Rooney, not so much a Wenger boy - Photo Austin Osuide Wikimedia Commons
One this day in 2004, BBC’s transfer gossip column mystifyingly has Arsene Wenger chasing all the big names, has the Daily Star Sunday pricing Rooney at £50m without so much as a Florentino Perez in sight, has Chelsea eyeing up the Spanish totty and featured some future Borussia Monchengladbach players with careers in flux. Meanwhile, on the international scene, plots were afoot to entrench Sammy Lee in the England set up and Glenn Hoddle in the France set up, but as things turned out we’ll never know whether or not Glenn Hoddle picked up enough vocabulary in his time at Monaco to insult disabled people in French too…
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has conceded defeat in the chase for Wayne Rooney, claiming the Everton striker will join Manchester United. (The People)
Well conceded Arsene, though it’s hard to recall Arsenal ever really being in the hunt, unlike Newcastle, as reported in The Times - an article that in hindsight seems miguided, noting that Ferguson was “‘unlikely’ to sign another forward imminently,” whilst Newcastle’s “interest is difficult to reconcile with their immediate needs. In Alan Shearer, Craig Bellamy, Patrick Kluivert and Shola Ameobi, they already possess four high-quality strikers.” How different things may have been had Newcastle replaced the “high quality” Kluivert (circa 2004) and Ameobi with Rooney.
Manchester United say they cannot afford to meet Everton’s £50m valuation for striker Wayne Rooney. (Daily Star Sunday)
They probably couldn’t afford to meet Everton’s £50m valuation. Fortunately for United, that was made up by the Daily Star Sunday, and they landed him for half the amount, which they met nicely.
Arsenal made a sensational 11th-hour bid to sign Steven Gerrard from Liverpool - and could make a move for the midfielder next summer. (News of the World)
Again, it’s hard to recall Wenger uncharacteristically making plays for Rooney and Gerrard, nor did he make a move for him the next summer - that particular futile transfer play was all Chelsea. We can’t help but wonder, if their bid was 11th hour, what happened on the 12th hour?
Rangers are poised to beat Celtic to the signature of Dundee striker Nacho Novo after increasing their offer by £100,000 to £450,000. (Sunday Mirror and News of the World)
Celtic allegedly opt not to sign Novo believing him unenthusiastic about the prospect and Rangers land the Spaniard. He goes on to score 25 goals including the one that won them the title, which must have been a little bit annoying for Celtic.
Chelsea are closing in on a £6m swoop for Benfica and Portugal central midfielder Tiago Mendes.(News of the World)
Yes they were, and they did indeed sign him for an undisclosed fee which was believed to be nearer £10m than £6m. After a decent season, Chelsea brought in the rather useful Michael Essien, and, as most players would, Tiago lost his place in the team and went to Lyon. He would later come close to a Premier league return for the 2008-9 season as Everton agreed to take him on loan from Juventus, but Tiago refused to go, bizzarely locking club President Giovanni Cobolli Gigli inside a toilet stall to prevent the deal going through. Cobolli Gigli was reportedly stuck there for an hour before Alessandro Del Piero came to his rescue.
Holland and Barcelona star Patrick Kluivert, who is available on a free transfer, has issued a come-and-get-me plea to Middlesbrough. (Sunday Mirror)
If he did issue said plea literally, it appears it mixed up in the north-east sorting office and went to Newcastle instead. Newcastle subsequently came and got him, and he spent a largely unfruitful one tear spell on Tyneside before a bottom half finish allowed both parties to end his contract.
Tottenham have joined Middlesbrough in the race to sign England and Bayern Munich midfielder Owen Hargreaves. (Sunday Mirror).
This turned out to be a marathon rather than a sprint, and neither Spurs or Middlesborough were anywhere to be seen at the finish line. Hargreaves stayed in Munich for two more seasons, was frequently maligned by England fans until out-performing everyone at the 2006 World Cup, when everyone decided he was actually rather handy in centre midfield and Manchester United put in a strong finish to take the tape. Hargreaves played well in his first season, scored a vital free-kick to defeat Arsenal on the way to a Premier League title, before tendinitis hit both his knees and his career went all a bit Simon Jones.
The Football Association is lining up Sammy Lee to replace David Platt as manager of the England Under-21 team. (The People)
Absolutely spot-on from The People, provided when they say Sammy Lee they mean Peter Taylor. Sammy Lee was later offered the job in 2006, but opted to stay at Bolton to realise his ambition as a Number 1. He fulfilled this ambition a year later when Allardyce left for Newcastle, spent 11 matches discovering it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be (and neither was he) before being fired and retreating to be number 2 again at Liverpool.
Chelsea are eyeing Spanish strikers Fernando Torres and Fernando Morientes. (Daily Star)
Eyeing them proved pointless as the pair decided Chelsea weren’t their type and when it came to the Premier League they only had eyes for Liverpool. The latter spent another half a season before joining the Reds in January 2005 for a disappointing spell, whilst the former remained at Atletico for a further three seasons before hitting Merseyside with a notably bigger bang than his compatriot, scoring an impressive 33 goals in 46 games in his debut season. When Liverpool sealed this deals, Chelsea instead opted for flops Mateja Kezman in 2004 (who scored fewer than Morientes) and Claudio Pizarro in 2007, leaving them to continue jealously eyeing up Torres in his splangly new red shirt.
Birmingham are set to beat Atletico Madrid and Seville to the signing of Chelsea’s Danish winger Jesper Gronkjaer. (Daily Star)
Birmingham do beat Atletico Madrid and Seville to his signature, before wishing they hadn’t and reverting to middle-man in his transfer to Atletico for a fee of £2.5m the following year.
Celtic have confirmed their interest in Czech Republic midfielder Marek Heinz but face competition from Everton, Portsmouth and Sporting Lisbon. (News of the World)
Tough break for News of the World, hedging their bets with four possible destinations in Scotland, England and Portugal before losing them all as the Czech international opted for Borussia Monchengladbach in Germany. Perhaps they neglected this possibility because they couldn’t spell it…
Former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is close to agreeing a £25,000-per-week contract to join Celtic. (Sunday Mirror)
So close that he joined Middlesborough instead, enjoying a productive parntership with Mark Viduka that helped catapult Steve McClaren into the England job. Thanks Jimmy.
Norwich City are interested in out-of-favour Celtic defender Joos Valgaeren (News of the World).
News of the World continue their good run, as Valgaeren ran down his contract for another season without going anywhere near the home of Alan Partridge then went back to Belgium, joining Club Bruge on a free transfer.
Glenn Hoddle has applied for the vacant France job and will be interviewed - though he is an outsider to succeed Jacques Santini. (The Independent on Sunday).
Hoddle remained outside the French set up, with Raymond Domenech taking charge and leading them all the way to the World Cup Final in 2006, something Hoddle probably wouldn’t have done. Good choice French Football Federation.
Blackburn Rovers hope to sign Craig Moore after the Australia defender was stripped of the captaincy by Rangers. (Sunday Mirror)
Blackburn’s hopes are dashed as Moore remains in Glasgow for another season before heading to the suddenly ubiquitous Borussia Monchengladbach.
