I look forwards to seeing Walcott playing in the Arsenal first team.

Souness finds loyal support at Newcastle. Oh boy, Freddie did some cracking deals didn't he? £1m each to Saunders and Murray to sack them as well! Add the cost of paying compensation to hire a replacement team and Newcastle are looking at £8m probably to get rid. Then Newcastle are also about to lose a case against the VAT man over the recovery of VAT on agents' bills where they charge the club that buys the player. (The Excise are arguing that the contractual relationship exists between player and agent and therefore the clubs have no basis for recovering VAT where they pay the agent as well- nice argument!) Of course, of all the football clubs around, the VAT man will have looked for the one who has made it easiest to win against- step forwards Newcastle!

The solution is obvious. Walcott to be appointed England player-coach when more dirt forces Sven out next Monday.

There is another semi-final second leg tonight but there is zero press coverage about it. Come on Wigan!!!!

The FA have taken decisive action and must believe/hope thay have stabilised the situation. Maybe they have. But the law of unintended consequences will ignore the fact that there are no fit candidates to take the England job. The best thing the press could do in the interest of the England football team is to start a campaign against the appointment of an English manager to run England. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/4641972.stm is the running order. So far as I am concerned, I would have deep concerns (to say the least) if any of the English names on that list were to come to manage Blackburn Rovers. On that basis, they certainly are not fit to manage England. Going back to the dirty three who have banned Sven, Man United say its not us, gov. Incidentally, if Newcastle lose their Court case (see Souness thread), the Mancs owe the VAT man £400k for last year's payments to agents.

Hmm, change of tone on here now. As Sven is going there is bound to be a clamour to get rid now. Don't know whether its a good idea to get rid now but the issue could be forced without the NoTW doing fake Sheikh episode 3. Apparently the Prem clubs he named have told him he is not welcome and that he will have to go to matches as an ordinary supporter with no cooperation or hospitality from them. The relegation struggler is presumably not an issue unless they are at home to clubs with England players but if the other clubs include two from Chelsea, Spurs, Arsenal, Man U and Newcastle, its going to be difficult for Sven to do his job properly before the World Cup Final.

I wonder how the NoW are going to react to their victory. Be happy or go for the kill now?

Neville in trouble. Unfortunately too late for this Wednesday but might be banned by the time we play the Mancs a week on Wednesday.

A bit of an over the top metaphor but I used it in the sense that interconnected treaties and interests can result in relatively small incidents triggering much larger and unenvisaged consequencies.

This is NOT a plea to bring Jansen back. But isn't it typical of his cruel footballing misfortune that he goes to Bolton and perhaps will get 30 minutes action as a sub spread across three games before the four Africans return and condemn him to the depths at precisely the time injuries and suspensions would have got him a run with the Rovers?

As things stand he stays- it depends whether the NoTW have a convincing part 3. I wonder if they got him to talk about the FA blazers? Incidentally, did you notice in the piece at the week-end, the affable avuncular Still actually did much of the spilling of beans. I am surprised that Sven allowed Still to put out his statement yesterday unless those two are so "in it together" in terms of what else they said.

Simon Jordan adds his name and Ian Dowie's onto the list of folks going to the compliance unit. And probably fataly damages whatever slim chance Vennables ever had of succeding Sven in the process. The FA begin toi think the "unthinkable" so they are ppreparing a contingency plan. And when you have one of those, you know what to do when/if the NoTW fake Sheikh runs into a third or fourth instalment. We may hate the NoTW, we want England to win the World Cup, but are we manning the barricades because we love Sven? I didn't think so and the NoTW and FA know that. Of course, if this is true, then besides casting the Premiership in a very bad light for wanting Sven out because of his naming clubs and managers, it puts Sven in a much less secure situation. A very fair assessment of SGE. It will be interesting to see if we can love the "dishwasher" and forgive him not giving us the Ferrari in the drive.

Scadenfreude (if that is spelt correctly) is probably why I am posting this piece which also says nice things about the Rovers. Elsewhere, the Guardian says definitively that Souness will be replaced by Roeder "assisted" by Shearer today. The Newcastle fans seem distinctly underwhelmed by the prospect- I wonder why?

I picked up that Bellars didn't train last week. But then again, how often have we found out that he did his hamstrings during training? Hopefully, the Mancs have got their soft last minute goal out of the way in that very low key encounter with Liverpool yesterday. The loss of Dickov is huge- the lazy Rio cannot stand his work rate. Not having Bellamy would be a massive loss. Still for all his detractors, Kuqi made yet another goal yesterday and there are certain circumstances in which even the best defenders cannot stop him- ask John Terry! If he had been fit, the starting line-up would have been Bentley and Bellamy but a Bentley/ Kuqi front line is a recipe for praying for miracles (or MGP/Kuqi). Otherwise I would go for the same back line and midfield we had against Newcastle. Incidentally, wasn't Neville a disgrace against the scousers? I hope the Rovers support get at him on Wednesday night!

Fleet Street facilitating the cover up then, jim?

Eriksson and Still called into see the FA. A bit dfifferent from Mike Newell who asked to go to the Compliance Unit. Incidentally, isn't McLaren a part-time employee of the FA?

I don't know whether this belongs here or in the Souness thread. Anyway nufc.com provide this gem of a report: Dead man walking Newcastle 0 Blackburn 1 It's a fraction over 16 months since Graeme Souness walked into St.James' Park as Newcastle Manager in waiting, taking a lofty perch to watch his former charges from Ewood Park soundly beaten 3-0 by a John Carver-marshalled Magpies side. On that day in September 2004 we called the Blackburn side led by perennial caretaker boss Tony Parkes "a dispirited rag-bag of an outfit that slouched out to line up against us." Now in January 2006 the boot is firmly on the other foot, as the fans who cheered the departure of our Manager from Lancashire predicted his imminent exit from Tyneside from their Level Seven seats. This time it was the home side who were bereft. Bereft of confidence, lacking anything approaching good fortune, perpetually hamstrung by injuries and now, perhaps fatally, deserted by their fans. The pre-match build up had been punctuated by a plea for unity from the Chairman and a desperate call to arms from the Manager. Neither cut any ice with the rank and file. And this time the good fortune Souness had enjoyed in recent home games deserted him. A 93rd minute penalty miss from Gareth Barry salvaged a point against Villa, then an extra time leveller from Lee Clark did the same against the smoggies. And of course with the dark clouds beginning to form against Mansfield, up popped that man Shearer to take a share of Wor Jackie's record and divert attention away from an unsatisfactory display against a side who could be playing in the Conference next season. Today though there was no late solace for Souness. And with the usual touch of farce and folly that seemingly dogs this club at every turn, the crucial goal came from the hand of a player Souness signed for Rovers - after having seen his nimble footwork and long-range shooting prowess. Morten Gamst Pedersen netted with 15 minutes remaining via what TV replays confirmed was a hand - helping Shefki Kuqi's goalbound effort into the Leazes net. Of course this is nothing new; Blackburn having won here by the only goal of the game in December 2003, thanks to Paul Gallacher's punched- in effort at the same end of the ground. So, let's just set the scene. Almost 50,000 Newcastle fans in their own stadium, a player one goal away from breaking the club's all-time scoring record and fifteen minutes left to turn things around. What followed was deeply depressing and deeply predictable. The players were unable to lift ourselves from the rut that we'd slipped into after a bright opening to the first half - and worse still, nobody seemed to believe that we were capable of doing so. Souness sat rooted to his seat, his cohorts around him equally motionless - aside from the usual Dean Saunders mime show. And from the stands came nothing - no boos, no great walk out, but no attempt at lifting the players. Had it not been for the "Taxi for Souness" and "sacked in the morning" taunts from the travelling fans it would have been eerily quiet. In the end Souness and his side were condemned by the sound of silence. Forget the Sky-hyped protests of charver children outside SJP after the game - the real story was the air of resignation that settled across the ground during the game. People simply don't believe Souness; don't believe in his tactics, his rhetoric or his purchases. To nobody's great surprise the promised return of Emre failed to materialise, despite the claptrap in the Friday press conference. As ever the defence looked flaky and shaky: big name acquisitions Boumsong and Babayaro found wanting both technically and in terms of commitment. Quite simply, they didn't look as if they gave a clumsy, hit shift + 8 again!! what the score was. And once again the £10m Spaniard barely featured - one early shot clattered against the 'keeper and thereafter a handful of forays down the left that confirmed he cannot take a man on to save his life. His withdrawal though saw him spark into life, as he raced down the player's tunnel with a purpose that had hitherto been lacking from his afternoon's output. It's the injuries you know - we have a sick list, so all bets are off. Never mind that what we still put out on the park is an extravagantly-paid, expensively assembled side who have international experience and pedigree but who are playing listless, lifeless football that us breeding apathy and indifference among supporters of the club. To give Souness a penny to spend in transfers or even in sanctioning wages (Gregory Vignal aka the French Craig Moore) would seem like a vote of confidence in the management that was conspicuously missing from the Chairman's pronouncements this week - where he failed to mention the words "Graeme" and "Souness" but included "Europe". A televised embarrassment at Whaddon Road may see the axe fall on Souness, if Freddy can reign in his fury for that long. It seems that the only thing keeping Souness in post is a lack of suitable candidates to succeed him and an unwillingness or inability to pay the large severance fee that was negotiated in 2004. Souness should never have been here in the first place but he wasn't going to turn the job down was he? He knew he was on to a good thing and if it all went pear -shaped then he would get a bigger pay -off than Blackburn were about to offer him. Once again we find ourselves in an impossible and self -imposed situation. The mood of the fans seems to provide ample evidence that we have no future under Souness, but what lies ahead with him gone? Quite simply, who in their right mind would come into this madhouse and attempt to work with the current administration? Your guess is as good as ours, but the view from the stands today suggests the current incumbent has had a bellyful - something that is patently obvious from what his dispirited team is serving up. It's debatable whether anyone else could achieve any less with what's at his disposal. Yes, talent is missing - but so apparently is heart, desire, pride, organisation and motivation. Be sure of one thing: the so-called big hitters who are crocked certainly won't be rushing back to bail us out of the crap in the closing months of the season. No, the only thing those missing players will be rushing to do is phone their agents and tell them to seek pastures new ASAP. And in all this two more words were never mentioned: "Craig Bellamy". Perhaps the symbolism of the Welshman returning to his old stamping ground to inflict collateral damage on us would have stirred the Chairman into action, or at least wound home fans up. But instead he was left to reflect on what his reception on Tyneside might have been - and doubtless glorify in the success of his current employers. PS: The final insult was perhaps provided by the Saturday evening Sky game, when a Steve Watson own goal gave the mackems a 1-0 win at the Hawthorns. In our present predicament, that was a good result for us, keeping the Baggies as it did from moving with one point of our lowly fourteenth placing.

It seems highly likely that 27 January will be the date on which the Rovers accounts will be in the public domain. For those of you who are impatient, here are a few thoughts about the club's finances ahead of when I can post a full analysis. My guess (and a view I've held for a year now if anyone wishes to check my posts) is that this year’s numbers will in most respects not be that much different from last year’s results which showed a loss after player trading of around £5m. The club probably budgeted for crowds to stabilise at the 24,000 fgure they had dropped to following the previous season’s 26,000 but as we know the haemorrhaging of support from the club continued. Thankfully the FA Cup run would have helped cover that problem to keep the accounts relatively rosy. However, that has not stopped the Walker Trust continuing to support the club very generously and in last year’s accounts, it was announced that the Trust would look to convert £14m of debt into new shares in the club. This is in addition to the annual £3m and other advances which have added up to an average £5m a year injection into the club both when Jack was alive and since his death. This £14m vote of faith in the Rovers can be turned into cash by the directors as a new borrowing opportunity if they wish to take it- in other words, replace that debt the Walker Trust is turning into shares by new debt. However, any banker looking at the club today would see a decline in gates from 26,000 to 19,500 over three years and would inevitably assess the club’s credit worthiness based on a continuation of that downwards trend. The Rovers are certainly not good for another £14m but there is space for more debt as I have explained. With the club now already having one point more than the 33 points which the 18th club accumulated last season, relegation is not an issue for Rovers this season. The fear of Championship football and contingency planning for it presumably dominated the previous two seasons’ transfer plans. Moving to the next level is now the agenda of the day and that refinancing of old debt is the reason why I feel that the key issue for buying a striker this January is much more a challenge of finding the right one who is available than it is a question of financing the transfer (within reason). As Hughes has said, his challenge is not making mistakes with transfers; he is not saying he cannot buy players. If Ahn gets precious about a trial at Ewood, he can stick on the subs bench at Metz. John Williams has in effect said the playing staff in future will comprising first eleven players mostly transferred in who will improve on what we’ve already got whilst the squad members will come from Academy graduates. I guess that the club’s financial modelling foresees eleven players earning between £1m and £3m a year with an original total transfer value of £20m or so and 14 squad players earning £250k to £500k each. This would broadly maintain the salary levels of two years ago whilst giving the club the ability to compete at the top end of the non-Champions League clubs for its first eleven. However, the drop off in gates is now hurting the club another way as it very directly hits the Rovers’ ability to pay transfer fees. I estimate that the cumulative loss in income since the 26,000 average gates of three seasons ago must be upwards of £5m now. What would we give to have £5m available to snap up a striker on Monday morning? And how can the people of Blackburn look to the Walker Trust for cash when they are not willing to go along to consume the product they are trying to provide? The other black cloud but this time with a silver lining is our dependence on Cup performance. The £2.5m or so the club was reported as pulling in from the FA Cup run last season must have made a critical difference to last year’s financial numbers. The League Cup run this year will not have been anywhere near as lucrative as the FA Cup until we drew Man U in the semi-final. But the trading performance for 2005/6 is critically dependent on Rovers not losing both the next two games (Man U and West Ham). If we lose those two games and the Premiership gates remain depressed then the £3.5m gain in place prize money for finishing in our current 8th position will be significantly offset by the reduction in Cup income and loss of gate receipts from league games- a sobering thought which again equates our attendance performance to free funds available for transfers. Again, the Bank Manager could well say, let's see if you reach Cardiff and are still in the FA Cup before I extend that £x million line of credit. Sorry for quoting Mark Hughes in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph last night again: "My ambition is to go as far as I can, and take Blackburn as far as possible. "We have got some way to go and hopefully we will get there quickly. "Then we will need major investment to go to the next level. "The club will have to decide how far they want to go. Chase the best or stay where we are?" This clarity of thought and in speaking his mind is the greatest gift he could give to Blackburn Rovers Football Club. Mark is saying that his target is to manage a club in the Champions League and to do so soon. He has already transformed the club from one which has been worried about relegation to one which is chasing UEFA qualification on three fronts (perhaps only one front a week from now). But to be a Champions League contender requires a quantum shift upwards from the current financially and managerially well-run club the Rovers are now. That is the major investment he is referring to. Whether the Walker Trust (if they sell Flybe) or somebody else is in for that particular ride is the £100m question.

They've done a good job in clearing it off the Sky and BBC web sites so far... My guess is that Sven's lawyers are screaming sub judice. Whilst its not in the main football pages, it is in the UK News of the BBC and Patrick Barclay is quoted at length on Sky.

A quick look at some very unrepresentative web sites: - Pompey fans are sure its them - Boro fans aqre having a party, they are so pleased its them. - Newcastle fans don't believe its their club - Spurs fans are worried - Arsenal fans think its Spurs - Chelsea fans think that if Abramovich was so smart that he made £7bn without being accused of corruption, he's hardly going to fall to Sven and the NoTW - Manc fans are having a row between those who call RFW "Sir Alex" and those who call him "Ferguson".

Jimmy Greaves seems to have a positive view about our chances from a Today interview earlier last week (as well as some views on Bobby Robson and Newcastle): "There was a wonderful sight in the week, Bobby Robson beaming down from another well-lit stage, another job before him- more success, no doubt. The night before he had delivered a marvellous speech in hounour of Bryan Robson at The Savoy. He was up at 5.30 the next morning to get a flight to Dublin to be ready for an 11am press conference. Sharing the stage with Steve Staunton, he looked bright and breezy and ready for the challenge of helping the Rep Of Ireland to the next European Championship finals. This is the man who led Newcastle to fourth, third and fifth in the Premiership in his final three seasons in charge at St James. This was, of course, having guided them clear of relegation when he first arrived in 1999. His reward for this- the sack just a handful of games into last season. The result- Newcastle finnished the season 14th their worst ever Premiership finish and blew their chances of winning the Uefa and Fa Cups. And now turmoil, once more swirls around Tyneside. What is it about Bobby Robson that makes people act so swiftly and repent at such leisure? The FA, Barcelona and Newcaste have all done it. Still he beams that smile, bounces back and once more embraces the game he has given so much. As for Newcastle, well, you cannot help wondering if they are getting what they deserve. Five managers in the last 10 years is hardly the stablitiy on which to build any sort of power-base. Yesterday things just got worse as the bickering at the very top continued. Chairman Freddy Shepherd is not happy Newcastle's poor run is being blamed on injuries. After giving manager Greame Souness a healthy £50 million to add to an already strong squad that under Bobby got 4th 3rd and 5th you can understand why. In return, Souness hit back yesterday claming it was not an excuse but a "fact" that they are not winning football matches beause the do not have their best players. In the meantime, Souness continues a fight with the local media due to the criticism he has recieved. Never a good sign that. Particularly in a part of the world where the fans lap up every word those in charge of their hopes and dreams utter. Today, Souness faces his old club Blackburn where he left 16 mouths ago to take over at St James Park. It is only a rumour that the sound of champagne corks could be heard popping as he drove away from Ewood Park. To be fair, he did get them up and win a League Cup there but he also put them in danger of the drop. Mark Hughes in contrast has done a marvellous job, having saved them from relegation last season, Rovers are now a top 10 force and 90 minutes away from a trip to Cardiff and the Carling Cup Final. Do not bet against them doing a job on Man Utd next week in the Semi Final second leg. Souness is someone who seems to attract confrontation whererver he geos, He clashes with players on a regular basis and nothing ever seems to be his fault. A bad result today and chairman Shpehrd may decide that it is in fact his fault. Then he will go, and someone else will come in and the circus wil go on, if only they where not so swift to sacking Sir Bobby maybe things would be different." -Jimmy Greaves talking to Neil Custis-

The News of the World story and the video tape of the meeting. There was a live on air slip on Sky Breakfast that suggested Portsmouth is the struggling club and McLaren is the big name manager.

Just out of interest, has anyone got Souness' comments after Gally's goal the last time we won at Newcastle?

I think we have reached the tipping point where it is more likely than not that Sven will go before the World Cup. Furthermore he will be unemployable in the UK which means that one big hitter will not be available when the Manchester United and Newcastle jobs fall vacant. This is how the most read Sports pages- the Telegraph- are covering the story. English football is going into melt down and the consequences from the ability to lure foreign players using complicated tax structures to the amount the broadcast rights can command are now under question marks. It could be a bit like the shooting in Sarajevo in 1914. Sven cannot retract his legal case against the NoTW without losing all credibility. The NoTW have used some more of his slack jawed comments (the fact that Atholle Still was with him probably increases the likelihood of more gossip with the fake sheikh rather than decreases). This time, they've used the stuff which they know they will not get pilloried for- last week's exposee rebounded badly on them. In looking to their own popularity after last week's mauling, even the NoTW probably don't know quite what they have set off. They have said that Managers and clubs were named- the pressure for those names to come out in public will be immense. Watch for it all popping up on the internet on short lived sites (not this one please). The FA either haul Sven in for questioning or get very publicly hauled up for double standards. They cannot question Newell, Hulse and Holloway but make an exception for their own employee. Surely, the Police and the Premier League will be interested in the tone of Stll/Eriksson's remarks and perhaps the NoTW and their fake sheikh face a subpoena at some stage. The NoTW must have more from Sven's trip to Dubai which hasn't gone into print- its the NoTW style to drip this stuff out. As the Telegraph comment, this whole sting cost them £100K+ and they will not have recovered much of that outlay yet. Atholle Still will be a busy man this morning. Who knows what might be going into shredders in the football world today? The last week in brief.

Enemies of the State.