Ferguson Rules Out Sneijder & Turns to Youth

Sir Alex Ferguson has once again ruled out Manchester United signing Wesley Sneijder, insisting that he has been doing so for weeks, with only the media keeping the rumours alive whilst he has the confidence in his young midfielder's to deliver this season.

The Manchester United manager seemed understandably impatient when questioned about the chances of Sneijder moving to Old Trafford on the back of a long, drawn out transfer saga surrounding the player and United. When asked about Sneijder, Ferguson said:

"You can forget anyone you like, I'm happy with the young players I've got."

"I've been saying that for weeks but you [the media] have all been writing differently - that I'm going to buy this one or that one. But we've said nothing, we just carry on with our business."

It's true. Ferguson has been constantly pessimistic in public about United's chances with any Sneijder deal. He said as much in mid-July when he asserted that United fans who were eager to see Sneijder in a United shirt should "forget it", as a deal would be too hard to complete.

The media have been fuelling United fans' addiction for positive information on Sneijder. There have been so many conflicting reports on the deal which has been on and off constantly throughout the window, with fans forced to feed off misinterpreted or untrue quotes from people important in the deal.

It seems ridiculous, that despite Ferguson ruling out a deal many times this summer, people have put his denials down to his famous "mind games," in the hope that the rumours can continue, and fake "exclusives" can continue to be plastered on back pages with very little credibility or plausibility to back them up.

Maybe at last, we can settle for the fact that Sir Alex has ruled out any signings, and has clearly said that he is happy with the players he has at the moment. United fans can feel content with that too, considering the exciting performance the young side put in against their local rivals, Manchester City last week in the Community Shield, in which players like Tom Cleverley, Anderson, Ashley Young and Nani shone in the midfield area and came out on top.

Of course, if United fail to win their opening game at West Brom, some fans will suffer the inevitable knee-jerk reaction and cry out for the signing of a top quality midfielder like Sneijder, who will cost over £35 million. However, Sir Alex Ferguson is in charge, and has been for over 25 years, so I think we could put a little bit more faith in his decision to turn to youth rather than spend tens of millions on a certain 27 year-old Dutchman.

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Arsenal Demand Thiago + £25m For Fabregas?

Arsene Wenger seems to have discovered impressive negotiation skills overnight if we are to believe the latest reports coming from the papers.

Barcelona "representatives" had apparently flown in to London, I imagine in dark suits, shady sunglasses and a suitcase filled with cash, to discuss with Arsenal the details of an offer believed to be £33.5 million. However, it is now being reported that Arsene Wenger is "demanding" £25 million as well as Barcelona's highly rated Spanish midfielder, Thiago Alcântara.

Manchester United had been interested in the 20 year-old Spaniard, and apparently lodged a £15 million bid last month for the youngster. That was before he signed a new deal which keeps him at Camp Nou until 2015, with a new release clause of a massive £81 million.

That factor really does seem to cut this rumour short, and add to that what the player himself said when he signed the new contract with the European Champions; "I never thought about leaving. I’ve always wanted to be here," and you find yourself wondering how on earth Wenger seems to think he can get anywhere with this. After all, isn't this similar to what happened with Fabregas? Buy a player with a deep affection or "DNA" as some have called it for Barcelona, and they will most likely seek a return in the future. (Even though Thiago was actually born in Italy.)

He had a good European Under 21 Championship, scoring in the final with a 40 yard stunner, and has a whole host of other impressive qualities suited to Arsenal's style. He has quick and tricky feet, with a clever mind and vision to match, allowing him to set up attacks from very little, and he has the mature ability to know when not to try something too ambitious - doing the simple things well, such as passing and creating.
Read Full Player Review Here.

It is no wonder clubs are interested in him, but I really cannot see Barcelona letting him go. Despite the fact that the competition in the Barcelona midfield is ferocious, and possibly impossible to penetrate for a player like Thiago Alcântara at the moment, the club won't want to let such a talented youngster leave, especially so soon after agreeing a new deal.

Unless Wenger really is playing extreme hard-ball with Barcelona, and will refuse to sell Fabregas until his demands are met, this is a rumour dead in the water, but I'd like to see what you think. Would you rather see this Fabregas saga over and done with, and rid the midfielder for £35 million, or would you drag it out for a little longer in an audacious attempt to pick up the young Thiago? Vote Below.

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A Growing Disillusionment With The Transfer Window

It's only been a few weeks since the summer transfer window opened, and already there have enough rumours and football gossip to last a couple of hundred life-times and more. Every day, football fans are bombarded with them. After all, what else is there to write about and report when the football season is over? The England Under 21's? Sure, but it's just a little depressing reading about the future of our footballing nation once again flailing miserably by the wayside while our international rivals rise above us again and again, leaving us with nothing but a disgusting but familiar taste of disappointment and discontent in our mouths.

A far more uplifting and interesting read for many (it is thought) is to see your side linked to the top players in the world, or at least better players than you already have. It's always encouraging and promising to see your side build for the future, preparing to challenge for a trophy or two and of course, to overcome your local rivals. So transfer rumours have become the antidote for that emptiness we feel when we are without football.

Open the back page of your daily tabloid and they'll come swarming at you like angry wasps, determined to sink their sharp, poisonous stinger into your skin, a skin so easily penetrated and a mind so easily poisoned, that many of these wasp-like transfer rumours are believed by the masses. 

What may start off as a rumour, grows rapidly, quickly and convincingly, into a few thousand columns of printed news in the papers, on websites, on blogs like this one, and on everybody's eager and excited lips. There is a buzz. But not the buzz of the wasps, no, because you've already been poisoned by the bug, this buzz is a buzz of excitement. 

Will Nasri join Manchester United from arch rivals Arsenal? Could it possibly happen? Will Samba leave Blackburn for Arsenal? Will Phil Jones move? And what about City? They have bundles of money, who are they going to spend it on? Sanchez? Messi? Will Inter sell Sneijder? Will Roman Abramovich appoint himself Chelsea manager? Will Arsene Wenger invest some money in the Arsenal team? Will Liverpool attempt to buy every Englishman under 21? 

What do you do when you hear a rumour? Well, what can you do? You can only either dismiss it as absolute nonsense, not worthy of a seconds thought, or you can spread it to the masses, shout the rumours from the metaphorical roof-tops of social networking sites such as Twitter, and get as many people poisoned by the rumours as possible.

Statistically speaking, the NOTW produce on average around 6 rumours per day, with the success rate a lowly 13.9%. Meanwhile, the most successful in predicting the transfers is the Daily Record followed by The Guardian, who have a success rate of 32.9% and 32.7% respectively. 

Of course, newspapers which report the news and websites which are often solely created to circulate transfer rumours are bound to get a certain amount of them wrong - we can't all be right all the time. It is, after all their job to report any possible activity on the transfer front, with many claiming insider knowledge (which many people, especially on Twitter seem to despise), when it comes to transfers. However, very often people add two with two and get seven. 

The fact is, one rumour can create a domino effect of other rumours, some believable, some completely unbelievable. For example, Manchester United are looking for a new central midfielder to replace Paul Scholes, and this story has led to dozens of rumours which the majority will most certainly turn out to be untrue.

First it was Arsenal's Samir Nasri. He hadn't committed his future to Arsenal, and didn't answer a straight question when asked about United. 

Then it was Sneijder - a very possible transfer move, only fuelled by rumours of how much he would cost and whether he wanted to stay, or if Inter were willing to let him go. 

Then there is Diarra of Real Madrid "reportedly" told that he will be nothing but a squad player for Real Madrid next season - he is looking for an escape route.

Then there was Pato Rodriguez, whose father had spread rumours of United's interest. 

Then there is Javeir Pastore, another "United target". 

Finally, (perhaps) there is Modric, who happens to not want to play for Tottenham any more, is looking for European football, and is currently owned by the club who sold United their last big name signing, who has recently said he won't be signing an extension to his United contract and could possibly be used as a make-weight for a Modric transfer.

All rumours. Manchester United will not sign every one of those players, and that is a fact. Are Manchester United interested in all of these players? Maybe, but who knows? It's all speculation, which once again supports the point that rumours lead to more rumours which lead to more speculation. This leads to built up hopes and in the end, a huge disappointment when no deal happens.

The transfer window can be fun and exciting, and it is a time for deals, yes, but speculation, deliberation and lies as well. It leaves people dissatisfied and frustrated, wishing they hadn't bought into those rumours as much as they had, and wondering why we believe them in the first place. It seems obvious, but unless there are quotes to back a story up, lets be cautious to believe it, and we will be far less frustrated by the constant influx of transfer rumours everywhere we look.

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Arsenal to Sign Blackpool's Gilks?

Arsene Wenger is reportedly interested in bringing the Blackpool number one goalkeeper, Matt Gilks to the Emirates, while the Blackpool manager Ian Holloway seems resigned to losing Gilks in the near future after he accepted that there is no way Blackpool can compete in wage terms.

The Blackpool boss said:

“With the wages we pay, there’s only so long I can hold them. Matt is out of contract next summer and at the moment that is something he wants to be.

“If I can’t nail him down I’ll have to find someone else and I’ve got till January to try and convince him to stay, because he can sign a pre-contract somewhere else in January.

“Matt probably feels a bit aggrieved with how much he is on. What he is trying to do is play himself into a better position in his life, so he commands a bit more respect and a better wages.”

Arsenal have much more money to spend on wages than the newly promoted Blackpool, and this as well as playing for one of the top clubs in the best League in the world will both be major factors in his decision. As his contract expires at the end of the season, he could leave on a free transfer, however Blackpool would be  upset if they couldn't get any money with a possible sale from the 28-year-old.
A move for him in January would be convenient for both parties as Arsenals Manuel Almunia has been told he can leave with Spanish team Malaga interested.

Gilks then added some more substance to the rumour with this:

"The Premier League is the league in the world to play in and that's what I want to do," 

"Obviously I'm out of contract at the end of the season and I don't think we're close to getting anything sorted. If I have to move on, hopefully it will be to another Premier League club because I need to stay in the league."

The former Rochdale and Norwich shot-stopper is currently out injured with a broken knee cap, but is expected to return in the new year, the question is, when he returns, will he be playing at Bloomfield Road, or the Emirates?

Liverpool Links with Ronaldinho, Ashley Young and Suarez Untrue Says Roy

Transfer rumours have grown over the past few years. They have moved on from things you may hear of various rumours here and there over the course of the season as well as a couple of times during the transfer window, and then the deal is done. They are now fully blown stories on players thinking of moving, agents asking or more money, hinting at a move, players going to leave then deciding against it, with blogs like this one circulating the latest gossip on players moving to what club and for how much, and so on.

But Roy Hodgson has dismissed the latest links to Brazilian Ronaldinho, Aston Villa pacey winger Ashley Young and biting "cheat" Luis Suarez. Hodgson, who has been under big pressure to turn Liverpool into a title challenging team again since taking over as manager, said the following:

"Ronaldinho and Suarez are players who we have never even thought about but I would think there is not a manager in the Premier League who has not given Ashley Young a thought at some stage or another,"

"But giving a player a thought and thinking 'This is a good player' and signing him are two vastly different things.

"I could give you quite a long list of players in the Premier League who I admire and think are very good."

The "list" that Hodgson refers to probably includes every Fulham player that he managed at his time at Craven Cottage. Them, and the recent players linked to a move to Anfield. Wigan winger Charles N'Zogbia may be in Hodgson's mind as well as Ryan Shawcross of Stoke City. But lets listen to what Roy ha to say some more:

"But there is no truth in the rumour. If you are asking if there are any negotiations taking place between Aston Villa and Liverpool, then there aren't."

Hodgson is also comfortable with his position at the club due to the new owners and their dedication to the Liverpool cause:

"We have got new owners who are working unbelievably hard and putting in enormous hours at the club, both here physically, as they are at the moment, and even when they are in America spending hours studying games and liaising with us here"

They will all agree then, that Liverpool need to add to their squad in January. Back up players and a new energy is needed in most positions; a partner for Torres and a midfielder with a passing ability, vision and stability like Xabi Alonso who they lost to Madrid and still haven't replaced. In addition to a strong centre back, to fill in for the injured Jamie Carragher while possibly partnering or replacing him in the future.

Hodgson knows additions to his squad must be made, and I am pretty sure he will act on this knowledge, because if Liverpool do not build on their recent current good form, then Hodgson's time could be coming to an end at Liverpool as fans become frustrated with him.