Kamara - latest toon targetAccording to the latest reports, Fulhams’s Diomansy Kamara heads Hughton’s wish list for emergency loans, with Marlon Harewood and Daniel Cousin also on the interim manager’s radar.
Fulham signed Kamara from West Bromwich Albion in July 2007 for £6m but he injured a cruciate ligament in June 2008 which kept him on the treatment table for nearly 7 months.
Kamara has scored 9 goals in 40 games for Fulham and 60 goals in 253 games in his career overall, which isn’t a particularly good return for a striker, although he did manage to score against us at the end of last season to help us on our way to relegation.
Kamara faired better for WBA in the Championship scoring 20 goals in 34 league games and it seems this is what might have caught Hughton’s eye. Hughton said:
“Diomansy Kamara is one of numerous names we have thought about. He scored a lot of goals for West Brom in this division and he is a very good player. Marlon Harewood is another one.
“There will be a few obvious names because of the position they play in. Marlon was also one we have spoken about. There are no names confirmed, all I can say is that these two are very much being spoken about. No deals are confirmed at the moment, though.” (more…)
Taff landOne of the problems of living in South Somerset is that I’m only Devon and Cornwall short of being as far as it’s possible to get from St James’s Park and still be in England. One of the advantages of being in the Championship, though, is that there are a few more away games within reasonable driving distance.
One such place is Cardiff, which is about 50 minutes up the M5, across the new Severn Bridge and another 40 minutes down the M4. Getting to the M5 was plagued, as usual, by the network of farmers who arrange to get their tractors on the roads whenever I get my car out, but the journey was otherwise only interrupted when I picked my father-in-law up from Magor on the way. We found some great parking right next to the entrance thanks to some advice from a Scunthorpe fan I read on web site.
The last time I was at Cardiff City was in 1981 when they played at Ninian Park (we won 4-0) but they now play at a new ground which is a stone’s throw away from where the old ground used to be. Throwing stones at the old ground is in fact all it was good for but the new ground is decent enough with a 28,800 capacity of which 25,600 seats were taken today.
I was sat right in the back row and I’d left my specs in the car, so I squinted through most of the game trying to follow the action. It started well for us attacking the goal at the far end and for the first 20 minutes or so Cardiff hardly troubled our half at all. I wouldn’t say we were particularly inventive but we certainly dominated and Guthrie found himself with a shooting chance early on but was denied by a decent sliding tackle from a Cardiff defender. (more…)
Unshaven havenAccording to the club site, Alan Smith will not shave until the Toon lose a game.
The bestubbled player said:
“It started off as a bit of a joke but then a few of the lads told me to keep it going until we get beaten so I hope it’s still there at Christmas.”
“Mind you, I’ve had a bit of a reprieve. I’m going to trim it because it is starting to get a bit itchy now. I need to sort it out.”
Let’s hope he doesn’t have to shave on Sunday evening!
Smith continues by saying that the players who remain at the club really want to be there:
“The players who said they wanted to stay did it because they want to prove they are good enough to get back in the Premier League.
“Only time will tell if we can. Squad togetherness is important. I think that’s the biggest impact on people who come and watch us play.
“When I speak to people, that is what they have said, so that means a lot to us because we are honest lads who want to stay, do well and get this club back in the Premier League.” (more…)
Rumours "not true"According to The Chronicle, they were contacted by one of their ‘usually reliable sources’ who said that one interested group had reached written agreement about buying the club and ‘other sources’ close to Sheard’s American bidders said that the deal is close to crossing the finishing line.
Both Derek Llambias and Seymour Pierce deny these rumours though, simply stating that they’re “not true”. Jonathon Brill – Ashley’s excellent PR man – just said that “talks are ongoing”.
Whilst I know the press do manage to bribe secure reliable sources sometimes, they don’t appear to have done so when it comes to anything to do with the Toon takeover situation.
The whole thing has be plagued by one unreliable rumour after another and it hasn’t been helped by the blatant publicity-seeking exhibited by some consortia under the guise of supposed bids.
My guess is that Sheard’s bid is a non-starter, just like those of The Profitable Group, Graham Roberts and Freddy Shepherd. In fact I think Moat’s bid is the only one that’s likely to be (or have been) a serious contender. (more…)
Innocent?Mike Ashley could find himself doing a spell of porridge if the investigations by the Serious Fraud Office turn up anything untoward.
Acting on a tip-off from JJB Sports, the Office of Fair Trading and the Serious Fraud Office raided Ashley’s Sports Direct offices following allegations of fraud and price-fixing.
JJB’s own offices were raided too but they’ve allegedly been offered immunity from prosecution in return for their cooperation. JJB reported Sports Direct to the OFT in January a few days after it suspended Chris Ronnie, its CEO and a former friend and employee of Mike Ashley.
It all sounds a bit tit-for-tat because in 2000 and 2001 it was Ashley pointing the finger at JJB Sports, landing the company a £6.7m fine for its price-fixing activities, for which I assume they were less than grateful. However, since then price-fixing has been declared a criminal activity and is punishable by up to 5 years in the clink and an unlimited fine so, if guilty, Ashley is likely to face a much harsher penalty than a mere £6.7m fine. (more…)
