Football Talk

Brown hammered Icelanders
All quiet on the West Ham front during the transfer window which is no surprise given the millions invested in new players since Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson's Icelandic consortium took control 15 months ago. But think how much more cash could be available had it not been for an amazing piece of negotiation by former chairman Terry Brown. In the build-up to the sale in November 2006, the Icelanders thought they had settled on a price of £75million. Much of the paperwork was completed when, late in the day, Brown upped the price to £85m. The move stunned the Icelanders but they decided to pay the extra £10m. Brown, meanwhile, remains locked in a legal stand-off with the club. He is threatening to sue over the loss of his director's status, while West Ham have a counter claim over the Carlos Tevez affair.

Bayern's north London divide
Bayern Munich effectively opted for Tottenham over Arsenal when choosing their successor to Ottmar Hitzfeld. Former Spurs hero Jurgen Klinsmann got the job but not before the Bayern board had given serious consideration to Boro Primorac - Arsene Wenger's Bosnian right-hand man - who was also on their shortlist. Despite his low profile, Primorac is highly rated on the continent and has recently turned down offers of coaching positions in France and Croatia.

Jude the Cat runs out of lives
Queens Park Rangers have axed Jude the Cat despite a bizarre bid to save the furry mascot's job. As revealed by Talk in December, the club's new Italian owners are superstitious and view black cats as bad luck. Jude is based on a real black cat that lived at Loftus Road until being re-housed last autumn on orders of Flavio Briatore's regime. At the same time, the mascot was warned he was on his ninth life as his position was reviewed. Following discussions, officials then sanctioned the drastic step of re-spraying Jude's fur from black to grey in the hope a different shade of moggy would placate the Italians. Sadly, however, the paint job has failed. A message in Saturday's programme read: "Jude the Cat has gone on holiday."

It's Michael Ballack as Herr lip
Just when you thought moustachioed footballers had gone out of fashion, along comes Michael Ballack. The Chelsea star's facial addition is only temporary, stuck on for his role as an adventurer in a German TV advert for Mercedes.

Lennon is way off the Mark
The switch from player to pundit is not always a seamless one - just ask former Celtic star Neil Lennon. During Newcastle's clash with Middlesbrough on Sunday, Five Live commentator John Murray asked Lennon his thoughts on when Mark Viduka might be introduced from the substitutes' bench. Lennon, who clearly had not done his pre-match homework, replied that Gareth Southgate was obviously being cautious by playing a 4-5-1 and could introduce Viduka late on in a push for victory. Murray let Lennon continue at length on the Viduka question before politely pointing out that the Australian plays for Newcastle.

CONTACT US AT talk@standard.co.uk