Would like La Liga, apparentlyMarco Pappa (who?), who has been reported as a target for Newcastle United, seems to prefer the idea of a move to Spain.
Now I must confess that I hadn’t heard of Marco Pappa and, anyway, it seems that any ‘link’ he supposedly has with a transfer to Newcastle is enormously speculative and looks a bit like one of those ‘plucked out of the air’ things the press make up from time to time.
The rumour appeared to start while I was lazing on a beach in ignorance of all Toon news, but yesterday Pappa – who currently plays for Chicago Fire in America’s Major League Soccer – expressed a preference for joining La Liga anyway, saying:
“My contract is expiring soon and I am looking at options to play in Europe. Hopefully doing so will benefit my career. I am very grateful to the MLS, but now I am about to take a different step and don’t want to play in my home country.”
What he might be talking about with the ‘not wanting to play in his home country’ bit there is alleged interest in him from Colo-Colo in Chile’s Primera División because he said:
“Yeah, right. There is talk of Colo-Colo, I heard rumours … I want to live different things to move forward in my career. Guatemalans need that international experience to grow.” (more…)
Barca interest may be unfoundedBarcelona may not be after Newcastle United left-back Jose Enrique and Mevlüt Erdinç snubs Newcastle transfer.
It seems that recent rumours about Barcelona’s interest in Jose Enrique may be unfounded. Enrique’s representative (and brother) Salvador Sanchez said this about any alleged links between his brother and a move to the Nou Camp:
“We know nothing, only what has appeared in the press.”
Barcelona are known to want to strengthen their left side and, after recent attempts to sign José Ángel from Sporting Gijón fell through, it was thought they might turn their attentions to Enrique. However, it seems that Valencia’s Jordi Alba is actually their preferred target.
Some sites are saying that Barcelona have actually come out and said “We will not be trying to sign Enrique” but after a thorough search of the Spanish press for statements from Barcelona I can’t find any evidence of this. That’s not to say it isn’t true of course – my failure to find it might just be due to my incompetence with both the Spanish language and Google. (more…)
The sound of two-hand clappingIf we cast a yardstick over the comings and goings at Newcastle United during this transfer window, have we done enough already to achieve Alan Pardew’s aim of ‘getting a reputation and moving forward’?
Confusion abounds amongst Toon fans as to exactly what’s in store for us during the remainder of this transfer window. The less speculative fan might suggest we “wait and see” but there are others who like a bit of speculative ranting or raving – good or bad – about how things are going. And why not?
The Dalia Lama once told me that the root of all suffering is craving; specifically craving to want things to be different to the way they are. Stop that craving, he said, and all suffering will cease. I have it on good authority that the Dalia Lama is a Blackpool supporter though (orange kit you see) and I tend to feel if he was a Newcastle supporter he might have hoyed his prayer wheel out of the window in frustration by now. (more…)
New skipper, same haircut.Fabricio Coloccini gets the captain’s armband at Newcastle United for the 2011/2012 season.
I would like to mention at the outset that this post has nothing to do with mandolins, which are musical instruments of the lute family. I could talk at length about their origins from the lute and the mandore but I won’t because to my tone deafness they just sound like out of tune guitars. No indeed, no mandolins here – that’s merely what’s known in the trade as a ‘jaunty headline’ (by an idiot writer).
So, to the story. Coloccini has been officially announced as the Newcastle United captain and said:
“I am thrilled to be named captain of Newcastle United. It is one of the proudest moments of my career.
“Leading the team out in front of our supporters in our first game against Arsenal will be a great honour for me and I aim to give my best for the team and the supporters throughout the season.
“I would also like to than Alan Pardew for putting his faith in me. It means so much to me.”
So this is good news in the sense that it must surely mean that Colo isn’t going anywhere this summer, about which there were a few rumblings in the press a while back. We’d look pretty stupid if we gave the captaincy to someone who then left. (more…)
Another incoming midfielder?Newcastle United supposedly bid £1.5m for Nottingham Forest midfielder Lewis McGugan.
Based on absolutely no evidence that I can find, the Daily Mirror yesterday claimed that we’ve made a £1.5m bid for Nottingham Forest midfielder Lewis McGugan.
However, as Nottingham Forest are allegedly after Wayne Routledge (now that QPR seem to have given up on him), maybe some sort of deal could be struck with Steve McClaren’s mob.
Lewis McGugan is 22, 5ft 9in high and plays in the centre of midfield as an ‘attacking midfielder’. He has been at Nottingham Forest from youth through to senior career and has scored 31 goals and provided 26 assists in 156 games. Last season was particularly good for McGugan with 13 goals and 16 assists in 45 games.
He’s also played for England’s under 17’s (2 goals in 10 games) and under 19’s (no goals in 4 games).
If by some freak accident the Daily Mirror has got this one right, I would presume he’s ‘one for the future’ given the number of players we already have in contention for midfield places. (more…)
