We've been critical of Nigel de Jong, but he's no Todd Bertuzzi.
Jean-Claude Dassier, chairman of Olympique de Marseille, is now threatening legal action against Nigel de Jong for injuring Hatem ben Arfa, who is still "property" of the Marseille club. (Sky Sports) I have several reactions to this. First, I object to legal action as a result of actions that happen in a sporting event, except for the most egregious of offenses (such as this Todd Bertuzzi hit that resulted in an assault charge). Second, HBA's status as a player on loan makes this situation even stranger. Dassier has come out and said that he will not stand in Newcastle's way if they want to purchase ben Arfa outright, but his actions here demonstrate that the team still has a vested interest in the player. Third, I was hoping that this story was going to go away soon, but now its shelf life has been extended. Meanwhile, there is a petty war of words going on about whether or not de Jong has apologized to ben Arfa. (ESPN Soccernet)
Chris Hughton, like the rest of us, is very happy about the Andy Carroll signing, saying that Newcastle never would have sold him anyway. (Mark Douglas, The Chronicle) Alan Shearer also had good things to say about the young striker. (Luke Edwards, The Journal)
On the heels of the news that Liverpool are putting together a package to try to buy Steven Taylor, (CaughtOffside) Chris Hughton put his own contract talks aside to try to come to an understanding with the defender. (Brian McNally, MirrorFootball) There will be plenty of time to offer commentary on this potential move, but I'll go ahead and say that this news gives us just one more reason to be glad to have Hughton managing this squad.
Danny Guthrie understands that he will have to wait his turn to play as he comes back from injury. (Luke Edwards, The Journal)
Newcastle is just one team said to be in on Wolves midfielder David Jones. (MirrorFootball)
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