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A brief look at the Premier League pre season guide resembles something more akin to a travel brochure than anything else. Where as the task of burning off a summers worth of Carlsberg used to consist of a week in La Manga and a token run out against a local team, clubs have now gone global in their pre season efforts.

Of course, we are now living in the big-business, bigger-bucks era of the Premier League, and establishing a brand identity is seemingly just as important as how many shuttle runs the first team are doing. And what better way of reaching out to the fans across the world and increasing the popularity of the club, than physically going out there and giving them an exhibition.

But as some managers admit, the advantages of taking your team over to far flung parts of the world, would seem to be far more beneficial to the marketing men than the player staff. As teams and fans ridicule the idea of the Premier League’s outrageous ‘39th’ game idea, are we really that far off after all?

The Premier League is, and at the risk of sounding like their PR machine, a global brand. Naturally, supporters are intrinsically defensive of what is one of this country’s biggest exports and we don’t always like to share. But whether we like it or not, some of our clubs are just as fervently supported overseas as they are here. The revenue raised from merchandise, replica shirts or pencil cases abroad, helps clubs pay the big wages to attain the big players.

Similarly, the task of winning big corporate sponsorship to adorn the front of the shirt can’t be taken for granted either. As much as we’d like to see Peter’s Pies put forward a multi-mullion pound package to sponsor a Premier League team, the realities are that foreign investment has been key to boosting the coffers of our clubs. Consequently, they want maximum exposure for their money and unsurprisingly, they’re not just content with you turning up on matchday; as harsh as that sounds.

And the real Holy Grail for the men in suits, is tapping into the gold mine of previously unearthed support. To whip out another middle-management pearler, it is the ‘developing market’ that really appeals to clubs. Two such clubs who are seizing the initiative this summer, are Arsenal and Everton who are travelling to Nigeria and Jakarta respectively.

Arsenal, however, seem to be taking the far-flung pre season tour to new levels this year. The Gunners visit Kuala Lumpur, Beijing, Hong Kong, Abuja and Cologne for their pre-season. Good for the bank-balance, no doubt. But one such critic of such foreign excursions is Arsene Wenger. Speaking back in 2008, the Frenchman said:

“I don’t like the pre-season tours. But I must say we have a lot of proposals. I hope I can resist as long as I want because it is a lot of money that is offered. But I have the final say.”

Times have of course, unfortunately changed. Four years on and Wenger is facing up to a trip to Africa this summer- a far cry from his pre season policy that never used to stray from the European continent. The Premier League is as massive in Africa as it is anywhere else on the planet; Wenger has testified to being ‘frightened’ at how popular Arsenal is in Africa. And it is refreshing to see a football club look to play a pre season friendly in a country such as Nigeria as opposed to the riches of the US – even if the aim of financial gain is still the same.

But the crux of it is, that Wenger believes it is a hindrance to the first team. However much of a financial gain it may ultimately bring, the man who is more informed than anyone to offer an opinion on this, does not think it wise.

“We have had to compromise on the sporting side, because we had a rational, methodical approach to our pre-season,” said Wenger back in May

“We have sacrificed some of that to go on tour.”

Pre season is a vitally important part of the campaign. Get it wrong and head into the season unprepared and the wheels can come off a season fast. Wenger’s team don’t need another nightmare start after last season. Many clubs have faced and will face similar arduous pre season journeys this season. But every advantage helps. If Wenger believes the team are gaining an advantage by staying in Europe, it seems disheartening that the marketing men’s view has more credence with the board.

This isn’t to say that their pre-season tour, or any other Premier League side’s for that matter, won’t be a real success. Fans from overseas are set to get a superb chance to watch a team they may never have thought they’d ever to get to watch. And for the extra millions that some of the acquired fans will bring to the club, that’s all very well.

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But for the real fans, whatever corner of the globe they may reside, surely they’d rather see their team getting every advantage possible. If that involves staying in Europe, then so be it.

How do you feel about the current crop of pre-season tours? Help, hindrance or indifferent? Tell me how you feel on Twitter, follow @samuel_antrobus and bat me your views.

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Winger Antonio Valencia has signed a new four-year contract with Manchester United, the club confirmed on Monday.Valencia, 25, has made a big impact since arriving at Old Trafford from Wigan in the summer of 2009, playing a key role last term both in United’s record 19th league title win and the club’s run to a third Champions League final in four seasons.

Upon signing his new deal, the Ecuadorian said he hoped he could continue to improve as a player and help Sir Alex Ferguson’s side challenge for more silverware.

“I am delighted to stay at United,” Valencia said. “Since my first day at Carrington, I have been happy here. I hope that I can continue to develop as a player.”

“I am looking forward to making my contribution to helping this squad compete for more trophies.”

Ferguson praised the winger after signing his new deal, hailing his versatility and strength of character following his comeback from breaking his ankle early last season.

“Antonio has made a fantastic contribution since his arrival. His speed, crossing ability and versatility have been a big asset for us,” Ferguson said.

“He has a quiet, unassuming way of going about his business, which is underlined by great strength of character – as his recovery from such a bad injury last season proves.”

Valencia made 19 appearances for Manchester United last season, scoring three goals, including the opener in the Red Devil’s 4-1 win over Schalke in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final.

Premier League strugglers West Ham United have signed Middlesbrough midfielder Gary O’Neil.

O’Neil’s move became official on Tuesday when the former England under-21 international completed a medical, just a day after the two clubs agreed to terms.

The 27-year-old arrives at Upton Park on a two-year deal and could make his debut for West Ham in their Carling Cup semi-final against Birmingham on Wednesday.

“I am really pleased to sign,” O’Neil told West Ham’s official website. “It all happened very quickly. I played for Middlesbrough at the weekend and didn’t know anything was going to happen. It has all gathered pace since then.”

“I enjoyed my time at Middlesbrough, the fans and staff were really good but it has been a difficult time on the pitch.”

O’Neil is relishing the chance to be involved on Wednesday if he is selected and believes Avram Grant’s side have the quality to get out of the relegation zone.

” It is great that the club have such a massive game to look forward to. I haven’t trained yet with the team so it is up to the manager of course if he wants to use me.”

“I will take it one step at a time but it is a big game and it could be a case of straight in at the deep end if involved.”

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“It is a great side with top players but they just suffered from a tough start. I know we have enough quality to get out of it (the relegation zone).”

“I have been in a couple of relegation battles, including at Portsmouth, so hopefully that experience will help.”

Families of the 96 Liverpool fans who died in the Hillsborough disaster will be given access to secret police and government documents, according to The Guardian.

After a long running campaign for the papers to be released, The Hillsborough Independent Panel will share the documents with bereaved families on September 12th,  23 years after the tragedy.

In a statement released by the panel yesterday, emphasised was the paramount importance of consultation with the grieving families.

“…by making this announcement today it will give bereaved families sufficient time to prepare for disclosure”.

Chairwoman of the Hillsborough Family Support Group Margaret Aspinall, who lost her 18-year old son James through the tragedy, explained her delight at the proposed release of the documents.

“It’s Great news” she stated, “September 12th will undoubtedly be an emotional day for all the families.”

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An inquiry has been launched by The Cabinet Office concerning a percentage of the documents that were leaked to the BBC earlier in the year.  One of these documents contained a briefing note written by a Senior Yorkshire Police Officer that was given to Prime Minister at the time Margaret Thatcher. The note wrongly blamed a number of drunken Liverpool fans for the disaster. The investigation is on-going.

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Thierry Henry is disappointed that “weird rules” prevented him wearing an Arsenal shirt for the last five minutes against New York Red Bulls.Arsene Wenger pleaded with English referee Kevin Friend and his assistants at half-time to allow the Gunners legend, who played the entire 90 minutes for the MLS side, to swap teams shortly before the end of the 1-1 Emirates Cup draw.

Arsenal once again threw away a lead as Kyle Bartley’s own goal gifted New York the cup having led most of the game through Robin van Persie’s opener.

Wenger was told that one player cannot play for two teams in the same match, even in a pre-season tournament.

Henry admitted he would have been delighted to turn out for the home team after getting a rapturous reception from supporters at the club where he spent eight years.

“Arsenal asked me and I said, ‘yeah, why not?’ It was the plan but they have some weird rules and FIFA or the ref or whoever it was, denied it,” a disappointed Henry said.

“But that’s the way it is. It doesn’t matter. I’ve played enough games in an Arsenal shirt.”

Henry, who is the leading scorer in the MLS this season, has no desire to return to the Premier League after bringing down the curtain on one of the most successful spells of any overseas player in England four years ago.

“I don’t miss it,” he said.

“I have done what I had to do here. It is more than nice to see the reception I got. It is like, ‘wow’. It is amazing, don’t get me wrong. But I did what I had to do and I’m happy with it.”

“It was very emotional for me, it always is when I come back here.”

“I didn’t do it a lot. When I came back for Barcelona I came on for the last 10 or 15 minutes, but now definitely I know what it is like to run after the ball when you play against Arsenal. I used to be on the other side.”

“We were lucky. Somehow we got a draw. I don’t know how, but we did,” he said.

“We don’t have a big squad so it was difficult for us to put two teams out there. Some of the guys played 90 minutes yesterday and 90 minutes today so you have to give the guys some credit.”

“It was kind of mixed emotions. You also want to compete. They were asking for pictures, asking for shirts before the game.”

“You have to try to play it properly. The fans are cheering me beforehand, cheering when I’ve got the ball. It is the way it is. You know the love I have with the club and the understanding I have with the fans.”

Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey is set to return to the Emirates Stadium ahead over Manchester City’s visit tonight after completing a successful loan spell at Nottingham Forest. However, is Wenger right to bring the 20-year-old back so soon? Or should he have extended the Welshman’s stay at Forest a little longer?

Ramsey joined the Championship side in November in a bid to gain valuable playing time, and most importantly, to achieve match fitness after recovering from a horrific leg break last year.

Despite the bad weather during the Christmas period, which restricted the Welsh midfielder to just 5 appearances (2 starts, 3 from the bench) in 5 weeks at the City Ground, Billy Davies believes the move was a successful one. He told the official Forest website:

‘Aaron has been a pleasure to have about the place. From working with him on a daily basis it’s clear to see he has a wonderful future ahead of him.’

Davies goes on to say:

‘He has been not only a credit to himself in the time that he’s been with us, but also a credit to Arsenal. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen as much of him in action as we had hoped because of the weather.’

The Welshman played his last game for Forest on Monday which resulted in a 1-0 victory over Ipswich. However, the most satisfying thing to hear (for Arsenal fans especially) was that Ramsey was able to last the whole 90 minutes, something which hasn’t been seen since Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Sunderland which occurred on the 20th of February 2010.

Wenger has opted not to extend the midfielder’s loan spell, even though he believes that Ramsey is still not completely ready to take on the Premier League. Speaking on December 31st, Wenger told the official Arsenal website:

‘Aaron is not completely ready yet [for the Premier League] but he has been practising every day with the group for two months. I hope that when he comes back he should be ready in February.’

In my opinion, I feel Wenger should have extended Ramsey’s loan spell. I can’t see the 20-year-old playing much football for the Gunners this season, and due to poor weather conditions this winter, the Welsh international didn’t get as much games as he would have liked under his belt. Even with Abou Diaby out with yet another injury, I think Ramsey will struggle to force his way into a very congested Arsenal midfield, especially one that seems to have gelled well this season.

Wenger should definitely seek another loan move for the youngster (preferably a one month or two month spell in the Championship) as it would be beneficial for him to gain additional match fitness and game time. However, if Wenger believes Aaron Ramsey will feature in the Arsenal line-up by February, then it’s the right call to end his loan spell at Forest.

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I for one hope to see the young midfielder pull on the Arsenal jersey before the end of the season, but if this doesn’t occur, then the Frenchman’s decision to bring him back to the Emirates so soon was absolutely pointless.

Read more Arsenal blogs at the brand NEW Gunnersphere

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He scores goals, he creates goals, he’s classy and he’s got a wife that makes you feel genuinely proud to be a Spurs supporter. So when rumors start swirling around that he may well be off back to his old stamping ground of the Bundesliga, several Spurs fans were aghast. But you need to look past the neat little one-twos and feverish Dutch fist pumping. If Schalke offer £12million for Rafael van der Vaart, Spurs should take a deep breath and take the money.

A touch of Dutch has never really graced White Hart Lane enough in recent times. Willem Korsten wasn’t quite Marco van Basten and Edgar Davids did well, even if his glory years were probably behind him. But whatever it is that Dutch players are supposed to have, Van der Vaart has it. The Velcro touch, the touch of class, the innate ability to score for fun against your clubs most hated rivals. These are attributes you don’t quite see every day and make no mistake about it; he is a hugely popular figure at White Hart Lane.

His figures stand up with the best also. In his two Premier League seasons with the club, the Dutchman has scored 24 and set up 15. Playing behind the larger frontman up front has paid big dividends for him. Where as 2010-11 it was Peter Crouch who was knocking it down and teeing it up for him, this year it’s been Emmanuel Adebayor who has been dovetailing with Van der Vaart. The two were hardly quite Shearer and Sutton, but they both got goals and performed well with each other. When push comes to shove, the Jermain Defoe loving armada must understand why he isn’t first choice.

Again, for the style that Redknapp has had Spurs playing, Rafael van der Vaart has been perfect. Neat little passes around the area, probing and searching for the opening. A conventional forward couldn’t offer the collaborative play and vision that the Spurs number 11 does. He is an important cog in the Tottenham Hotspur wheel. But maybe that in itself, is where some of the problems lie.

For the faults of Harry Redknapp and this Tottenham team, some of the base problems, such as actually scoring enough goals and killing teams off, are often overlooked. This article simply doesn’t have enough time to log all the separate occasions where Spurs have dominated teams and possession, but come out short of three points. Everton away, QPR away, Wolves at home and the now infamous Villa away date, are a small selection of some of the worst offending fixtures. Of course, there are a multitude of reasons why Spurs didn’t finish fourth. But for all the possession and the flashy football seen this past season, it has often been style over substance. Rafael van der Vaart isn’t without quite without substance, but he represents a motif of some of Spurs issues.

And it’s not the smaller doubts that shroud Van der Vaart either. He has worked a lot harder for the team this year, but there are still doubts about his over his ability to play a 38-game season. A troublesome hamstring seems to of cropped up several times during his two-year spell and whilst Redknapp has taken it too far subbing the Dutchman after 70-odd minutes, often he has indeed tailed off towards the climax of games. But that’s not the main problem. In fact, even his fabricated set-piece ability, which still doesn’t seem to have been debunked after two years of hitting the wall or the first man at a corner, isn’t the main problem.

With Rafael van der Vaart in the team, Tottenham can only play one way. You can sit down with a pen and paper or spend hours making up imaginary tactics on Football Manager, but he cannot play anywhere else than behind the striker. He can’t seriously play on the right-wing for anything else other than a stop-gap measure and the theory that he could play deeper in midfield has serious flaws too. His natural instinct to go forward, his lack of mobility and sometimes-questionable work-rate (anyone remember his tracking back for Aaron Ramsey’s goal at White Hart Lane?) would render him far too risky to play there.

Yes Redknapp has never developed a Plan B for changing games. But that has only become so prominent, because Plan A has proven ineffective so many times. Spurs fans have rightly oozed such frustration at Redknapp for failing to change the game, but it’s the point the game has needed to be changed so much which is just as frustrating. And the main way, in which Spurs’ game can be altered, is by taking Van der Vaart off the field.

It’s completely unfair to pin all of Tottenham’s impotence on Rafael van der Vaart. There are several reasons, both player and manager based, which have contributed to it. But sometimes teams need a tinker, a change; a slightly fresh approach. But if Redknapp or a new manager decides to change a team for the better, it might be at the expense of Van der Vaart. The best players do not always make the best team and if Spurs need to find a different way of playing, that process can’t revolve around desperately trying to fit Van der Vaart in it- as it will only paint a similar picture.

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Rafael van der Vaart is a fantastic footballer and the squad is always going to be a better place having him in it. But if he’s really craving a move to Germany, where his wife Sylvie spends a lot of her time working and Spurs are offered the reported £12million, maybe it could be best for both parties to say yes.

Can’t imagine White Hart Lane without a classic verse of Van der Vaart? Or do you think that it wouldn’t be game over for the Lilywhite’s if the Dutchman moves on? Get involved in the Spurs talk, follow me on Twitter: @samuel_antrobus

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The sale of Andy Carroll to Liverpool during the final hours of the January transfer window brought Newcastle United an embarrassment of riches beyond their wildest dreams.

A £35 million pound war chest at Alan Pardew’s disposal had the Geordie fans salivating at the prospect of high-class signings and a top quality goal scorer to replace the local hero turned villain. The free transfer signing of Demba Ba has gone someway to filling the void left by Carroll with the Senegalese striker being joined by the French midfield trio of Yohan Cabaye, Sylvain Marveaux and Mehdi Abeid. Pardew has had no problem strengthening the middle of the park but he has struggled to add a forward to his already weak frontline.

The signing of Ba on a free represented great business but and with the other signings also proving to be relatively cheap you’d think that a large portion of the Carroll money would still be available to bring in a top class striker. Its common knowledge that the money was to cover not just transfer fees but also wages and signing on fee’s. With money at his disposal Pardew continued to try and raid Frances Ligue 1 for the hottest and most affordable talent.  However things haven’t quite gone to plan for the Magpies boss. Lorient’s Kevin Gameiro dismissed any interest in him, Gervinho joined Arsenal and now PSG’s Melvut Erdinc is distancing himself from a move to the North East.

Turkish international Erdinc is top of Pardew’s list after failing to sign his previous targets although he has insisted he won’t beg him to join Newcastle. With the striker already indicating he wants to stay in France as opposed to making the move across the channel should the club give up and move onto other targets? The blatant answer to this question yes! To be honest I don’t know why Erdinc is even being considered a viable transfer target by the club. First and foremost he isn’t even that good!  His goal scoring record for PSG is decent at best but that’s in the French league. You might gripe at that but lets put it into perspective shall we? This is a league where Claudio Cacapa captained Lyon to five championships and every Newcastle fan should remember how awful he was!

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Secondly if the player doesn’t want come and play for Newcastle United football club then where is the logic in pursuing his signature? For the first time in a long while the club actually has a group of players who want to play and wear the black and white stripes with pride. After all it is an absolute privilege to play for a club, which has seen some of English football’s greatest strikers bang in goal after goal on the St James’ Park turf. Frankly if we do manage to sign Erdinc we’d only be a stepping-stone for the 24 year old. It seems that Pardew’s patience is wearing thin and he had a slight dig at the player during an interview with The Journal newspaper

He said: “It’s quite easy for me: if the boy wants to stay at his club and be third choice and doesn’t want to come to Newcastle, then I don’t want him because Newcastle, for me, are a bigger club.

“I’m not being disrespectful and I know that Paris St Germain are in the Champions League, but with our stadium, our support and the squad we have got, we are the bigger club.

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“But we won’t bring him to the club if he doesn’t want to be here. We are certainly not going to force his hand.”

It’s a no brainer that the club should look elsewhere and I don’t see the problem with looking for a British forward. Daniel Sturridge or Shane Long could provide a hunger and desire to succeed and make something of their careers at one of the best clubs in the league.

Sturridge’s career is stagnating at Chelsea and everyone saw his undoubted talent during his goal laden loan spell at Bolton. Long on the other hand should be keen to prove himself at the top level after a prolific season at Championship level with Reading. Both are young and fit well into the new philosophy laid out by Mike Ashley. Even if they did cost a few pounds more than they should they’d still prove sound investments and could go on to proudly wear the famous number nine that is currently hanging around without an owner.

Ahead of the Arsenal clash, Ji Sung Park has been named ManUtd.com’s Player of the Month for November just ahead of Nani.

Although this is no Ballon D’Or, Park has nevertheless been instrumental in helping to slowly drag the team back in the title race in the last few weeks after it was looking like one of those seasons with too many draws/dropped points. One such example was going to be against a spirited Wolves side at Old Trafford. But then, in injury time, Park picked up the ball on the right flank thanks to a glorious long-range pass by Fletcher, ran at the defence and scored a invaluable goal in front of the Stretford End which went bonkers.

The man who most rival fans think we bought purely for selling shirts in the Far East will always be one of those players who divides opinion among their own supporters. Park has been injured so many times throughout his United career that fans have failed to see him string a decent amount of first team appearances over a few seasons and some of these fans sometimes start wondering whether it would be best to just get someone better and sell him off. Other fans would then use the work ethic card to defend him, just like Tevez used to be defended for his headless chicken impression on the pitch. But Park is much more than bundles of energy. He is pretty quick, very tactically aware (generally good positioning and disciplined), shows great movement in crowded areas, can dribble well and can finish too. He can lose possession very often (and very frustratingly), just because he can be too adventurous or easily pushed off the ball at times. But he definitely has the class of a player who can change matches in an instant but who can also do the dirty work and press the hell out of opponents. Furthermore, he is very versatile and can play anywhere in midfield and even behind a lone striker in a central role.

Park seems to love playing against Arsenal too (I always remember his best performances being against them). And the Arsenal match could not come at a better time for our Korean midfielder. Another reason for me being particularly happy with Park as well as players like Nani for example is that we are doing really well in the league without our two main stars being in great form. Berbatov, despite his 5 goals against Blackburn is far from his best and Rooney’s season is really only starting now. Football experts and fans always talk about Berba or Rooney just needing a goal to get them back to their best and sometimes even link that with a turnaround for the club. I think I don’t care if Rooney (or Berba) does not score again this season…if we win the Premier League! It is sometimes better to have the so-called fringe players i.e. Park as well as the rest of the team doing extremely well than having to rely on 1-2 players to deliver for the whole team. It is reassuring to know that we can have a few players who can pose a threat to opposing teams rather than one player everyone in the team has to pick out with a pass for something to happen. I have no doubts that Berba and Rooney will start getting some of their magic back soon, but so far this season, we have managed to remain in the race for honours and players such as Park, Nani, Rafael and particularly Anderson at the moment seem to be stepping up at the right time as United get ready to take on two main rivals for the title, Arsenal and Chelsea.

Read more Manchester United blogs at the excellent ‘The Busby Way’ here

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When Adlene Guedioura signed on loan from Wolves in January for the rest of the season, two questions were asked, and understandably so.

Who the hell is he? And the more commonly asked question, ‘Why has Cotterill signed another midfielder, when Nottingham Forest were crying out for a defender?’

Any doubts surrounding his unknown quantity, and further doubts surrounding Cotterill’s plans for defenders, were soon quashed, as Guedioura burst onto the scene delightfully, and the Reds manager quickly signed George Elokobi, Scott Wootton, and Danny Higginbotham.

What we got with Guedioura, was an adventurous spark, that Forest had lacked for the whole season. A player that played without the fear of failing, his determination and passion shining through, immediately winning every Forest fan over. Not many players can be forgiven for attempting ambitious 40 yard wonder strikes, but Guedioura was always forgiven, because he had worked to get to the position he found himself in, so he was deserving of an effort goal. That, and the fact he can certainly hit a ball with pace and direction, as shown at Elland Road, with a 35 yard thunderbolt, voted Goal of the Season.

In Chris Cohen, Forest have a tireless machine. What he may lack in quality sometimes, he more than makes up for in desire and heart. Since Chris Cohen got an injury putting him out for the season, his energy to drive the team forward was missed massively, hence the importance someone of Guedioura’s ilk was signed. Guedioura possesses all of the assets Cohen has, and more. Guedioura has a pure quality about him, giving him that element of swagger on the pitch that only really good players can get away with.

His ability to be given the ball under any situation, and bring a calmness, and sense of security to all of those around him, enabled the other players to build up their confidence, and gradually, that was clear to see, as the longer Guedioura’s loan went on, the more confident and fearless the other players became, allowing them to flourish.

Wolves I’m sure, have many regrets this season. Letting go of Guedioura has to be right up there, with one of their biggest mistakes in their whole season. Looking at Wolves from the outside, they’ve needed an individual to stand up and be counted, and take a game by the scruff of the neck, and drag everyone else along with them. Guedioura, undoubtedly, would’ve been that man. Roger Johnson, the captain, was supposed to be the person everyone looked to, to fill that role, but he was too busy keeping the local Wolverhampton pubs alive. Who says modern day footballers are selfish, and don’t give to the local community?

One of the most integral parts of Guedioura’s successful spell at Forest is the love he’s received from the fans, and in turn, the undying love he’s graciously given back. One quote taken from his Twitter page stood out. “Your love is my drug”, he tweeted, praising the Reds fans. This underlined the point to me, that this is a man who thrives on the affectionate vibes he captures from the City Ground supporters, which really aid him in his performance. The impression given, is that he wasn’t getting the appreciation from the Wolves fans, which may be a factor considered if coming back to Forest is an option that arises.

Nobody can doubt he’s loved his time in Nottingham, but with Wolves now in the Championship, they will be less willing to hand him to us without a justifyable fee. Unfortunately, there’s a problem with that too. With Forest’s continuing search for owners, they remain hesitant to make any concrete aims or promises, as the only money given by the Doughty Estate are those to fund contracts to out of contract duo Garath McCleary and Joel Lynch, who are yet to agree deals, making the situation more unsettled.

It could go either way. One thing is for sure though, Adlene Guedioura has been exceptional on the pitch, and off it, making himself a firm fans favourite. His overall conduct and attitude paints a picture of a man who views everyone as equal, and from the kit man, to the interviewer, or a child waiting outside for a photograph, he treats people with the full respect they deserve, and always finds time for them, a rarity for some modern day footballers.

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If he doesn’t sign for us, good luck to him for his future. He’ll always be welcome back to the City Ground, and will receive a warm reception.

If he does sign though, it would be a statement of intent, and the power of this signing would prove instrumental in season ticket sales.

@will_forest to get in touch via Twitter.

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