* Steve Finnan, arguably the best right back in the Premiership last season, has been rewarded for his efforts with a three year contract. I'm sort of surprised that we signed him for three years considering his age, but I'm sure he'll be splitting time with Arbeloa, Stephen Darby, or some new signing, possibly as early as January. Hopefully he'll retire from International play soon as well.
* We're eyeing another Spanish youngster. This time it's Luis Garcia's cousin, Javi Garcia, who is lost in the ranks over at Real Madrid. Apparently the defensive midfielder has earned a first team squad spot from new boss, Bernd Schuster, for the upcoming season. Whether or not he ever gets to see the pitch is a whole other question. A possible replacement for Javier Mascherano?
* Allegedly Marco Van Basten, the head man for the Netherlands, advised Ryan Babel to stay in his homeland if he wanted to earn more time with the international squad. That makes absolutely no sense since the Premiership is on a higher level than Eredivisie and the competition should allow Babel to develop into a better player, but honestly, I don't care if Babel represents his country or not. For an international manager, Van Basten sure likes the limelight.
* Finally, Rafa seems to really want to bring 'he who I refuse to acknowledge' to our squad. So much so that he's willing to bring in the lawyers and take it to the court. This is getting ridiculous. Can't we just try and sign Leighton Baines or something?