Fellas we have to stay together instead of letting dem goat moyth fellas try to blight we squad. We are in a minor transition phase and with two quality midfielders in January, one defensive and one creative, we will be the toast of the EPL again. The gloom and doom artists doh phase me at all. They are pretending to be brave but we know its their insecurities about Utd's dominance that makes them talk so loud... ent Palos... ent Touches...
Premiership
The Times November 23, 2005
Fulham face fight for Diop as United look to fill vacancy
By Kaveh Solhekol
CHRIS COLEMAN has dismissed speculation linking Papa Bouba Diop with a transfer to Manchester United during the January transfer window by insisting that the Fulham midfield player is about to be offered a new contract by the West London club.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s desire to recruit a defensive midfield player to replace Roy Keane is well-documented, but the Fulham manager wants to make sure that Diop does not follow Louis Saha and Edwin van der Sar by leaving for Old Trafford.
Ferguson, meanwhile, will be aware that Diop would be eligible to play in the Champions League if United were to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition.
“We want to extend Diop’s contract,” Coleman said. “He has this year and two more years left on his contract and he is certainly someone who we want to bring in and have talks with.”
Nicknamed “The Wardrobe” because of his intimidating aura in midfield, Diop announced his presence on the world stage by scoring the only goal as Senegal defeated France, the defending champions, in the opening match of the 2002 World Cup in Seoul. He produced another impressive display, this time in front of Ferguson, at Craven Cottage during his team’s 3-2 defeat by United last month, after which Willie McKay, his agent, revealed that his client had been offered a one-year extension to his contract that he was happy to sign. However, that contract remains unsigned and Coleman’s desire to restart talks suggests that Diop is aware of the interest that his performances have been attracting from other clubs.
When Arsenal were rumoured to be interested in signing him as a replacement for Patrick Vieira in the summer, Coleman responded by declaring that only a “staggering” offer of about £12 million would tempt him to part with one of his best players. “Our better players will always be linked with other clubs, but nobody will be leaving here unless the price is right for this club,” the manager said at the time.
Coleman has been given permission by Mohamed Al Fayed, the chairman, to sign two players during the January transfer window, but the Fulham manager will be keen to make sure that any acquisitions are not offset by departures at a club who have been operating on a shoestring budget since the acrimonious departure of Jean Tigana, his predecessor, 2½ years ago.
“The transfer window is four weeks of madness and I am keeping my fingers crossed because we have to do something,” Coleman said. “Maybe we will bring someone in on loan, maybe a permanent transfer or maybe both, but I also know that we will have people breathing down our necks for our best players.”
Although Ferguson may covet one of Coleman’s most prized assets, the Fulham manager has no interest in repaying the compliment by joining the race to sign the former apple of his counterpart’s eye. “Keane is a quality player,” he said. “I don’t know what he is going to do with his future. He has great experience, but he is not someone who we will be pursuing.”
