Sam Allardyce is not worried by the prospect of rival clubs coming in for Michael Owen, with the Newcastle chief claiming the striker is out of reach.
Reports suggest Manchester City chief Sven Goran Eriksson is contemplating tabling an offer in the January transfer window.
Owen has just over 18 months to run on his present contract and talks over a new deal have not yet started.
There is a fear Owen could walk away for nothing in 2009, but Allardyce is not concerned by the speculation and will not contemplate a cut-price sale.
"You probably can't afford him,' was his answer to if he had a message for interested parties.
"There's no clause in Michael Owen's contract now, full stop. There's no way Michael can leave unless we want him to. Saying that, if Michael was as determined as some players are when they decide they want to go, that would be a different story."
Allardyce claims the club will review Owen's situation in the summer.
He added: "At the moment, we're hoping Michael stays fit and plays continuously for Newcastle from now until the end of the season. If he does that, we can have a good look at the situation then."
27 October 2007
Who has the loudest fans in the Premier League?
Decibel meter readings taken across home matches for all Premier League teams during August and September, showed that the loudest home crowd was Sunderland.
Average peak volume of the Sunderland crowd at home reaching 129.2 decibels & 150; louder than a rock concert (115 decibels) and almost as loud as an air raid siren/military jet (130 decibels).
As a volume of 110-115 decibels can cause hearing damage after just 15 minutes, football fans are being advised to wear ear protection if they want to hear the referees whistle clearly across their supporting career.
The findings are especially embarrassing for Arsenal and Manchester United, whose grounds dwarf the 49,000-seater Sunderland home ground by 11,000 and 21,000 seats respectively.
Quietest home fans were Fulham who could only muster an average maximum volume of 115.4 decibels at home.
And although not the loudest, Everton fans proved that they have the stamina to keep it up all match. Their chants were the most frequent (one every three minutes on average) and longest (52 seconds each on average) of all teams studied.
The ear-bending research was commissioned by 118118 who are searching for the best and loudest football chants in the country.
NOISE LEAGUE TABLE:
Sunderland
Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester City
Aston Villa
Everton
Chelsea
Middlesbrough
Derby County
Newcastle United
West Ham
Birmingham City
Arsenal
Portsmouth
Blackburn Rovers
Bolton Wanderers
Liverpool
Manchester United
Wigan Athletic
Reading
Fulham
26 October 2007
England Under-21 skipper Steven Taylor has been told to cut out "crap" performances in a candid message from boss Sam Allardyce.
The young defender was frozen out of Allardyce's squad for the win against Spurs, not even making the bench, and has yet to agree a new deal with the club.
Taylor was heroic for his country at Euro 2007 but has suffered at club level under Allardyce, paying the price for Newcastle's 3-1 defeat at Manchester City, along with Czech stopper David Rozenhal.
Allardyce has ordered Taylor to learn from United's Brazilian stopper Claudio Cacapa and the way he uses brain rather than brawn to snuff out danger.
Big Sam reckons he now has the strength in depth to axe stars - even if their performances dip for just one game.
Four Allardyce summer signings, Habib Beye, Cacapa, Abdoulaye Faye and Jose Enrique are now the first choice defence.
Newcastle are looking to build on their strongest start for 10 years by beating Reading tomorrow and asked about Taylor's future, Allardyce said: "It's not about me dropping players, it's about players dropping themselves because they played crap at Manchester City. If you play that badly, you're likely to lose your shirt. That's not just Steven Taylor - it's most of the back four on that day. One poor performance can cost you. It's frustrating and disappointing for the player in question, but that's the nature of the game. Steven trains his hardest every day and of course he will be frustrated. Basic repetitive training is the answer, particularly for defenders. That hasn't happened too much in the past here. No disrespect to previous Newcastle managers, but it doesn't look as though it has. The perfect example for Steven is Claudio Cacapa. He's not as quick as Steven, not as young but his brain gets him in to positions before the forwards. He makes it look simple. That's one of the big things to learn as a defender - reading the game."
26 October 2007
Sam Allardyce is considering giving Joey Barton his first start for Newcastle in Saturday's Barclays Premier League game with Reading at the Madjeski Stadium.
Barton finally pulled on the black and white shirt for the first time when he came on as a substitute in Monday's victory over Tottenham after suffering a metatarsal injury in the close season.
He received a tremendous ovation from the fans at St James' Park and Allardyce believes he has a lot to offer.
Allardyce said: "One of the things about midfield today is the all-round ability to do a bit of everything that is needed to be the complete midfield player. I think that Joey has a little bit of everything in his make-up to be a highly competitive midfield player in hopefully what is going to be a top-class Premier League football club in the future. His energy levels are fantastic. He achieves a huge amount of output both in and out of possession. He can tackle - although he can be erratic at times - he can head a ball, he can certainly pass the ball and to boot he also scores goals. I think he's got the lot and hopefully if he gets the opportunity to put the Newcastle shirt on from the start he keeps it. In fact I hope soon that every Newcastle player who has the shirt is looking over his shoulder and knowing if they do not perform to their best they will have that shirt taken off them."
Barton's fitness, the return from suspension of Alan Smith and the fact that James Milner came off the bench to score a stunner against Spurs give Allardyce plenty to ponder in midfield.
He said: "I have not made my mind up whether Joey Barton will start against Reading or not. In fact I haven't made my mind up on the team yet."
Smith can play in either midfield or up front and, in the continued absence of Mark Viduka, the former Leeds and Manchester United man provides an alternative option to the Michael Owen-Obafemi Martins strike partnership.
25 October 2007
West Ham United midfielder Scott Parker has suffered another set-back in his bid to recover from a knee injury.
West Ham's former Newcastle captain Scott Parker was due to return from a knee injury against Fulham reserves on Tuesday night but was forced to pull out and is now expected to be out for another two weeks.
Parker, 27, has been plagued by injury since arriving at the Boleyn Ground from Newcastle in a big-money summer transfer.
He has played just two games for the Hammers and has been plagued by the damage to his knee ligament, sustained during a pre-season friendly against Lazio.
Better news for West Ham manager Alan Curbishley was the return of Scotland midfielder Nigel Quashie in Tuesday's reserve team match.
Quashie had been out since March with ankle and foot injuries, but he came through the game without a problem.
25 October 2007
Martin Jol will not be distracted by rumours suggesting he is set for the axe and is focused on turning Tottenham's season round.
The Dutchman is again under severe pressure at White Hart Lane following the 3-1 defeat against Newcastle on Monday night and the media are already starting to speculate over who could replace him.
Blackburn boss Mark Hughes and Harry Redknapp of Portsmouth have been mentioned as replacements, but Jol says he cannot listen to all the rumours and must focus on Spurs.
Jol can do nothing about Tottenham's league position for now but he can make sure they get their Uefa Cup group campaign off to a winning start against Getafe this evening.
"If I have to look at that sort of manoeuvres then I would be crazy," Jol said of all the speculation. "There have been five or six names and I'm still here."
25 October 2007
Tottenham Hotspur head coach Martin Jol has dismissed rumours of a bust-up with star striker Dimitar Berbatov.
Speculation over the duo's flare-up surfaced after the 3-1 defeat at Newcastle United, with Berbatov struggling to live up to his superb form of last season, having netted just two goals this term.
However, a defiant Jol said: "Dimitar has a long-term contract. I always talk to him, if he's not playing well and not scoring goals, or if he's playing well and scoring goals. If I talked to him, it was nothing to do with Newcastle. It is not easy to have good players and have to tell them they are not playing, but I think I am good at this job otherwise I would not be in this industry. It is more a matter of players having to do better, but I won't blame them if the mentality is good."
Of the continuing uncertainty over his own long-term at White Hart Lane, Jol added: "It would be nice for any manager to come here and have the big bonus of Europe, but the one thing we can't change is our position in the league. It has brought us together, but the only thing is if you are in this position for two or three weeks it is not a problem, but we have been in it since the start of the season. At the end of the year there could be a problem because if we underachieve you can always say 'they didn't do well'."
25 October 2007
Under-fire Tottenham Hotspur manager Martin Jol would be "better off without" Dimitar Berbatov, according to Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp.
The Bulgarian striker made a big impact in his debut season at White Hart Lane last season, scoring 23 goals.
But Spurs' poor start to the new campaign has left Jol on the brink of unemployment and, Redknapp says, brought out the worst in Berbatov.
The former Bayer Leverkusen striker appeared reluctant to come on as a substitute in the Londoners' 3-1 defeat at Newcastle United on Monday, and Redknapp is clear on what he would do.
"The very last thing Martin Jol needs right now is Dimitar Berbatov spitting his dummy out because he's not in Tottenham's starting team every week," Redknapp said in his column in a newspaper.
"You only find out the true character of your players when the chips are down and the pressure is on. And we all saw what Berbatov is made of when he was sat sulking on the bench at Newcastle the other night with a face like a big baby. Everyone knows what a terrific player the Bulgarian can be. But he's not the striker he was a year ago and, from what I've seen, he looks to be disinterested and playing for himself rather than his team. His attitude is terrible and his behaviour at St James' Park sent out all the wrong signals."
The 26-year-old front man had been linked with a move to Old Trafford over the summer, but Redknapp believes Berbatov has blown any chance of that now.
"Maybe he's sulking because he didn't get a move to Manchester United in the summer," Redknapp added.
"But he's done himself absolutely no favours on that account because I know for a fact Alex Ferguson would never stand for any player who behaves the way Berbatov has done this week. When your team is in trouble you need the big characters to stand up. That's just what Robbie Keane has done for Spurs and Berbatov should show the same attitude. I have always believed that when you lose a player's support you get him out as quickly as possible."
Spurs play Getafe in the Uefa Cup on Thursday evening and it will be interesting to see if Jol heeds Redknapp's words.
"No matter how good, you're better off without him."
24 October 2007
Martin Jol has one game to save his job and could be replaced by Mark Hughes, according to reports.
The Independent reports that Jol will be forced out of Tottenham if they fail to beat Blackburn on Sunday, and the Rovers boss will be the prime candidate for the job.
Spurs sit in the relegation zone and have won just one league game all season, and the White Hart Lane board is reportedly close to finally losing patience with Jol, especially after apparently falling out with Dimitar Berbatov during Monday's defeat to Newcastle.
After being knocked back by Juande Ramos and Jose Mourinho, Spurs may now turn to Hughes, who has a growing reputation as one of the best young managers in the Premier League.
He has spent little on a Rovers side that has only lost once this season, and are currently just a point off the Champions League places.
24 October 2007
Obafemi Martins has dismissed reports suggesting he is unsettled at Newcastle.
Martins has produced a number of eye-catching performances this season but competition for places at St James' Park is fierce.
The former Internazionale striker has been linked with a January return to Serie A, with Juventus understood to be interested.
However, the Nigerian insists he will not be going anywhere, and has pledged his future to Magpies manager Sam Allardyce.
"I'm very happy and settled at Newcastle, I don't take any notice of the stories saying I'll leave," Martins said in the Daily Express.
"And if Sam Allardyce is here for five years I will be here for five years as well. That is how much I enjoy playing for him. I don't think I'll be going anywhere while Sam is here. I'm scoring goals and I'm playing games, that's all you can ask for as a striker."
Martins, who joined Newcastle in August 2006, admits he did struggle to adjust to the English game initially.
He explained: "It wasn't that easy when I first came to Newcastle and it took me a few months to learn about the Premier League, about England and living in Newcastle. I had to adapt to the style of football and it took me some time, but I'm very happy here."
