For you to to browse through..bit long, but can't be arsed to make numerous threads. SUNDERLAND are continuing to run the rule over out-of-contract striker Zlatan Muslimovic, but his lack of match fitness could count against him. The 30-year-old (right) has been training at the Academy of Light as he looks to impress Black Cats boss Martin OâNeill and earn a contract, six months after leaving Greek side PAOK. But the Sunderland manager is currently looking for an experienced striker who can come in and make an immediate impact. And the Bosnian international might struggle to be ready for immediate action. In his favour, though, is that he is a free agent and even if heâs not signed in January, he could still join the club at a later date. OâNeill also confirmed that Mario Balotelliâs younger brother, 19-year-old Enoch, has been having a trial at the clubâs Academy. But he said supporters should not read too much into the comings and goings at the Academy because the club will be looking at many players during his time at the helm. He told the Echo: âZlatan Muslimovic has been here. I think he had been up at Glasgow Rangers and Iâm not sure exactly what happened but his agent gave us a call to see if we would be interested and we were, so thatâs all right. But can I just made it clear to the fans that this will become pretty much the norm. âWe will have people coming and going. Itâs not going to be an unusual occurrence. âWe had a Peruvian player over here on the say-so of Nolberto Solano, who advised us on him. He came in earlier this week but it doesnât necessarily mean anything will come off it. âOn Balotelliâs brother, that was the Academy side. In fairness, if the Academy kept me abreast of every single player theyâd signed, Iâd have had a very long list! âSo we do have players coming down for a couple of days training. It gives everyone the chance to have a little look at each other and if January hadnât been so busy in terms of fixture, we might have had a few more.â .............................................. ................................. NICKLAS Bendtner is likely to be sidelined until mid-February after Sunderland learned the extent of the strikerâs facial injuries. Bendtner was withdrawn after just 12 minutes of last weekendâs victory over Swansea City after receiving a boot to the face from defender Angel Rangel. It left the on-loan Arsenal striker with a broken nose and damage to his cheekbone â ruling the 23-year-old out of this weekendâs Wear-Tees derby and forcing Sunderland boss Martin OâNeill to take a more active stance in the transfer market. Bendtner faces several weeks in the stands and will miss next weekâs Premier League outings against Norwich and Stoke. .................................... JULIO ARCA admits he is still coming to grips with missing this weekendâs Wear-Tees derby, writes CHRIS YOUNG. The former Sunderland favourite has been ruled out of an emotional return to the Stadium of Light on Sunday after collecting a three-game ban for a straight red card in Middlesbroughâs 3-1 defeat at Coventry City last weekend. Arca was given his marching orders for a two-footed lunge on Sky Blues midfielder Sammy Clingan, with Boro opting not to appeal against the dismissal. For the Argentine midfielder, it has been a bitter pill to swallow after making more than 150 appearances during six years on Wearside. Arca said: âIt is Sunderland v Boro at the Stadium of Light, a full house, it is going to be shown live in Argentina â so thatâs even worse and my dad is gutted. .......................................................... MARTIN OâNEILL admits he is wary of âletting downâ supporters as he prepares for his North East derby bow. OâNeill faces the intensity of a clash with one of Sunderlandâs neighbours for the first time on Sunday as Middlesbrough visit the Stadium of Light in the FA Cup fourth round. The Ulsterman can point to a proud derby record during his managerial career â winning 16 out of 27 Old Firm clashes and savouring victory in all four meetings with Birmingham City when Aston Villa boss. But when asked whether he was looking forward to his first taste of a North East tussle, the Sunderland boss joked: âNo ... âI obviously get concerned at not performing, letting people down and losing the game. âBut Iâm sure it will be a really good experience. âThis might not go down well with every Sunderland fan, but it would be great to have a really strong North East, with the three sides still in the Premiership. âIt has traditionally been a hotbed of football and you want it to be as strong as possible. .............................. As told by Syd SUNDERLAND are considering offering Bolton Wanderersâ icon Kevin Davies a permanent deal in order to clinch his move to the Stadium of Light. The 34-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and his availability has attracted a string of interested clubs. But none have offered the striker a permanent contract so far and Sunderland know that doing so would see them steal a march on their rivals. Davies is one of the highest earners at the Reebok and manager Owen Coyle is known to favour a drive towards younger players on lesser wages. But the forwardâs wages are not sky-high by Premier League standards and well within Sunderlandâs range. A sticking point could be the type and length of the contract. Sunderlandâs plan was to look only at loan deals in the current window but that would leave them likely to be disappointed, with Davies more likely to stay at the Reebok and leave at the end of the season.
Gutted for Julio mind. Hope he still travels and gets the chance to get an ovation. One of my faves ever.
On the Daview thing - as much as he is a great target man, will he really last for 90 minutes in a Sunderland Shirt - playing for Bolton he seemed to be allowed to get away with the elbows and kicks but playing for us the likelihood is that he won't!! Well I suppose we'll see and Martin knows best!! Oh and he's better than Heskey!!
Arca is one of mind too kidda. Gutted if isn't playing. Just add, I'd be delighted if Davies came here. 34 is not too old and he is fit as ****. His attitude is spot on as well and he loves playing the scum. For 18 months he would be fine imo.
Davies gets slated from Bolton fans these days as being well past it offering very little. I just don't see how he would fit into our counter attacking style. If he came on loan for the rest of the season then fair enough, what do we have to lose but a permament deal of say 18 months -2 years and he just gets in the way of the development of out younger strikers. Would prefer to see the cash spent on a younger player who MON can develop or on an established striker not so long in the tooth. If he does come then of course he will have my full support but just don't think he is the right player at this point in time.
Well have a read of this.. Quinn on Gyan.. http://www.kickoff.com/news/26706/quinn-retains-gyan-hopes.php
I would take him back, forgive and forget. I would be a hypocrite if I said I would stay with my current employer if someone came along and offered me a 400% pay rise. It a different situation I know but taking the bigger picture into account and whats best for the club I would have him back. He would have to perform from day one mind or the **** he would get would be immense. If he was hitting the back of the net on a regular basis the bad feeling would soon blow over.
When he first came he wasn't fit. At the start of this season he wasn't fit. When he did play he was lacklustre to put it mildly. Last season he wasn't good enough to turn around our losing streak and seemed less likely as time went on. I have 2 words for Asamoah: F*** OFF!
Interesting, that says to me Quinn is going to try and get Gyan to stay by offering him a big contract and Gyan is saying, I might stay if you offer me enough money. Thats how I read it anyway. The think is Gyan is like the African David Beckham so he could be worth more than just his football ability especially if SAFC are trying to break Africa. You can bet Sess will want a new contract too. I would put both of them on a decent amount and get them both to stay as replacing them with the same quality will cost a fortune.
Agree there are some question marks against him but I just think MON could get the best out of him and he would fit the system we play now perfectly. Think there is also a better chance of getting all our money back on him if he is playing in the Prem again. If we got an offer in the summer for £13 million however then I would think it would be best to sell and avoid the pitfalls of bad feeling if he came back as long as MON got all the cash to spend.
If we got an offer for £13m then that'd make £19m when you include the record £6m loan fee.... I fully agree however that he would flourish under MON and our current system
Well if Caroline is worth £35m then the jock twat had better make sure it's ****ing huge! Bin dipping haggis shagger.
So no cameltoe? NSFW so take note. [video=youtube;Mtg5feqGkso]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mtg5feqGkso[/video]
