Odds and Sods

Steve “The Ginger Assassin” Sidwell is set to move to Sunderland in a loan deal at the end of January, with a slight delay to allow him to cover for Chelsea’s African Nations Cup departures.  The loan will last for six months, with the option of a permanent deal afterward.  One has to commend the brilliance of Sidwell’s agent.  He was a coveted commodity available for free last summer.  He gets him a spot at Chelsea where he would obviously fail to crack into the first team.  Six months later he is at a club, Sunderland, who is worse than the one he originally left, Reading.  Job well done!

Stewie Downing may be stocking up on travel-sized toiletries as well. Middlesbrough would have trouble holding onto the winger, should Tottenham come through with an expected 12 m GBP bid.  This move would fit both of Tottenham’s major transfer strategies.  Why fill your most glaring hole when there are so many marginal ones to tinker with?  And, why buy a foreigner when an English chap can do the job for three times the transfer fee and twice the amount in wages?

Speaking of Spurs, Paul Robinson may be back down to his fighting weight under Juande Ramos’ new fitness regime, but he has been told by Daniel Levy to pack his bags.  Robinson angered the club by publically supporting fellow pie-lover Martin Jol and by his egregious ineptness at his profession.  Tottenham may employ him as part of a bid to enlist Downing, but Man City and Bolton may be in with a shout as well.

And, what the hell, why not another Spurs story.  They may also be putting integral summer signing Darren Bent into the shop window.  Tottenham reportedly want 12.5 m GBP for the lad, which is three million quid less than they paid for him last summer.  For those of you concerned with such things, that is one million GBP for every goal scored (3) this season.