A bulging set of transfer rumours from Sportingo.
Jose Mourinho cancelled a trip to London – which he says was for Christmas shopping – because he did not want to encourage rumours about the England vacancy (various). Yes Jose, on the front, back and middle of every paper in the country is exactly what you didn’t want, wasn’t it?
Mourinho’s agent has given the Football Association a dossier of what his demands would be to take the job, including a dedicated England training facility and medical team (Daily Star). But hang on, Jose doesn’t want to encourage rumours, does he? His decision could be swayed by the fact his wife misses life in London (The Sun). Irresponsible gossip-mongering from Britain’s biggest-selling daily, especially as Jose does not want to encourage rumours.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says having a non-English manager would be like asking a foreigner to lead a nation’s army in battle (The Guardian). The way that England were playing under Steve McClaren was like a retreat, anyway. And it’s a shame that in the Croatia game the midfield and part of the defence went AWOL.
Arsene Wenger also says he was put off buying English players after the high-profile flops of Richard Wright and Francis Jeffers (Daily Star). The Professor is right, and Mourinho, if he takes the England job, is going to have 15 to 20 more to choose from. Sorry, there I go encouraging rumours.
Wes Brown could be on his way out of Manchester United after rejecting a four-year deal. “We feel it’s a good offer and will not be going back,” says Sir Alex Ferguson (Daily Mirror). I think we know who will win this particular spat.
Crystal Palace teenager John Bostock is ready to reject a move to Chelsea to sign his first pro contract with the Eagles when he turns 16 in January (Daily Mirror). This could well turn out to be a shrewd move by the youngster. What chance does he have making the first team at the Bridge? And under that doyen of football creativity Neil Warnock, he is sure to develop his skills and sign for Chelsea in, say five years, when the price will be better than right.
Speaking of Warnock, the Palace boss says he cannot eat after 10am on match days (The Independent). This snippet of useless information is known as a ‘filler’ in the newspaper trade (sorry).
Middlesbrough’s George Boateng says being in the bottom three is “devastating” and it is the worst period of his career (Daily Star). Never mind George, it’s only a few weeks until the transfer deadline and there may be some clubs in the top three after you . . . from the Championship, that is.
Bolton captain Kevin Nolan has hailed new manager Gary Megson for restoring the team’s “nastiness and edginess” after Sammy Lee’s unhappy tenure (Independent). Nice to know that the midfielder is still committed to the beautiful game under the Ginger Mourinho.
Former Manchester City defender Ray Ranson is hoping to complete a deal to buy Coventry City before the end of the week (Daily Telegraph). Now if I had a pound for every deal Ranson was involved in . . . .
New Leicester City boss Ian Holloway says he is glad the team are struggling in the Championship or he would not have been given the job (The Sun). That’s what we want in football, more honesty.
Reading’s Stephen Hunt says he plays with “controlled fury 99 per cent of the time” (The Guardian). I know footballers are not blessed with an abundance of intelligence but you would expect a player to know the difference between fury and thuggery and 99 and 100.
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