Stu still holds Steed hope

Chris Bailey

August 08, 2005

STUART PEARCE: On the lookout

STUART Pearce is ready to have one last crack at persuading Steed Mabranque to swap London for Manchester.

The Blues boss is hoping that the Fulham midfielder, who was on the score sheet against Panionios at the weekend, will have second thoughts about a £5m move north.

Pearce, armed with money from the sale of Shaun Wright-Phillips, wants to bring in a target man and playmaking midfielder before the transfer window slams shut at the end of the month.

"I have tried to bring someone in every week of the summer, so this week will be no different," declared the manager.

"I am still trying to bring players in. There is no greater urgency than usual. We tried to get Malbranque and we are unsuccessful at the moment in respect of that.

"We will look elsewhere but we might go back for him. I am led to believe it was his decision not to come. But you never know. I have not totally given up on that one yet."

Who would you like to see City go for? Have your say.

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V.O.R, Eastlands (08/08/2005 at 10:33)

Re my post on Saturday's game, I'd be think about tempting Malbranque with better personal terms. From the reports I've heard Fulham were prepared to let him go for the money, but he doesn't want to live in the north - sometimes I think players think we're all still sitting in tin baths in front of the fire reading the paper in a flat cap up here. (For all I know some of us are!). Anyway, hopefully its not dead yet.

blueyorkie, N Yorks (08/08/2005 at 10:34)

Rumour has it that our bid was accepted. Think he would be an excellent acquisition , thnk we should at least talk to the player to see if deal can be done. reading between the lines this may be happening even now.

paul johnson, swindon wilts (08/08/2005 at 10:34)

buy Yaya Toure from olympiacos he looked head and shoulders above anyone before his injury on saturday

Mark Struel, Israel (08/08/2005 at 10:35)

Tim Cahill from Everton

Jimmy, Swindon (08/08/2005 at 10:44)

Would like to see him at Eastlands, but not for more than B#4M. I fear we now need more cover defensively; Stu should be looking for a decent right back, Mill's, Sommeil and Sun are not good enough.

Jos Parlby, Stoke (08/08/2005 at 10:49)

Hm. Malbranque's wife seems to be the problem, as she wants to live near the Eurostar terminal so she can pop home every weekend to see her mum. Can't someone tell her that there's a big engine shed just outside Piccadilly with "LE EUROSTAR HABITE ICI" written on it?

Mark, Manchester (08/08/2005 at 10:49)

Fabio Rochemback I think he is with Sporting Lisbon at moment ex Barcelona boro looking at him for 3 million he is quick skilful and Brazilian

Ian Johnson, Middlewich Blue (08/08/2005 at 10:52)

Agree wit PJ below. Toure looked awesome, plus no doubt could double as cover for Dunne/Distin. Looked v.similar to Foe, who we have never replaced.

Lee, Sitting in his Tin Bath (08/08/2005 at 10:52)

Either Malbranque wants more dosh or he needs to persuade his missue in order to sign. There's more to this than meets the eye, otherwise SP wouldn't be going back again as he does not appear to be the begging type. Desperately need a creative midfielder, a centre half on loan and a striker to replace Fowler - Fowler is slow and unfit when he has trained, so after a few weeks out injured and no pre-season what kind of condition will he be in when he returns? Probably about the same as mine. Great to see Onouha back.

bazza, belle vue (08/08/2005 at 10:55)

Either Cahill or Yaya Toure would do me , what a player he looked on Saturday ------ he's another Viera!!

Only troubl is Olympiakos have only just bought him , so i doubt if a deal would be on , even if he did want to come to CoMS.

Hudds Bill, Hudds (08/08/2005 at 10:58)

Shame we missed out on young Steed - good age is 25 JUST.

Ben Strong, Bury (08/08/2005 at 10:58)

paul johnson, i was thinking exadctly the same, Toure looked a class act!

Ian Bell, Aberdeen (08/08/2005 at 11:02)

I hope SP adds another quality player to the squad this week.Mabranque or Cahill would be useful additions.The fans are already "buzzing" ahead of Saturdays start and another key signing would add fuel to the speculation."Come on City","Come on City".

Sid, Dublin (08/08/2005 at 11:05)

Mrs Mabranque's should be told there is an airport in Manchester with direct flights to Paris. Wardle should offer to her a lift there himself.

Phil Smith, Stockport (08/08/2005 at 11:07)

Newcastle are rumoured to also be interested, and they have deeper pockets than we do at the moment. It'll certainly put his 'personal' issues into perspective if he ends up signing for that lot...

woodmeister, millenium falcon (08/08/2005 at 11:15)

would love 2 see steed pulling on a blue shirt, but if thats a non runner, then lets have a crack at getting kim kallstrom

Jack Thorley, Timperley (08/08/2005 at 11:32)

Surely Andy Cole (sorry Andrew) is the key to this transfer,he will know his mobile number and probably tipped off SP that a transfer deal was a possibilty.If Fulham accepted the deal,then there are other reasons why the deal did not go through,Cole will no exactly why it did not happen!

Nogheed, Nogland (08/08/2005 at 12:07)

kIM KALLSTROM asap!

Blue Tiger, Virginia (08/08/2005 at 12:11)

Can we believe all the reasons given out by the media with this story.
I think that the real truth is that Fulham don,t really want to sell because they don,t have time for a replacement before the season starts.
Offer them Thatcher and cash and they might jump at it.

Dafulang, Nottingham (08/08/2005 at 12:24)

V.O.R. - Eastlands. You forgot about the whippet, which is key in this as Malbranque's wife is allrgic to dog hair! Are there NO creative players in the whole of Europe. Surely the scouting network can spot someone with an eye for a killer ball.

Chris, Davyhulme (08/08/2005 at 12:24)

Agree with all comments about Yaya Toure on saturday, he looked like a nuisance, big, awkward, good passing, box to box and a good head!

Blue Tiger, Virginia (08/08/2005 at 12:55)

Too late Fulham have found a left full back now, Ex City Niclas Jensen.

stu leics, the park bench (08/08/2005 at 13:11)

commented b4 that 'the avenger' would be a very good buy if we can sort out the personals, but can anybody tell me what happened to Yosser Hussain, and still would love to see Castelan wearing the sky blue, perhaps van de Meyde or Alessandro but not, please, Solano. If we're going to buy rather than loan a defender then could do a lot worse than DVB. Striker hmm... Earnshaw, Ellington? but best of all, a certain Owen that wants away from some spanish club, were a better prospect than the geordie boys....

Sneaky Pierre, Whippetsville, Arizona (08/08/2005 at 13:13)

By 'eck, if I don't fasten by belt, by crikey me trousers'l fall down....Steed....get a grip

Christian Halliwell, didsbury,manchester (08/08/2005 at 13:27)

yasser hussain has been offered a rolling short term deal subject to work permit. came from SP's programme notes in the olymipiacos programme.

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