Andy Johnson looks to have his heart set on joining Everton in an £8.5 million transfer. Crystal Palace have also agreed the same fee with Bolton Wanderers and Wigan. Palace chairman Simon Jordan looks to have decided to cash in on Johnson now that his side are destined for another season in the Championship following playoff defeat at the hands of Watford.

Johnson appears to have snubbed both Bolton and Wigan who have both punched above their weight over recent years, to join Everton who have an illustrious history. However they have not been the most consistent over the past five years. Maybe Johnson and Beattie can form a formidable partnership and shoot Everton to dizzy heights they achieved in the 1980’s.

An injury to the knee of Cory Gibbs has cost him his opportunity to play in the World Cup this summer in Germany. Gibbs who has only just recently signed for premiership side Charlton Athletic from Dutch club Feyenoord; will be out for a month and provided his work permit is granted should be fit for the first game of the premiership in August.

Bruce Arena has called up Greg Berhalter to replace Gibbs who had been hoping to play in his first World Cup Finals. Berhalter is no stranger to south east London himself having previously plied his trade at Crystal Palace. The veteran had just helped his former side Energie Cottbus to a place in next seasons Bundesliga, before sealing a move to Munich 1860.

Chelsea’s new signing limped off the training pitch earlier this week and was unable to play in the warm up game with Luxembourg. The injury is minor and will not keep him from taking part in the World Cup.

Germany didn’t seem to miss Ballack’s presence, as the hosts claimed an emphatic 7-0 victory over Luxembourg. There were a hatrick of braces for Klose, Podolski and Oliver Neuville, and a penalty that was converted by Torsten Frings.

Following a thrilling playoff final where both sides had gone in front only for the other to equalise. It took yet another set of penalties to distinguish a winner.

Barnsley keeper Nicky Colgan made amends during the penalty shoot out, for his earlier mistake that saw Swansea go ahead earlier in the game, when he accidentally handled the ball in to his own goal. After Akinfenwa had missed his spot kick all of the pressure was on the shoulders of Alan Tate. Colgan saved and catapulted they Yorkshire club into the Coca-Cola Championship much to the delight of celebrity fans and cricket legends umpire Dicky Bird and Darren Gough.

Another household name looks set to miss out on all England’s games and it is not because the have broken a metatarsal.

The transfer of Steve Rider to ITV, following the demise of the institution that was Grandstand means that Gabby Logan has been relegated and will not cover England’s World Cup Matches.

Gabby was the first woman to present live terrestrial football coverage, when she hosted a match between Tottenham and Chelsea in January 2002. She is well used to covering global events presenting for ITV when England had their Rugby World Cup triumph in 2003.

Rider will be the host for the initial England matches in the ITV World Cup coverage, he will also host any subsequent games should they progress in the tournament.

Yesterday it was reported that Wayne Rooney had gone for a scan on his foot to reveal how well the injury had healed. We have all been put out of our misery as the announcement of his progress was made around midday today.

BREAKING NEWS

Wayne Rooney could be fit for the latter stages of the World Cup.
Rooney will fly with the England squad on the 5th June to Germany. Sven is very happy, but Manchester United fans are concerned that he may further damage his foot and be injured for the start of the 2006 Premiership season.

A new scan with be carried out on the 14th of June, if it’s a green light he could be back training, but there are no guarantees.

Should we take Defoe and leave Rooney out? What are your thoughts?

The last game has been played at Highbury, which is due to be redeveloped into 711 homes. Sections of the old stadium will remain in place and have been incorporated into the design of the aptly named ‘The Stadium - Highbury Square’.
The East Stand and West Stand both Grade II-listed structures will be developed into luxury apartments, many of which will have views over the old pitch, which will become a large landscaped garden of nearly two acres.

The development will have brand new facilities such as a gym, health centre, nursery and retail unit. Underneath the old pitch a swimming pool and fitness centre will be built and there will also be a 24-hour concierge service plus spaces to park cars/bicycles.
The location is its best asset only  a short walk away from the new Emirates Stadium, where Arsenal begin their campaign from August 2006. This is the ideal gunners home, own a part of Arsenal football club’s history.

To see more photos and get more information visit the official website

Chelsea’s ability to magically persuade Ballack who had been bound for Manchester United, to sign on the dotted line for the Blues, has to be the standard for modern magicians.

It appears that when comparing the two clubs it was Chelsea who have the ambitions and playing staff to match Ballack’s own needs for development and success.

All in the garden is not rosy, there may not have been one of the biggest transfer fees in the history of Abramovich’s reign, but this could be one of the most expensive acquisitions so far. Not least due to the reported one hundred and thirty thousand pounds a week in wages that the player will receive when he joins the club in July after the World Cup where he will captain the home nation.

Ballack is a world class midfielder, he cannot have been brought in to provide cover for Lampard who has been almost ever present since he joined the club. Beyond Lampard Chelsea have an abundance of midfielders, who will be the one to step aside to give him a game? Mourinho has already told Skysports he intends to play them both together. This is understandable as Frank has been the talisman of the side for the last two seasons his goals being a major factor in the blues back to back premiership titles. Could Essien be this years Kezman and be cast aside like last years wardrobe? His form last season hasn’t helped neither have the few mistimed challenges that cost Chelsea dear.

What will the eventual total cost of this transfer be? We can rest assured that it will be colossal, when will we find out? It may not be until the end of the next window in January when restless players turn into wantaway trouble makers.

The money from MANSION had barely made it into the bank account of Tottenham before they announced that they were investing it in the form of Dimitar Berbatov.

The Bulgarian striker certainly fits the mould favoured by Tottenham coach Martin Jol he will be the physical presence that either Keane or Defoe will play off, in the little and large front two. He scored 21 goals in 34 games in the Bundesliga last term.

Berbatov’s signing could mean that the writing is on the wall for Mido. The Egyptian striker had hoped to complete a permanent move from Roma following his reasonably successful eighteen month loan deal that finished at the end of the season.

The £10 million striker has been given the 9 as his squad number for next season, let’s hope it brings more luck to him than it did for Rasiak who only managed to pull the shirt on a handful of appearances last season.

Tottenham have had mixed results when going to mainland Europe for strikers, they bought one half of the Rebrov Shevchenko partnership that rocketed Dynamo Kiev to dizzy heights in the ninties, only to watch in amazment as their investment plummeted faster than the very same speeding rocket. While the other half of the deadly duo continued to score week in week out.

One thing is for sure, Tottenham have not finished their spending for the summer, it seems that they are linked with another possible target on an hourly basis, so far they have had links with Chimbonda, Kewell, Bellamy, Carlton Cole and Ruud Van Nistelrooy just to name a few; which will of course lead to a few players going don’t the High Road for the last time.

Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a deal with gaming company MANSION that is worth a minimum of £34m over the next four years. The deal is the seventh largest of its kind in world football. MANSION had been in talks with Manchester United but it broke down when they found that United had more than one iron in the fire.

A lot has been made of the fact that that MANSION are a gaming company and that their sponsorship could encourage minors to gamble. There is also the possibility that it may also encourage gambling addiction among football fans. Then has Carlsberg’s sponsorship of Liverpool encouraged alcoholism, or has Manchester United’s alliance with Vodaphone increased their fans conversational skills.

The partnership heralds a new dawn for both parties as Tottenham are building a new team for the future to compete on the bigger stages, while MANSION too possess similar aspirations of growth and success.

The money from this deal along with that secured from the kit manufacturer PUMA will be useful as Martin Jol looks to strengthen his side in preparation for the clubs assault on Europe. The ultimate goal is their qualification for the Champions League, to achieve this Spurs must invest in a couple of full backs, a striker and a left winger. The doubt over the permanent move of Mido from Rome to North London still remains, and Tottenham must act swiftly to avoid a repeat of last seasons panic purchase of Rasiak from Derby County. Having performed so well last year and with this current investment fans will want to see the purchase of Champions League quality footballers not Championship quality.