S-Clarke

Nah, they just want to sell papers. Nixon has made a pantomime of this since the start, with the talks of deadlines Sunderland interest, EFC interest etc...Have always been more interested with what the echo/solent guys and Lancashire guys say.

err nope, generally they have to sell papers and the more interesting the story, the better. The more twists and turns the more interest it will generate. That's the business. Local papers don't care for that kind of stuff.

Would be inclined to believe more from boden, that's not just because it's positive either! Tabloids always have an agenda and Nixon seems very keen to ramp up this everton interest - just to generate more interest in the story I'd guess, but you find that there isn't any 'agenda' attached with local papers - they just report what's what and often have closer links to the inside than national papers do.

Out of interest Derry, what strikers do you think we could go for in the £7m bracket that are more proven? Probably Europe I'd guess..

You got me 2 decent strikers though, wouldn't bet against Sharp getting goals in the PL. I think what people look at is the players all round game, and Rodriguez has more attributes to his game i.e pace, strength, agility etc....they're both goal scorrers though and to have Sharp, Lambert, Lee, Rodriguez as striking options is pretty impressive to say the least.

Jay got 21....I think Sharp got 18 in all comps.

The latest rumour is that Moyes has visited Rodriguez's house in a bid to get him to sign . WTF? lol I hate the silly season.

I still think Nixon is a bit lost on this one now, some of the lines he's coming out with are pretty odd.

Unless they've had a bid accepted, that's classed as a blatant attempt at tapping up.

Fifa licensed agent tweeted this, in response to the question ''how many signings/how ambitious will we be..." expect a few Shrewd signings. As for ambition £7mil on a striker of JR quality, plenty of ambition

Interesting inchen_dan.....positive.

They have finished in the top 7 of the premier league for the last 7 years, 56 points in 2012, 48 points in 2011, 58 points in 2010...they are not flirting with danger what so ever. They have a solid base, a fantastic manager and some really good players. Fellenni, Jagielka, Heitinga, Baines, Howard, Rodwell, Jelavic....quality right through that team. Don't kid yourself that we're on an even footing with them in terms of status, because in reality we're no where near and players will see that if they have the choice.

I think we've paid a lot of attention to Burnley over the last few years in scouting terms, maybe for Jay Rodriguez specifically and our scouts also recommended those 2 as decent additions to our squad, doubt there's much more to it than that.

Why would we offer Burnley more? That's not the problem here, they agree with what we've offered them so paying them even more is just insane.

Great summary up and away - spot on in every way. At the end of the day, we wouldn't have been trying as hard as we have for the last 18 or so months if there weren't 'positive' indications from his side. The fact he's actually in Southampton now is also a huge step. It may happen over the weekend, but I still expect this to rumble on for a few weeks. Luckily we got in there early so we can still sort before pre-season, sensible from us as I assume we anticipated the other interest.

He's been talking waffle for days now, I've not taken anything he's said as gospel. He hasn't got a scooby.

Wouldn't see the point in that one TBH. How long has he got, another season possibly? And we're going to give Davis a shot next year, it makes much more sense to go for a younger GK who can learn off of Davis. That's why I find our Rob Green interest a little odd.

Exactly. Where is in the interest in an article stating that he's talking to us over the weekend, and it may go through? That won't sell many papers. Lets make it a bit juicy and add another club to the mix....that will spice it up a bit and grab a few more readers onto the tale. At the end of the day the media, and especially football, isn't the most honest of industry's. So much crap goes on behind the scenes to hurry bids up, generate interest that isn't there etc. It can be a bit of a dirty sport in that sense at times. Most of the stuff that's in papers is planted from people with an agenda, and the managers of the said club usually have no idea.

Cahill seems the most likely, but they won't get £7m for him. I find it ludicrous that Burnley could be forced to accept much less, why would they? They call the shots as far as I'm concerned and if we offer the most then in their position, they should reject anything less. Wages-wise there wouldn't be a great deal of difference between ourselves and Evertons offer, we might even offer a bit more. So if he really wants to stay north, then that's up to him. Seems a silly reason to base a footballing decision on though and I know Burnley want this sorted ASAP, which is why this 'interest' isn't in their interests as it will drag on till July/August.

Also just noticed on that article, that Everton will likely offer less to Burnley than we have. errr...ok, so in what situation would Burnley accept less...? Seems a bizarre move and every-time I read it it sounds more and more like an agent/selling club plant to speed things along.

If Everton are serious, offer the cash and are given permission to speak, then it's over. I'm not quite sure they can afford another £7m though. They had to do alot of wheeling and dealing in January to just get the funds for Jelavic. He'd probably even accept less wages to join them....and if anything, this is your typical agent/selling club plant in order to rush the deal through as it's been dragging for a while. Next week will be interesting.

Back at Brum, but they need to sell. He was on loan at WBA last year, and you'd imagine they're the favorites to keep him....but until he's signed....

Same could be said of Douif at the world cup in 2002. If clubs have their wits about them, they'd identify who is worth it before hand. Buying players on the back of a 4 week tournament is desperate.

I hope you're just joking....