Richard Keys Apologises To Many, Slams Even More On Talksport

Richard Keys today shed his views on the current situation regarding his future after a latest video surfaced late last night of him making lewd remarks of a previous girlfriend of Jamie Redknapp's.

Talksport confirmed they would be interviewing Keys this lunchtime, and the Sky Sports presenter continually reiterated his apology throughout the show, saying it on numerous occasions.

Keys also, halfway through his interview had slammed Rio Ferdinand, The Sun newspaper and also  expressed his desire to potentially resign as Sky Sports head pundit.

Regarding the Sian Massey situation, Keys said:

“I rang Sian on behalf of Andy and myself and made it an official apology, which she accepted.

“She and I enjoyed some banter together and we left on very good terms. She was in very good spirits and I explained that I was misguided. There was no excuse for anybody to make any excuse for anyone. It was wrong.

“I wanted to apologise on Monday, but was told I couldn’t. There are some dark forces at work.

Dark forces, eh? Surely we couldn't have the return of the dreaded Darth Vader? Better get the 3D glasses out.

Keys then continued to apologize for his actions, this time to Karen Brady but his calls were ignored.

"I tried to ring Karren twice on Sunday night. "There was no answer on Karren's phone and there is no answerphone on it. I texted her in case she did not know who was trying to call and asked her to ring me back.

"I tried to ring her to say sorry but she did not take my call."

Keys switched the tables on his apology seminar and slammed Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, after his "prehistoric banter" comment sparked fury among Keys.

Keys responded swiftly and attacked Ferdinand verbally saying that:

"Rio, are you telling me it doesn't take place in the Manchester United dressing room?."

oooooh the tension..

Then the subject was changed to Keys' career, a career which he has surely just flushed down the toilet, no second thoughts incurring.

Keys has been at Sky for over 20 years and has pondered about resignation as of late, publicly stating on Talksport that:

“I have to seriously consider resigning. My mate has been sacked. The view of the majority is that he should have been sacked. We got it wrong. Bad.”

“I have got to ask myself, do I want to carry on without him? And that is something I have been doing, obviously."

Adam Hammill Makes The Move To Wolves

Wolves have completed the signing of Barnsley wizard Adam Hammill on a three and a half-year deal.

Hammill has scored eight goals for the Championship side this season and has been linked with the likes of Liverpool and Blackpool over the course of last week.

Hammill seems to be delighted with the move as he told the Wolves website:

"I think my ambitions go hand in hand with the club," he said. "I'm really keen to play in the Premier League and the club are keen to establish themselves at this level."

He added: "I'm really excited about the prospect and Wolves are a massive club. I'm looking forward to playing my part for the rest of the season."

Hammill also praised Wolves manager Mick McCarthy's work ethics:

I've heard the manager is honest and will tell you things you don't want to hear at times. But he's straight down the middle and fair which is what everyone wants as a player."

McCarthy also got in on the scene and he was delighted with the signing of Hammill:

"I'm really pleased that we've managed to bring Adam in.

"He is a creative player who can provide chances for others but can also score goals and has done that wherever he has been.

"He is a very good player who will add to our competition for places and prove a valuable addition to the squad."

Welbeck Sidelined For 6-8 Weeks

Sunderland youngster Danny Welbeck has been sidelined for a period of up to 6-8 following his exploratory knee surgery on Tuesday afternoon. The Black Cats striker has been in sensational form this season but this latest setback may have well and truly wrecked his form.

With Welbeck out and the sale of Darren Bent to Aston Villa complete, Sunderland have only one striker to heave them out of trouble with the service of Asamoah Gyan. Gyan has played well when called on this season and will be Bruce's preferred choice of striker until the current fracas is solved.

It leaves Sunderland with a horrible dilemma up front and Steve Bruce will most certainly be rummaging around for a deal to sign while Welbeck's  out. He may be weighing up the option of buying Premier League injury prone star Michael Owen as reported on caughtoffside.com or Bruce may be considering Tottenham fourth choice striker Roman Pavuylchenko for a reported bid of £13.8m.

Steve Bruce, speaking today,  shed light on what will go on over the transfer period at the Stadium Of Light saying:

"I'll do my best but I'm not going to bring people in for the sake of it," he said. "I'd love to go out and bring in a couple of bodies, which we might do now.

"But I don't envisage going out and spending £20m or whatever on players which people might expect.

"At this time of year very few people are available so it might be that we have to wait until the summer.

He then praised Welbeck's progress since arriving on loan at the Stadium of Light and was understandably disappointed at Welbeck's untimely injury:

"Welbeck is the sad thing for me because he was playing out of his skin before they got injured.

"That's the main concern - we've only got Asamoah Gyan at the moment so let's hope we can get one or two people in to get us over the line until the summer."

Wheater Signs For Bolton

Middlesbrough defender David Wheater has finally signed for Bolton after Bolton had agreed a fee in the region of £2.4m for the centre-back.

The Middelesbrough star will be seen as a replacement for the much sought after Gary Cahill, who has attracted considerable interest from the likes of Chelsea. Wheater has been in fine form for Boro this season and is a graduate from the well-known
Middlesbrough academy.

Bolton manager Owen Coyle was chuffed with the clubs new arrival -

"There has been a lot of competition for his signature and again this shows a willingness on our behalf to invest in youth," said Bolton boss Owen Coyle.

"We have parted with good money for a very talented player who has been involved with England squads before."

Coyle also went on to add that :

"We want him to be involved at that level again and to do that he will have to play well for Bolton Wanderers, however, he has arrived here with a real desire to achieve that.

"He has a great character as well. He will integrate into the group straight away and it all adds to the fantastic spirit that we have within the squad."

All in all it's a great signing for Bolton Wanderers and Wheater will be a fantastic replacement for Andy O'Brien who recently left the Trotters to join high flying Leeds in the Championship.

Smith Ruled Out For The Rest Of The Season

Newcastle midfielder Alan Smith has been ruled out for the remainder of the season following an ankle injury he picked up in the Tyneside derby battle with Sunderland.

Smith was helped off last Sunday in the 1-1 draw with the Black Cats, being substituted shortly before half time and will be a huge blow for the Magpies following his heroic performances for the Tyneside club.

Smith had played 10 games for Newcastle this season and has failed to score this season. He will be a big miss for Alan Padrew's men and is unlikely to feature for the rest of the season.

Magpies manager Alan Pardrew confirmed the news today:

"It's an ankle he's had problems with, we think he'll probably be out for the rest of the season.

"When you get a heavy blow like he did it's a very low recovery rate."

DJ Campbell - The Sitter Show

DJ Campbell - Joke Of The Season?

What do you think of when DJ Campbell comes to mind? Prolific goalscorer or horrific chance misser?

Campbell has become notoriously known for his comical misses which have cost his team dearly in the past. So what is it that drives Blackpool's striker to squander these chances? Nerves? Or is he just that bad?

In his latest sitter, Campbell was put through by teammate Charlie Adam and with no one else in sight, it was a classic one-on-one situation with West Brom keeper Chris Kirkland. Campbell strolled inside the box, gathered the ball and stroke the ball agonisingly wide.

Campbell have continuously missed chance after chance in the big games but Ollie has instilled his confidence in the young striker but frankly, I don't know why.

Other notable sitters for the Englishmen came from the earlier half of the season and it involves a series of comical chances spurned by him, including his horror effort against Manchester City and also his awful miss against Sunderland just two and a half weeks ago.

Campbell miss vs Manchester City

Premier League Round Up Week 23

Today we were treated to seven matches, seven matches in which none failed to entertain. Manchester City beat Wolves in an enthralling encounter, Chelsea got back to winning ways with a dominant 2-0 win over Blackburn, Stoke beat high flying Bolton, Fulham were held at the JJB stadium, Blackpool succumbed to the excellent West Brom and in the late match, Arsenal dismantled the abysmal West Ham, amid reports of Martin O'Neill on the verge of taking over the helms from Avram Grant.

At the City of Manchester stadium were treated to a scintillating tie with City prevailing, just. Wolves had taken an unexpected lead through new signing Milijas before Kolo Toure levelled going into the break. At 1-1 Wolves were still very much still in the match but a lack of concentration saw them fall behind before City went on a goal spree. City made it 4-1 with Tevez bagging a brace and Yaya Toure once again getting on the score sheet, piling on the woes for Wolves.

After Tevez had scored in the 66th minute you would have believed City would be home and dry but a spirited Wolves side thought otherwise. Kevin Doyle was hauled down inside the box and took the responsibility of slotting home himself, and scoring. 4-2, a glimmer of hope for the lowly side and none would have expected anything more. Cue a lack of concentration on City's behalf and Wolves set up an enthralling end to the match, Ronald Zubar making it 4-3 with 4 minutes remaining. Wolves continually pushed for a sensational equaliser, even keeper Wayne Hennessy getting in on the action but City held out to go top for at least 24 hours.

Chelsea were host to Blackburn, a team still struggling even with a change of ownership and manager. Chelsea were dominant in their approach to get back to winning ways and they did just that with a resounding 2-0 victory. Ivanovic got the scoring underway and Anelka continued his prolific scoring run against the Lancashire club scoring his 12th career goal against Blackburn.

It will definitely relieve some of the pressure on the heavily scrutinised Carlo Ancelotti and Chelsea seem to have snapped out of that dismal run which saw them claim only one win in seven and slide down into 5th. Venky's will be behind Steve Kean regardless of the result and survival will confirm his stay at the club for at least another season.

Arsenal travelled to East London to take on a recently reformed West Ham side who had lost only once in their last seven however it was the Gunners who ran rampant as they once again humiliated Avram Grant and his West Ham team. Reports circulated early this morning over Grant's position at the club and it was reported that Martin O'Neill has already been in contact to take over the helms from under fire Grant.

Supposedly his 'last game in charge' Grant was looking for an impeccable final hurrah but it was not to be as Arsenal ran riot. The Gunners broke the deadlock on the stroke of half time as a cross from English star Theo Walcott was dummied by Samir Nasri and then coolly slotted home by Robin Van Persie who was having a great day at the office. West Ham were in further trouble when Theo Walcott scored and the Hammers' misery was complete when Robin Van Persie rounded off a wonderful night for the Gunners, making it 3-0 from the spot, consolidating Arsenal's title aspirations once more.

In other results from today's games we saw Stoke stun Bolton as they, quite comfortably, beat Bolton 2-0 with goals coming either half from Matthew Etherington and Danny Higginbothom.

We also saw another exciting match up as West Brom faced Premier League debutant's Blackpool which the Baggies won 3-2.An early goal from in form David Vaughan put the visitors in the driving seat but goals from Peter Odemwingie and James Morrison had the Baggies ahead on the hour mark. However, Blackpool's Gary Taylor Fletcher levelled the scores with 10 minutes remaining and it would have seemed that the Tangerines would be heading for a share of the spoils but Peter Odemwingie scored his 8th goal of the season to steal the game and increase the Baggies' chances of survival.

Wigan also held Fulham in a 1-1 draw at the JJB Stadium in a 'bottom of the table' clash. A goal from Hugo Rodallega gave the hosts the lead but Andy Johnson equalised with his first goal in nearly two years salvaging a draw for the relegation strugglers.

We're Moving!

Ok folks, thanks for sticking with us throughout this past month. Unfortunately we're moving to a new and improved version on wordpress.

Without further adu i present you

On The Noggin - Wordpress

Piennar Fee Accepted From Unnamed Club

David Moyes has confirmed he's accepted a bid for his creative midfielder Steven Piennar. Piennar, who's contract is due to run out in the summer, has been at Everton since 2007 and has been influential in their aim for European qualification.

It's possible Moyes is looking to cash in on Piennar's services rather than let his talent go to waste and let his contract expire. Moyes assured us today that he's received two bids for the former Bundesliga starlet and only one has been accepted. The BBC reported the club was unnamed but on the other hand we have Sky Sports saying it's Tottenham who've been given permission to hold talks with Piennar.

Piennar would be a valuable asset to any Premier League club and a move to Tottenham wouldn't be the smartest of choices for the South African international. He would face stiff competition from play maker Luka Modric, as well as rivalling Tom Huddlestone, Jermain Jenas, Niko Kranjkar and Rafael Van Der Vaart for a first team place.

Moyes spoke today of the rumors stating:

"We have had two offers and one of those has been accepted. 

"We have allowed his representatives to speak to the other club, but whether it goes through or not I don't know yet." 

"Pienaar is a good player and we know him very well, but this doesn't mean we need to have him play here. We are thinking about central defence."

"But if we find the right player for us, we have the possibility to buy."

Brum Agree Keane Fee

At last, salvation for poor Robbie Keane. Or is it? Today reports emerged of Irish skipper Robbie Keane on a proposed move to Birmingham. It had been an 'on-off' move prior to this week, being just pure speculation, but today's rumors confirm there has, in fact, been a bid accepted from Birmingham for the purchase of the out of form striker.

Keane has made 13 appearances this season with 11 coming as a sub, and has lost out on his place to the in form Jermain Defoe and the likes of Peter Crouch and Roman Pavuylchenko.

Keane had rejoined Spurs after a horrendous stint at Anfield and he carried that form back to White Hart Lane, earning him a place on the bench. The Irishman was loaned out to Celtic for the remainder of the 2009/10 season and made a huge impact for the Glasgow side, scoring 16 in 17 starts.

Keane returned to Spurs at he end of the SPL season but failed to retain a place on the Tottenham first team, strengthening speculation he was to leave White Hart Lane in the coming transfer window however, he remained at the club and with the arrival of Rafael van Der Vaart, fell further down the pecking order.

This January, Robbie's been continually linked with a move away from London and if things go to plan, he will be joining teammate David Bentley over at Birmingham, who's on loan having endured a disappointing season too. It will be seem as the perfect revival package for the Irish captain and will hopefully reignite Robbie's footballing career.

MLS SuperDraft 2011 Overview

Perry Kitchen Was Picked 3rd For DC United

 

Round 1

Pick	Club	Player's Name	Position	School/Previous Club
1		Omar Salgado*	F	US U-20 National Team
2		Darlington Nagbe*	M	University of Akron
3		Perry Kitchen*	M	University of Akron/US U-20s
4		Zarek Valentin*	D	University of Akron/US U-20s
5		Zac MacMath*	GK	University of Maryland/US U-20s
6		AJ Soares	D	University of California
7		Kofi Sarkodie*	D	University of Akron
8	(from TOR)	Michael Nanchoff*	M	University of Akron
9		Jalil Anibaba	D	University of North Carolina
10		CJ Sapong	F	James Madison University
11	(from SEA1, POR2)	Will Bruin*	F	Indiana University
12		Rich Balchan	D	Indiana University
13		Corey Hertzog*	F	Penn State University
14	(from RSL3)	Victor Estupinan	F	LDU Quito (Ecuador)
15	(from SJ 4)	Justin Meram	F	University of Michigan
16		Paolo Cardozo	M	Quilmes (Argentina)
17		Bobby Warshaw	D	Stanford University
18		Eddie Ababio	D	University of North Carolina

Round 2

Pick	Club	Player's Name	Position	School/Previous Club
19		Jeb Brovsky	M	University of Notre Dame
20	(from POR1)	Michael Tetteh*	M	UCSB
21	(from DC)	Juan Leone Cruz	M	Southern Methodist
22	(from RSL, CHV)	Chris Taylor	D	University of Tulsa
23		Michael Farfan	M	University of North Carolina
24		Stephen McCarthy	M	University of North Carolina
25	(from HOU)	John Rooney	M	Macclesfield Town (England)
26		Demitrius Omphroy	D	University of California
27		Servando Carrasco	M	University of California
28	(from PHI, KC)	Cole Grossman	M	Duke University
29		Bryan Meredith	GK	Monmouth University
30	(from CLB)	Tyler Lassiter	D	North Carolina State University
31	(from NY)	Chris Korb	D	University of Akron
32	(from RSL)	J.T. Murray	D	University of Louisville
33		Anthony Ampaipitakwong	M	University of Akron
34		Hector Jimenez	M	University of California
35		Charlie Campbell	M/F	University of Louisville
36		Colin Givens	D	Michigan State University

Round 3

Pick	Club	Player's Name	Position	School/Previous Club
37		Bilal Duckett	D	University Notre Dame
38	(from POR)	Billy Cortes	M	University of Maryland
39	(from DC)	Steven Perry	F	University of Notre Dame
40		Jon Okafor	M	Brown University
41		Levi Houapeu	F	University of Maryland, Baltimore County
42		Ryan Kinne	M/F	Monmouth University
43	(from HOU)	Matt Gold	D	The Ohio State University
44	(from COL, TOR)	Junior Burgos	M	Cal-Poly, San Luis Obispo
45		Jason Herrick	F	University of Maryland
46		Konrad Warzycha	M	The Ohio State University
47		Alex Caskey	M	Davidson College
48		Bernardo Anor	M	University of South Florida
49	(from NY, CHI5)	Joao Plata	M	LDU Quito
50	(from RSL, LA, RSL, LA6)	Joe Willis	GK	University of Denver
51	(from SJ)	Davis Paul	F	University of California
52	(from LA)	Jarad vanSchaik	M	University of Portland
53		Scott Gordon	D	Lynn University
54	(from COL)	Alan Koger	F	College of William & Mary

The Annual MLS SuperDraft took place yesterday afternoon in the city of Baltimore and it threw up a fair share of surprises. Omar Salgado and Darlington Nagbe led the Draft and Perry Kitchen, selected third, was more than delighted to get the opportunity to showcase his talent for the under performing DC United.

After living in the shadow of his brother Wayne for years on end it seems John Rooney has finally landed himself a major career move. Rooney was chosen for the New York Red Bulls and will compete for a place amongst the legendary Thierry Henry and former Aston Villa hit man Juan Pablo Angel. It must be a dream come true for the Englishman and it could be the move that defines his career.