...well why not?

It is reported that a medical that was scheduled for Hatem Trabelsi today with Arsenal was cancelled at very short notice.

It is also being reported that we have offered him more money than Arsenal.

So, two and two occasionally make four. Who knows?

-- Anonymous, July 21, 2004

Answers

Well if that adds up to four this could end up being a very good week.

Gary...a very good pro, but probably better at Bolton than the Toon..wish him luck - can't say I am sorry to see him go from the footballing side.

Hugo....never gonna make it with us, hope things improve for him and he proves he is worth 8/9 million for us to sell next year...watch out for that flying bacon

Paddy K...Welcome on board - watch the press they are out to get you (along with the rest of wor squad)- proof of the puddin an al that..I look forward to your first few games.

Mr Trabelsi... Give that dark dank part of North London a miss. Hit the bright lights of Tyneside - you won't regret it.

-- Anonymous, July 21, 2004

If Trabelsi does sign we can congratulate the powers that be on a fantastic close season.

-- Anonymous, July 22, 2004

Regarding Viana, I read or heard a suggestion yesterday that we still owe Sporting Lisbon money on the original deal, and that the option they have to sign him permanently involves them waiving at least part of the original transfer fee.

The part that amused me though was the clause that he is not allowed to play against us in the Gateshead Cup (!) or any future game involving the two Clubs. Seems we do occasionally learn from our mistakes after all.

-- Anonymous, July 22, 2004

Wavy Tony wrote:

"If Trabelsi does sign we can congratulate the powers that be on a fantastic close season".

There remain two outstanding and very important issues - RB is one, and a top-class replacement for Speed is the other. So, let's not rest on our laurels just yet.

However, if those two positions are adequately filled you can move me into the "contented" category, and just possibly the "mildly optimstic" category too. There, I've said it! ;o{)

-- Anonymous, July 22, 2004

....even though I spelled 'optimistic' wrong. Perhaps the reason is it's not a word I use very often! ;o{)

-- Anonymous, July 22, 2004

The tough tackling midfielder is a poser for me. I am interested in seeing what a midfield unit operates like as opposed to a holding role being handed to a single person.

At any rate it may be that Jenas is now capable of filling Speed's shoes. I am just happy the the glaringly obvious problem has been identified if not yet addressed.

-- Anonymous, July 22, 2004

My concern over this potential Butt signing is that I think we may have missed a trick here. Bowyer was Mr Action man at the end of last season and with the tour he seems to have kept that going. We also have a young man in Jenas who, towards the end of last season was a given a very simple defensive job and did it well. Now Jenas can't have as bad a season again but he could be sitting on his backside, or will it be Action Man Bowyer. For my money Butt is not a poor man's Viera/Keane, he's a different player. He does not have the drive nor the passing skills of those two players nor does he get forward like Keane used to. I think the trick we might miss is a Jenas/ Bowyer m/f which could well click. Butt though would be useful in a three. Don't know why we are talking about the Midfield though, it will be route 1.2 (a&b) this season with AL and PK.

-- Anonymous, July 22, 2004

Does anybody know what happened to our interest in Miguel? Have we dopped all interest in him or is there still a possibility of him coming? From what I've seen he would be a real asset and would I'd rather see him arrive than Butt.

-- Anonymous, July 22, 2004

The thing with Butt is that he's used to not playing every single game, so hopefully can be used when appropriate (don't ask me to define).

Reading some of SBR's comments from yesterday, he really seems to have finally grasped that you need a squad and use them appropriately. I'd imagin his first choice up front will be Shearer and Kluivert (imagine being a central defender on the opposing team and seeing those 2 on the team sheet!). Bellamy may be better suited playing fewer games or coming off the bench when Shearer has scored his 3rd ;-) Certainly, I think PK will play more minutes than either of them, assuming his form is OK.

But back to Rog's point about MF. We now have Dyer/Ambrose/Jenas/Bowyer/Milner/Robert, with likely Butt to come in too. So still 7 chasing for 4 places. We have lost the maturity of Gary Speed and I think Butt, tho a bit hot-headed at times, can provide a lot of experience. Now that SBR has been forced to throw away the pre-printed teamsheets, I hope he looks to play the best formation for each game. I believe he has an idea of playing 3/5 at the back at times with wingbacks. He made a big fuss at Euro 2004 about the FBs creating space by getting round the back. With Shearer and Kluivert up front, they're gonna need that kind of supply to score goals.

-- Anonymous, July 22, 2004