Emile Heskey would suit the Toffees

With thirty-year old striker Emile Heskey not renewing his contract Wigan chairman Dave Whelan has alluded that he could very well be available in the January transfer window.

"Emile is out of contract in the summer. It could cost us £3m or £4m if that goes on to the summer so we'll have to see what January brings."

With Yakubu out for the year and James Vaughan undergoing knee surgery this week, Everton is in need of a striker and the English international would fit the bill perfectly. While Victor Anichebe has shown tremendous promise and Jose Baxter has bales of promise, a more experienced striker is a must.

Louis Saha injury update

Stretchered off in the weekend match against Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham the first reports of Louis Saha’s injury were far from optimistic. With talk of either a grade two or the more serious three rupture, many were concerned that the Les Bleus capped attacker would be out for quite a long time.

However Everton head physiotherapist Mick Rathbone was the bearer of great news as he commented:

“Louis Saha had a muscle spasm in his hamstring. It doesn’t look too serious and we will be evaluating it over the next few days.”

J-League week 33 summary

Moving into the final weekend of the J-League the Kashima Antlers looked poised to repeat as the defeated Jubilo Iwata 1-0 and now have a two point advantage over Nagoya Grampus. It wasn't easy for Oswaldo de Oliveira's side as the lone goal came past the fourth minute of added-time as Chikashi Masuda 増田 誓志 sent a free-kick in-close for Daiki Iwamasa 岩政 大樹 to head to the back of the net.

After the match Oswaldo de Oliveira said:

"One more game...just one more match...the final one and it's very tough.

"Today was a special situation for us because the opponent came to collect one point only and they forgot to attack. I think their strategy was correct, so my players had to force them to commit mistakes as they would try to stop our strong points.

"Luckily we scored in the last moment of the match. My players are wonderful. They try all the time and never give up. It is the behaviour of champions."

Nagoya Grampus defeated relegation condemned Consadole Sapporo 3-1. Yoshizumi Ogawa 小川 佳純 gave Grampus the lead seven minutes into the match off a free-kick from twenty meters with Keita Sugimoto 杉本 恵太 doubling the margin six minutes later as he pounced on in-close rebound. Davi brought one back for the Sapporo side on a defensive error before Atsushi Yoneyama 米山 篤志 scored in added-time to bring the match to a final 3-1 conclusion. In a clash of titans Gamba Osaka defeated Urawa Red Diamonds 1-0 with Blue Samurai Yasuhito Endō 遠藤 保仁 heading home the deciding goal with six minutes remaining. Kawasaki Frontale detonated Vissel Kobe detonated 4-0, lead by North-Korea international's Jong Tae-Se (Chong Tese) double at the fourth and sixty third minute. Ōita Trinita defeated Kashiwa Reysol 2- with late strikes by Shingo Suzuki 鈴木 慎吾 and Taikai Uemoto 上本 大海. Shimizu S-Pulse fought off a comeback by relegation threatened JEF United Ichihara-Chiba to win 3-2. Akihiro Hyōdō 兵働 昭弘 gave S-Pa the lead three minutes before the half hour mark but only six minutes later Alex Miller's side fought back with Blue Samurai Seiichiro Maki 巻 誠一郎 leveling. Tomi Shimomura was the unfortunate victim of an own goal at the thirty-ninth minute to give S-Pa the lead however Newly Japan 'capped Shinji Okazaki 岡崎 慎司 scored with thirteen minutes remaining to bring the match to 3-1. Fighting down the last minute JEF's Seiichiro Maki 巻 誠一郎 added the second of the match with four minutes remaining. FC Tokyo defeated Albirex Niigata 1-0 as Shingo Akamine headed the winner in with six minutes remaining. Omiya Ardija and Kyoto Purple Sanga fought to a 1-1 draw. Following Slovenian international Klemen Lavrič giving Ōmiya the lead Takenori Hayashi 林 丈統 leveled the match two minutes before the hour mark. Yokohama F. Marinos defeated Tokyo Verdy 1969 2-0 led by Matsuda Naoki 松田 直樹 strike at the hour mark and a late goal Aria Jasuru Hasegawa.

J-League week 33	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA	P
Kashima Antlers 鹿島アントラーズ	33	17	9	7	55	30	60
Nagoya Grampus 名古屋グランパス	33	17	7	9	48	35	58
Kawasaki Frontale 川崎フロンターレ	33	17	6	10	63	42	57
Ōita Trinita 大分トリニータ	33	16	7	10	33	24	55
FC Tokyo ＦＣ東京	33	16	7	10	48	42	55
Urawa Red Diamonds 浦和レッズ	33	15	8	10	49	36	53
Shimizu S-Pulse 清水エスパルス	33	15	7	11	47	41	52
Gamba Osaka ガンバ大阪	33	14	8	11	44	46	50
Vissel Kobe ヴィッセル神戸	33	12	11	10	39	36	47
Yokohama F Marinos 横浜Ｆ・マリノス	33	12	9	12	37	31	45
Kashiwa Reysol 柏レイソル	33	12	7	14	46	45	43
Kyoto Purple Sanga 京都サンガF.C.	33	11	8	14	36	43	41
Omiya Ardija 大宮アルディージャ	33	11	7	15	35	45	40
Albirex Niigata アルビレックス新潟	33	10	9	14	29	44	39
Jubilo Iwata ジュビロ磐田	33	10	7	16	40	47	37
Tokyo Verdy 1969 東京ヴェルディ	33	10	7	16	38	48	37
JEF United Ichihara-Chiba ジェフユナイテッド千葉	33	9	8	16	32	51	35
Consadole Sapporo コンサドーレ札幌	33	4	6	23	36	69	18

So much for the Wolfsburg attack

Averaging over two goals a match including putting up for against VfB last week, Wolfsburg attack was considered one the best in the Bundesliga. However with tenacious marking plan and heavy work-rate BVB held Wolfsburg at bay and were able to come away with a point in goalless draw. With the draw die Schwarzgelben are seventh in the table at twenty-five points and unbeaten in three matches.

Heading into the match Jürgen Klopp certainly had his work cut out for him as he was missing Nelson Valdez, Diego Klimowicz and Sebastian Kehl but his side maintained a stingy defense and rarely allowed the visiting Wolfsburg side a reasonable opportunity. While offensive output was severely limited to a few attempts by in-form Mohamed Zidan, it was very obvious that BVB was going to stick to the tactical plan and not provide Wolfsburg opportunities. Recovering from a bad flu, Polish international Jakub Blaszczykowski entered the match, threatening with pace and creativity but BVB was unable to find the score sheet. The final piece of the puzzle came down to a great stop by goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller as he robbed Cristian Zaccardo’s late effort from point-blank range. Without another attempt the match ended without a score and both clubs earning a point.

Rennes defeats PSG to move into second place

Paul Le Guen’s best laid plans to prioritize the Rennes match by resting Claude Makélélé, Ludovic Giuly, Guillaume Hoarau and Stéphane Sessegnon in the Racing Santander UEFA Cup match didn’t do the trick as PSG lost 1-0. Unfortunately with Lyonnais, Bordeaux and Marseille playing to scoreless draws, the Parisians missed a glorious opportunity to move up the table and remain at sixth place in Ligue 1.

The match started slowly with neither club really making much of a move for the first twenty minutes however it was Rennes who first showed the thirst for victory. Mickaël Landreau’s evening started with his customary top-shelf performance as he denied veteran Mickaël Pagis powerful drive four minutes before the half-hour mark but it wasn’t long before the home side had the lead. Deep into added time Bruno Cheyrou offered up a slow rolling shot from twenty-five meters that barely have the steam to threaten the goal mouth. Mickaël Landreau presumably lost sight of the ball as it went through the defenders and plopped to the back of the net. PSG returned to the pitch after the break with greater resolve particularly as Mateja Kežman entered the match for Stéphane Sessegnon, who was having a off-day, at the fifty-fifth minute. However as much as PSG kept Rennes ‘keeper Nicolas Douchez they could not breakthrough and the match end with a 1-0 scoreline.

PSG return to action this Wednesday against Manchester City, followed-up with Le Mans in Ligue 1 action next Sunday.

rumours and more rumours

I have a fairly lowly opinion about rumours but I also recognize the Toon Army wants to hear of commentary that I can substantiate to at least a "moderate" chance. I wish at this time I could fill you with a collection of exciting "possible events" but unfortunately I cannot and in-fact two media somewhat unnerving reports are circulating about the Magpies right now that have a varied basis in truth.

In no particular order a number of media outlets are reporting that Joe Kinnear will not have additional funds available for the January transfer window. To readers of this blog that should be no secret as I have noted in the past of the financial issues related to owner Mike Ashley's Sports Direct International plc and the problematic price of the stock since his June 2007 takeover of Newcastle. Additional funding should not be expected, the club will need arrange "net positive" acquisitions with additional costs of borrowing and unfavourable operating expenses netted into the bottom line.

Secondly the issue of Michael Owen resigning with the club is gaining a great deal of attention. While only twenty-eight years of age, many believe the skipper will look to ply his trade elsewhere with his contract expiring in six months time. This is obviously a difficult situation because it is predominately guess-work to answer if the club can resign him. However media reports are suggesting that a return to Liverpool is possible for the financially strapped price of £2m. This rumour lacking any substantive evidence and is what I term "content", effectively editorial copy with a catchy headline but lacking fact. Please take with a grain of salt but also be aware this is just the start of rumours regarding his future with the club.

Wolfsburg stymied by BVB defenders

Borussia Dortmund manager Jürgen Klopp put together a brilliant tactical plan as his club silenced the Wolfburg attack on the way to a scoreless draw. It was only the second time die Wölfe had been held off the score-sheet, the other against Bayer Leverkusen and continues their winless record on the road. From a defending perspective Wolfsburg greatly limited the Dortmund side with their only notable efforts coming from Egyptian international Mohamed Zidan at the fourteenth and fifty-third minutes but both proved fruitless. Wolfsburg squandered a number of quality opportunities including Edin Džeko close-range miss two minutes before the half hour mark and equally were kept off the mark with BVB ‘keeper Roman Weidenfeller’s match-saving on Cristian Zaccardo’s header with twelve minutes remaining. With both squads taking a tough stance in the midfield, the match concluded as a nil draw.

The match leaves Wolfsburg in eighth place with twenty-three points. Wolfsburg returns to action this Thursday against Portsmouth in the UEFA Cup.