Tuesday's B*ll*x

[Chinners]

Marseille Make a Shabby Attempt to Cash In on Nigel de Jong's Tackle
The Manchester City midfielder's catalogue of brutal challenges has not only turned him into a hate figure in the Premier League, but Europe too.
De Jong can add Marseille to the growing list of places he would be wise to steer clear of. A list that already includes Bolton, Newcastle and the whole of Spain.
It was bad enough for the Netherlands international when he was dropped by his home country after his awful challenge left Newcastle's on-loan signing Hatem Ben Arfa with a broken leg.
But any hopes de Jong might have had of the media storm blowing away have vanished thanks to Marseille, Ben Arfa's parent club.
Seven days after de Jong escaped a caution for his challenge on Ben Arfa, the French outfit have waded into the controversy by threatening to instigate legal action against De Jong. Follow Us on Twitter Friend Us on Facebook iPhone App - Get It Now
"We will clearly bring charges against the player. You need to rid the European football pitches of this kind of player," said Jean-Claude Dassier, Marseille's president.
Dassier's words sound well intentioned but one cannot help but think that it is for financial gain that Marseille have leapt on the anti-de Jong bandwagon.
Marseille were guaranteed a £5 million transfer fee for Ben Arfa if he had managed 25 games while on loan at Newcastle this season.
Yet they are now left with the prospect of having to rehabilitate a player who had recently threatened to go on strike in order to engineer a move away from Marseille.
There is no doubt that de Jong fully deserves the majority of the stick that has come his way since last March, when his ugly tackle on Bolton's Stuart Holden left the United States international with a broken leg that threatened his participation at the World Cup.
De Jong then angered a nation when he kicked Spain's Xabi Alonso in the stomach during the World Cup final.
He can be forgiven for one reckless challenge, two is pushing the boat but three times in the space of a few months is out of order.
Yet despite the injuries Ben Arfa suffered, Marseille's threat of legal action smacks of a club looking to cash in on a player who happens to turn out for the world's richest club.

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TRANSFER BOLLOX
Arsenal have won the race to sign Anderlecht's 17-year-old striker Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian international, rated at £12.5m, has been tracked by the likes of Chelsea and Real Madrid. caughtoffside.com

Liverpool are preparing to recieve bids for Pepe Reina, Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard should the club fall further from grace in the Premier League. Arsenal want Reina while Manchester City have their eyes on Torres and AC Milan are interested in Gerrard. caughtoffside.com

Meanwhile, Liverpool will step up their attempt to sign Valencia striker Juan Mata if their takeover by New England Sports Ventures is successful. talkSPORT

Arsenal have won the race to sign Anderlecht's 17-year-old striker Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian international, rated at £12.5m, has been tracked by the likes of Chelsea and Real Madrid.: caughtoffside.com

Barcelona are getting ready to make a £12m bid for Arsenal midfielder Denilson during the January transfer window. caughtoffside.com

Montenegro striker Mirko Vucinic hopes a good performance against England in the Euro 2012 qualifier at Wembley on Tuesday will put him in English clubs' spotlight. The Roma star has been linked with a move to Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United. Daily Mail

New Leicester manager Sven-Goran Eriksson wants to make Fulham's Sweden international defender Fredrik Stoor his first signing. Eriksson hopes to get the 26-year-old right-back on loan until January. Daily Mirror

Derby want Blackburn's England Under-21 keeper Frank Fielding on an emergency loan to replace Stephen Bywater, who has a wrist injury. Daily Mirror

OTHER BOLLOX
Manchester United and England midfielder Owen Hargreaves says his latest bid to return from a tendinitis problem in his knees will be his last.
Full Story: the Sun

Allegations about Wayne Rooney's private life have had a major psychological effect on him, according to Montenegro boss Zlatko Kranjcar, whose side face an England team that is set to include the Manchester United striker in Tuesday's Euro 2012 qualifier at Wembley. Daily Telegraph

Fulham captain Danny Murphy, who claimed certain managers are partly to blame for a spate of bad tackles this season, has made a late withdrawal from his role as a TV pundit for the England-Montenegro match after talks with club boss Mark Hughes. Daily Mail

Former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says he wants to be manager at Old Trafford one day but concedes he may first have to ply his trade in the lower leagues. Solskjaer, currently United's reserve team coach, admits it might not happen for another 15 to 20 years. talkSPORT

Martin Atkinson will referee Arsenal's Premier League match against Birmingham on Saturday, less than a month after Gunners boss Arsene Wenger was fined £8,000 and banned from the touchline for one game for an altercation with the official during his side's draw at Sunderland.Daily Mail

Peter Lim, the Singapore-based businessman who has submitted a fresh bid to buy Liverpool, made his money partly through Manchester United-themed bars. the Times (snigger)

Spain manager Vicente del Bosque says not even a 10-0-0 formation by Scotland will affect his team in their Euro 2012 qualifier on Tuesday. Scotland boss Craig Levein was criticised for the 4-6-0 set-up used in last week's 1-0 defeat by the Czech Republic and Del Bosque said: "At club level, our players come up against this sort of tactic week in, week out."
Daily Mirror