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Ahead of TheGame: Portsmouth can break Christmas curse

In today's e-mail bulletin, we asked: Avram Grant's team will be bottom of the Premier League this Christmas, but can they avoid relegation?

Russell Kempson responded: "It is known as the Curse of Christmas. Any team that is bottom of the Premier League on the day that Father Christmas arrives bearing gifts is a sure-fire certainty to be relegated at the end of the season.

"Apart from West Bromwich Albion, of course, who became one of a kind in 2004-05 when they escaped into seventeenth place on the final day of the campaign. Nothing like leaving it until the last moment.

"One of a kind no more though, perhaps. Portsmouth prop up the rest going into the festive period on Friday and, unlike turkeys all over the land, I'm sure they're far from stuffed.

"Just three points separate Pompey from safety and if they can't make that up over the next five months, then they deserve the drop. But it won't happen. Grant is the saviour and there are at least three worse sides wobbling above them, ready to tumble into the abyss.

"I'm not so sure about West Ham and Bolton. Gianfranco Zola and Gary Megson, the respective managers, already have the look of the damned writ large over their faces.

"Megson often appears that way. When you are barely loved by your own supporters, it tends to get you down. Zola is more of a worry. The spring in the step of the usually cheery Italian is fast disappearing as the East Enders struggle to stay afloat.

"Still, there are plenty of mediocre teams above them just waiting to be dragged into the mire. Hull will fall farther and Burnley will also slide into grave danger once their home form falters.

"So fear not, Pompey. You will survive to join West Brom in the Premier League record books. West Ham may enjoy salvation, too, with Hull and Burnley accompanying Bolton into that twilight zone of the Coca-Cola Championship."

We also reported on Roberto Mancini's bold predictions for Manchester City and Niall Quinn's determination to fill the Stadium of Light and see Sunderland move up the Premier League table.

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The Rivals: Arsenal and Everton battle for Bordeaux striker

Everton join Chamakh battle - The Sun
Everton will battle it out with Arsenal to sign Marouane Chamakh (pictured), the Bordeaux striker, for £7m in the summer. David Moyes sent scouts to watch the Moroccan marksman play against Lorient on Saturday, while Arsene Wenger has been keeping tabs on the player for months.

Exit door opens for flop defenders - Daily Mirror
Roberto Mancini will sort out Manchester City's defence - and put huge question marks over the future of England stars Wayne Bridge and Joleon Lescott. Mancini has already given City chief executive Garry Cook names of targets, with Juventus left-back Giorgio Chiellini and Inter defender Maicon on the list.

Platt to join Mancini's coaching team - The Independent
David Platt, the former England midfielder, is to join his close friend at Eastlands. The pair played together at Sampdoria.

Curbs wanted - The Daily Express
Alan Curbishley could return as West Ham manager if David Sullivan's takeover of the Upton Park club goes through.

Trio battle for Anderlecht wonderkid - Daily Mail
Chelsea, Real Madrid and AC Milan are all monitoring European football's latest teen sensation, 16-year-old Romelo Lukaku from Belgian outfit Anderlecht

The Rivals: Liverpool to announce fresh investment deal

Gillett and Hicks to gain £124m from share deal - Daily Telegraph
Liverpool co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks are closing in on a deal that will see them sell a significant share in the club to a new investor for around £124 million. 

Ferguson eyes Serbian starlet - Daily Mirror
Manchester United are targeting young Serbian central defender Uros Cosic - seen by his club CSKA Moscow as potentially a bigger talent than Nemanja Vidic. The 17-year-old may move to Old Trafford next year, despite CSKA’s desire to keep him, admitted club president Yevgeni Giner.

Bruce eyes Mayn man - The Sun
Steve Bruce, the Sunderland manager, is planning a January bid for Maynor Figueroa, Wigan's £4m-rated defender.

Wenger fearing Silv exit - Daily Mirror
Arsene Wenger fears he may lose Mikael Silvestre on a free transfer at the end of the season.

St Etienne eye Adams - The Sun
Tony Adams is poised to return to management with St Etienne. The former Portsmouth manager held talks with the French club yesterday.

The Rivals: Tottenham to offload Bentley after Redknapp 'row'

Bentley to get boot - Daily Express
David Bentley will leave Tottenham in January after a blazing row with manager Harry Redknapp.

I bitterly regret Notts County sale says trust chief - The Guardian
The former Notts County chairman who negotiated and recommended the handover of the club to Munto Finance in the summer yesterday said he feels he was "hoodwinked" into believing that Munto were backed by investors who would make huge money available.

Sell up Pompey, Pompey sell up - Daily Mirror
Crisis-club Portsmouth’s dire straits deepened last night as Avram Grant was told he will have to sell players next month to help keep the Fratton Park outfit alive.

You can't buy, Harry - Daily Mirror
Harry Redknapp has been told to deliver Champions League football on a budget after Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy ruled out any spending in the January transfer window.

Wigan on the Ball - Daily Mail
Michael Ball is on the brink of resurrecting his career with Wigan. The 30-year-old former Manchester City and Everton full back has impressed while training with the club.

Ahead of TheGame: January will decide Portsmouth future

In today's e-mail bulletin, we asked: "What is going on at Portsmouth?"

Nick Szczepanik responded: "Sometimes I wonder if there's any one person who knows, and I include the club's directors and ownership in that. Avram Grant, the manager, has admitted that he had no idea of how bad the financial situation is, which proves that he doesn't read the papers - well, not The Times anyway.

"Portsmouth's problems all come down to the fact that they lived way beyond their means for too long. They bought players and paid wages that a club of their size couldn't possibly afford. They ran up huge debts that - according to some reports - have reached £60 million.

"That might not be a large amount to some clubs. But when your gates struggle to reach 20,000 and you haven't got an owner with infinite funds - and there's no indication that Ali al-Faraj is that man - then you're in trouble.

"At the moment they are trying to 'refinance', which means taking on debt to pay off other debt. The problem is that if Portsmouth can't get the Premier League transfer embargo lifted by paying off all outstanding transfer and tax debt, they won't be able to buy in January. And they need to sell, in order to unload high salaries negotiated in the mad old days.

"If they go down, the situation will get even worse. Administration would be almost certain. As things stand, it is still possible, although since a lot of money is still owed to Alexandre Gaydamak, the previous owner, it's unlikely that he would want to see the club go into administration.

"We hear that the owners are working behind the scenes, but it has all gone rather quiet there. Mark Jacob, the executive director, was fairly forthcoming after the takeover by al-Faraj, but seldom returns calls these days, while Peter Storrie, the CEO, says he is no longer involved in financial decisions, which many conclude means that he is being eased out.

"The situation is obviously more serious than the new owners thought when they took over. They may now be deciding whether to go for broke and try to spend their way out of trouble in January and then try to sell the club on. More sensible would be to downsize and live according to their means.

"Normally that isn't the sort of thing that fans want to hear, but the message boards suggest that many would gladly settle for that, even if it means relegation. The alternative could be even worse."

We also reported on Sven-Goran Eriksson's plans to take over Notts County and Plymouth's decision to dismiss Paul Sturrock.

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The Rivals: Manchester United in shock move for Sol Campbell

Sol Trafford - Daily Mirror
Manchester United are ready to make a shock move for free agent Sol Campbell to boost their injury-hit defence. Former England centre-back Campbell, 35, has finally reached an exit agreement with League Two Notts County following his ill-fated move.

Moyes sets sights on Donovan loan - The Guardian
David Moyes hopes to strengthen his injury-plagued Everton squad in the January transfer window with a loan move for the USA forward, Landon Donovan.

Anton is swapped for Hutt - The Sun
Steve Bruce is ready to offload Anton Ferdinand in a bid to land Tottenham full-back Alan Hutton. The Sunderland manager is desperate for defensive cover and wants to bring Hutton to Wearside in a swap deal with unhappy Ferdinand next month.

Under the Hammer - Daily Mirror
West Ham have set a deadline of Friday for takeover offers as the club’s crisis-hit Icelandic owners battle to fend off creditors back home. Icelandic investment bank Straumur, which owns West Ham, has employed prestigious private firm Rothschild to handle takeover bids for the club.

Carsley set for exit in Birmingham shake-up - Daily Mail
Lee Carsley will be an unexpected casualty of Alex McLeish’s rebuilding campaign at Birmingham City when the transfer window opens.

Arsenal are a Roman target - Daily Express
Roman Pavlyuchenko, the Tottenham striker, is being targeted by north London rivals Arsenal, according to the Russian's agent Oleg Artemov.

The Rivals: Manchester City in £12m bid for Germany defender

Lahm is on the menu for Sparky - The Sun
Manchester City are plotting a £12million January swoop for Germany defender Philipp Lahm. Mark Hughes watched the left back in action for Bayern Munich last month, as part of a trip to watch target Franck Ribery.

Zola in shock bid for Adriano - The Sun
The West Ham manager is planning a move for Brazil superstar Adriano in an effort to halt West Ham's slide towards the Championship. Adriano, 27, is available on a free transfer from Flamengo after his 19 goals fired the Brazilian club to their first league title in 35 years

Celtic so Keane on a loan - Daily Mirror
Celtic boss Tony Mowbray is making a new move to sign Tottenham's out-of-favour Robbie Keane - in an ambitious loan deal to cope with his huge wages.

Pompey Zak race - The Sun
Amr Zaki is in talks with Portsmouth three weeks after making a racist attack on Avram Grant. The Egypt striker said he could not work with Grant because he was Israeli, but club chairman Sulaiman Al Fahim held talks with ex-Wigan striker Zaki, 26, at the weekend.

Carew's Fen club - Daily Mirror
Aston Villa striker John Carew is a £5m target for Turkish club Fenerbahce.

Ice-cool Emilsson heads for Liverpool - Daily Mail
Iceland wonderkid Kristján Gauti Emilsson, 16, is set to sign for Liverpool later this week. The centre back, who also had trials with Manchester United and Rangers, was offered a contract after impressing Rafa Benitez.

The Rivals: Arsenal pull out of deal for Van Nistelrooy

Wenger writes off Ruud - Daily Mirror
Arsene Wenger will not make an emergency move for Ruud van Nistelrooy, but says he needs a Christmas miracle to solve his striker crisis. The former Manchester United striker is being offered round the Premier League by Real Madrid who are anxious to offload the 33-year-old Dutchman in January.

Head banger - Daily Mail
James Beattie's future at Stoke City has been thrown into doubt after he came to blows with manager Tony Pulis during an amazing bust-up at Arsenal. According to a source at Stoke, Beattie believes he was the victim of an unprovoked attack - Pulis is alleged to have tried to butt the striker - after an argument about the players’ Christmas party.

Harry's in battle for Doumbia - Daily Mirror
Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham manager, is in a transfer battle with Hoffenheim to sign Seydo Doumbia from Young Boys of Berne. The German club are prepared to pay £8 million for the Ivory Coast striker.

McLeish mulls over £750k Kon - Daily Mirror
Alex McLeish, the Birmingham City manager, wants to sign Paul Konchesky, the Fulham left back.

We have no reason to panic, says Ancelotti - The Guardian
The Chelsea manager is confident his side have no reason to worry despite seeing their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League cut to two yesterday after losing 2-1 at Manchester City.

The Rivals: Aguero wants Chelsea switch

 

Aguero wants Chelsea switch - Daily Star

The Argentina forward has alerted the London club by admitting he is prepared to leave hard-up Atletico Madrid. Carlo Ancelotti is a big admirer of the £40 million-rated 21-year-old and would like to add him to the ranks in January.

The boy they call the new Drogba - Daily Mail

Chelsea have offered £10 million for Anderlecht's 16-year-old striking sensation Romelu Lukaku, who has drawn favourable comparison with the Ivory Coast forward.

Yaya alerts Arsenal and Manchester City - The Sun

Yaya Toure, the Barcelona defender has alerted the interest of the Premier League clubs after suggesting that he wants a move to England after being left out of the 'el clasico' against Real Madrid.

Redknapp can Dou - Daily Mirror

The Tottenham manager is ready with a £10million bid for Ivory Coast striker Seydou Doumbia – tipped to be Didier Drogba’s World Cup partner.

Spurs had the 21-year-old watched on Sunday, when he scored for Young Boys of Berne in a 2-0 win over Basle.

Grant keen to splash cash - Daily Telegraph

The new Portsmouth manager is set for talks with chief executive Peter Storrie this week to establish exactly what funding will be made available by new owner Ali al-Faraj during the January transfer window.

 

The Rivals: Manchester United eye January deal for Micah Richards

Fergie eyes Micah deal - Daily Mirror
Manchester United are ready to move for Micah Richards if rivals Man City finally lose patience with the defender. Richards, 21, has only started eight Premier League games for City this term under manager Mark Hughes.

Carlo: deal me out - The Sun
Carlo Ancelotti does not expect to make any new signings in January. Chelsea have had a Fifa transfer ban lifted. But despite losing the likes of Didier Drogba and Michael Essien to the African Nations Cup, their boss insists he will look at new buys only if his side suffers injuries

Green light to sell Rob - Daily Mirror
West Ham are ready to sell England World Cup keeper Robert Green in the transfer window - if they get the right bid. The cash-conscious Hammers will look to bring in money for Green in January and the word is out among potential bidders that he can go for around £4 to £5 million.

Grant seeking reinforcements - The Guardian
The Portsmouth manager says that he will be searching for new players to help strengthen his side in January and boost their hopes of avoiding relegation this season.

Cole out for four months - The Sun
Carlton Cole's World Cup hopes have taken a major knock after he suffered ligament damage to his right knee during Saturday's 5-3 trouncing of Burnley and could now be out for four months.