So Ronnie reckons it's Mpenza. The bit that interested me was the following paragraph:

Mpenza has a high profile on the continent, something which is helped by the fact that his girlfriend is current Miss Belgium Joke van Der Velde.

Please, somebody tell me it's not going to turn into another PR disaster. And a bliddy expensive one at that - #8M, with #4M up front and the rest over 2 more installments. On a positive point, our last Belgian was something special. Hopefully this will be as successful a move.

-- Anonymous, June 30, 2000

Answers

His handball goal was very impressive.

-- Anonymous, June 30, 2000

Reminds me of Emile Heskey.

-- Anonymous, June 30, 2000

Emile Heskey??? The TV repairmen are already en route to Hillingdon! :-)

Great 1st Euro 2000 game, and runs all day long - unconvinced by his later performances, but then can you assess on 3 games (that's all I've seen of him)? Any Jorman BBSers cast any light on Mmmmmmmmmmmpenza?

-- Anonymous, June 30, 2000

My impressions (and I am willing to be corrected!)...are that he's fast and strong but doesn't have a good touch and doesn't have a brilliant eye for goal...

I am VERY uneasy about this!

-- Anonymous, June 30, 2000

Agree, I think he runs round like a headless chicken!!! The new lad corona (whatever) looks far better, saw some goals on sky sports and he has pace, skill(took it round 3 defenders) and a hell of a kick on him(500,000 a bargain by the looks of it). Mpenza I think could be muscled out in the premiership and turn into another maric, just what we need, not!!!!

-- Anonymous, June 30, 2000

ps looking forward to seeing his girlfriend mind!!!! I remember when david ginola's wife turned up in a black and white suit, she was stunning, I was getting flustered................ramble ramble

-- Anonymous, June 30, 2000

Bobby must have had him watched before Euro 2000 so he must be fairly decent. He has an eye for a striker, you know the list by now!

-- Anonymous, June 30, 2000

Far better strikers have missed chances. There's no question about his pace, and there's no question that we deperately need pace. If it really is $4m with the rest dependant on appearnaces etc. then it's not a bad deal. He doesn't necessarily have to be the best finisher in the world, as luckily we have some of those, but a bit of pace will allow us to vary tactics, something that seriously held us back last season even after Bobby took over.

-- Anonymous, June 30, 2000

You know what. I'll be well and truely pissed if Alvaro Recoba from Inter Milan is transfered for close to this price or less.

-- Anonymous, July 01, 2000

Recoba's starting price must be 10mil. He kept Venezia up a couple of seasons ago whilst on loan there which showed an ability to score in a poor side which is no mean feat in itself. He would have been an ever-present without Roberto Baggio, Christian Vieri, Ivan Zamorano and Ronaldo on the team sheet ahead of him. With gamesmanship seemingly here to stay, a deadball specialist like him must add 3mil before they even look at his other abilities. I would spontaneously combust if we signed him and would insist that he got the Number 8 shirt as the closest thing to Beardsley we will ever see again (and I don't just mean the bowl-cut!).

-- Anonymous, July 01, 2000