a long hard league season of every team playing each other home and away and then say, fuck that, the team who wins 1 or 2 games at the end is the best and deserves the title, absolute load of bollocks.

 

They do it in rugby union and its a complete joke. The team who shows they are best and deserves the title goes straight into the "final", meanwhile the other teams in the play offs have to play games to get to the final. So the real champions sit their losing match fitness and sharpness whilst the team that faces them in the final arrive ready and having games under their belt and invariably beat the team who won the league.

 

If you insist on doing it their is only one way anyone with a brain would accept. The team finishing first wins the championship/title then after that you have your play offs (whether it be 4,6 or 8 teams) and the winner of that is the play off champions and it has absolutely fuck all to do with the title, like they do in the British Basketball (where a Newcastle team wins everything!!!)

[Woodgate27 0]

They have play offs in the A-League, Adelaide Utd dominated all the way through the league season then fucked up at the end so they weren't champions.

 

As much as I hate Adelaide, like a laugh at their expense and think the city is a toilet, it's proof that the whole playoff thing just doesn't work and doesn't reward the true champions.