Here's all the "news" for today...


Portsmouth's bid to sign Fulham midfielder Papa Bouba Diop on loan was thwarted because of work permit problems. (Daily Mirror)

Birmingham boss Steve Bruce believes the sale of defender Matthew Upson to West Ham, which could be worth up to £9m, may have put his club's promotion prospects at risk. (Various)

Fulham midfielder Tomasz Radzinski fears he may not have a future at the club after boss Chris Coleman splashed out on Alexei Smertin, Simon Davies and Clint Dempsey. (The Sun)

Southampton defender Gareth Bale snubbed a £10m move to Tottenham in order to join Manchester United in the summer. (Daily Mirror)

Wigan have signed Blackburn defender Andy Todd. (Daily Star)

Former Spartak Nalchick midfielder Gogita Gogua has vowed to make Scotland pay for the collapse of his move to Hearts by helping Georgia beat Alex McLeish's side in the Euro 2008 qualifiers. He was refused a work permit because of Georgia's poor Fifa ranking. (Daily Record)

York City have vowed to fight for a payment from Hibernian for striker Clayton Donaldson, who is set to move to the Conference side in the summer for free because of an 'international loophole'. (Daily Record)


OTHER GOSSIP

Chelsea fear defender Ashley Cole could be sidelined for the rest of the season after suffering a knee injury against Blackburn. (Various)

Real Madrid defender Jonathan Woodgate, who is on loan to Middlesbrough, has played down his chances of being picked for England's match against Spain on 7 February, despite his run of good form. (Various)

Micah Richards believes his Manchester City team-mate Joey Barton will join him in the England squad. (Various)

American tycoon George Gillett is set to buy Liverpool after Dubai International Capital withdrew their offer. (Various)

Newcastle could be the next target for Dubai International Capital. (Daily Mail)

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has pledged to keep faith with the youngsters who have steered the club to the Carling Cup final when they face Chelsea in the battle for the trophy on 25 February. (Various)

Liverpool striker Peter Crouch believes the Anfield club have reactivated a Premiership title race that had seemed set to become a straight battle between Manchester United and Chelsea. (Daily Express)

Sheffield United's Jon Stead wants to reward boss Neil Warnock's faith in him after the striker arrived at Bramall Lane from Sunderland for an initial £750,000 on 11 January. (Various)

Lord Coe appears to have ruled out the prospect of West Ham moving to London's Olympic stadium after the 2012 Games. He told BBC News 24 that the primary function of the stadium would be for athletics. (The Independent)

Olympic minister Tessa Jowell has said that the difficulties preventing West Ham from moving into the stadium built for the Games appeared to be too great. (The Times and The Guardian)

Chelsea have hit back at claims of a lack of fans coming through the turnstiles by insisting that Stamford Bridge is at 98 per cent of the 42,055 capacity for all home matches. (The Times)

The Football Association and Manchester City are set to resume discussions over whether Eastlands boss Stuart Pearce will take over as England Under-21 manager on a part-time basis. (Daily Telegraph)

The Football League is understood to have earmarked the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff for the end-of-season play-offs after being unable to gain assurances about available dates for Wembley. (Daily Telegraph)


AND FINALLY...

Blackburn captain Ryan Nelson's nine-month injury problem became a pain in the backside - he had a buttock sliced open and holes drilled in the bone so surgeons could reattach his hamstring. (The Sun)

Conservative leader David Cameron has said terraces could return to football grounds under a Tory government, although he insisted that safety would still be the "first priority". (Various)



Cheers’
Jamaican Steve