January Transfer Window - Rumours, Links, B*llsh*t and Made-Up Nonsense

[WALTERS WARRIORS]

I am sure Houllier already has several players in mind for various positions and i Hope Horau is one of them ......

[Mazrim]

According to The Mirror (hmmm...), we're keeping tabs on Gervinho.
Are they John Robertson's tabs and can he come and collect them please?

[JUAN PABLO]

1% Villa  . Vassell for Leicester

[Salsa Party Animal]

I wonder what match Gerard will be watching tonight and tomorrow.

[Mazrim]

What do you mean?

[The Man With A Stick]

Do you reckon Rooney fancies a move to B6 because he misheard the story about Hoarau and thought that Villa were buying a whorehouse?

[JUAN PABLO]

 Paul Doyle guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 20 October 2010

.There is something barely credible about Gérard Houllier's start at Aston Villa. Even something unnatural, like the smile of a politician consorting with hoi polloi in the run-up to election day. For those who remember the Frenchman as an embattled, morose character at the twilight of his Liverpool reign, his chirpiness and positivity at Villa Park all seem a tad forced, like the wan enthusiasm of a middle-aged divorcee dragged by his dizzy teenage girlfriend to an after-school disco. Nothing wrong with striving to redefine oneself, of course, nor with trying to dispel the pessimism that loomed over Villa Park before his arrival, but for some reason – hey look, perhaps it's the cynicism of the age? Or straight-up envy? – it's difficult to buy Houllier's schtick. And no amount of suggestions that Emile Heskey is as deadly as Didier Drogba can change that. Hell no.

Happily, indeed inevitably, suggestions are now beginning to surface to the effect that Houllier himself does not believe that. Why else would he be preparing a £14m raid for Paris Saint-Germain target man Guillaume Hoarau? The late-blooming 26-year-old gangler has a reasonable enough record for PSG over the last couple of seasons and has performed sufficiently well to win an international call-up from Laurent Blanc but there remains something unconvincing about him, too.

But hey, Houllier knows the French game better than anyone and has a flawless strike rate when it comes to signing players from Ligue 1 so Randy Lerner should have absolutely no quibbles about forking out millions for any player he recommends. What? Ah.

The club Houllier has never quite got over being discarded by, meanwhile, are, depending on who you believe, either preparing to pinch the 24-year-old Barcelona forward Nolito (several daily papers) or replace Roy Hodgson with Ruud Gullit (one gaudy website and a large sweaty bloke down the Mill's local).

Another man who pines for a return to Merseyside is, apparently, Landon Donovan. And David Moyes is going to make it happen. Though Mark Hughes is determined to test the strength of Everton's appeal by flaunting the counter-attraction of fashionable Fulham and the opportunity to jam with USA team-mate Clint Dempsey.

Harry Redknapp is going to try his hand at this completely alien wheeling-and-dealing lark and will see if he can lure Dynamo Zagreb striker Mateo Kovacic and peddle Robbie Keane to anyone at all.

Barcelona want Real Madrid's Portuguese centre back/midfielder Pepe and he wants them, Or an improved contract from Real. Barça are also keen on Palermo's sought-after striker Javier Pastore, who's also being eyed up by Arsenal, Manchester City and Bayern Munich.

See that? The Mill managed to complete its dispatch without even one mention of the R word! You get the impression that Sir Alex Ferguson would happily never mention it again either. And if you think the hullaballoo created by this week's events is noisy, then imagine what will happen if the gossip claiming that Ferguson intends replacing Mr R with Mr F Torres turns out to be true.

[citizenDJ]

I don't really understand what that 'article' is about. It just seems like a pointless, aimless piece of nothing.

'There is something barely credible'? That's just poor (Bad) English, no?

EDIT: Oh, it's a gossip column, right? Bloody hell. Think I'll stick to higher quality, rather more informed stuff, like CaughtOffside.com

[eamonn]

his chirpiness and positivity at Villa Park all seem a tad forced, like the wan enthusiasm of a middle-aged divorcee dragged by his dizzy teenage girlfriend to an after-school disco.

This actually happens? Hope for all of us..

[PeterWithe]

Riykaard has left Galatasary. I don't think he'll be out of work long, strange that he didn't seem to be on our list of possibles.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9109929.stm

[Dave]

Riykaard has left Galatasary. I don't think he'll be out of work long, strange that he didn't seem to be on our list of possibles.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9109929.stm

Fairly lucky that he wasn't. Not a good manager at all in my opinion.

[Monty]

Riykaard has left Galatasary. I don't think he'll be out of work long, strange that he didn't seem to be on our list of possibles.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9109929.stm

Fairly lucky that he wasn't. Not a good manager at all in my opinion.

Agreed. His track record shows that he only plans for the short term and then splits the dressing room. He has favourites, starts arguments with players - in short, the worst of Strachan and MON.

[Karl Bridges]

Daily Mail

Jean Makoun on Aston Villa and Arsenal radar as £11m Lyon midfielder heads for bargain January move

By Sportsmail Reporter
Last updated at 5:05 PM on 21st October 2010


Aston Villa and Arsenal have been linked with January moves for Cameroon midfielder Jean Makoun, who has fallen out of favour at Lyon.

The 27-year-old midfielder, who has previously been linked with Tottenham, is expected to leave the club in January after starting just four of nine Ligue 1 games this season.

Lyon president Jean Michel Aulas admitted there were 'one or two approaches from England', indicating they were for initial loan deals with an option to buy.

Arsenal and Spurs both mulled moves for the athletic, defence-minded midfielder two years ago when he was on his way out of Lille.

However, Lyon paid a whopping £11million to see off competition and Makoun impressed in his first season before starting to fall out of coach Claude Puel's plans last season.

He would be available for a knockdown fee at the end of the season as his contract expires in 2012.

Reports in France claim that Aston Villa are in pole position to make a January swoop, as their new French boss Gerard Houllier well acquainted with Makoun.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1322570/Jean-Makoun-Aston-Villa-Arsenal-radar-11m-Lyon-midfielder-heads-bargain-January-move.html#ixzz131wd8c00

[KevinGage]

Odd state of affairs when £11 million is a knockdown fee.

Haven't seen enough of him to really form an opinion, whenever I've watched Lyon he hasn't particularly stood out.

[Karl Bridges]

Odd state of affairs when £11 million is a knockdown fee.

Haven't seen enough of him to really form an opinion, whenever I've watched Lyon he hasn't particularly stood out.

He cost them £11m. Knock down fee now because his contract is running down.