West Ham United manager Avram Grant has admitted his squad is still far from complete ahead of the start of the new season.

Grant has signed three players since taking the reins at Upton Park at the beginning of June.

Thomas Hitzlsperger, Frederic Piquionne and Pablo Barrera have all arrived, but Grant has been frustrated in his attempts to land defender Tal Ben Haim from former club Portsmouth and Nice striker Loic Remy.

"The squad is not complete yet, we told the players we want to make the squad as strong as we can," Grant told the club's official website.

"Even if the club are limited with money because we are in debt, we know what we are doing and we know we want to do.

"The owners are trying to give their best for the team so we will buy or loan a few more players.

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"Even if I don't like loans so much – most players here will be players for the long term."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

West Bromwich Albion are poised to seal the signing of Nigeria international striker Peter Odemwingie from Lokomotiv Moscow.

The 29-year-old has been with the Russian club for the past three years, but has opted to take up a fresh challenge in England, having played in both France and Belgium in the past.

Odemwingie told the Birmingham Mail:“Most likely I will join on Tuesday.

“I’ve already signed a contract. They have been left to negotiate among themselves and then my dream of playing in the English Premier League will come true.

“I opted for West Brom because for a long time I’ve wanted to play in England, but I thank Panathinaikos for their interest. They are a big club.”

Odemwingie has won nearly 50 caps for his country and featured for the Super Eagles at the World Cup finals in South Africa earlier this summer.

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Rio Ferdinand will make his comeback for Manchester United reserves against Oldham on Wednesday night.

Ferdinand has been out of action since picking up a knee ligament injury on the eve of England’s World Cup campaign.

The 31-year-old defender missed the tournament in South Africa after being injured in the first training session at their Rustenburg base following a collision with Emile Heskey.

Sir Alex Ferguson expected to be without his influential central defender until the end of September but Ferdinand surprised the United boss with the speed of his recovery.

“Rio has trained this week,” he said last Friday. “He’s surprised me with his progress, it’s fantastic.”

Ferdinand made just 21 appearances for the Red Devils last season after struggling to shake off a troublesome back injury.

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He will be joined in the United line-up for the second string game at Oldham by Wes Brown, Anderson and Federico Macheda, who are all also making their comebacks from injury.

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Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has played down his chances of landing Everton starlet Jack Rodwell.

The teenage England-Under 21 international recently signed a new long-term contract with the Toffees to bring to an end a summer of reports linking him with a move to Manchester United.

In recent weeks City have also emerged as potential suitors as Mancini looks to build a squad capable of winning both the Premier League and Champions League at Eastlands.

He spent more than £120million on a host of star names during the summer transfer window but has suggested that signing Rodwell might prove too difficult.

Everton manager David Moyes has continually stated that the promising youngster is not for sale at any price.

"We put English players in the team but it isn't easy because all the clubs that have English players won't sell," Mancini told the Daily Star Sunday.

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"I like Jack Rodwell but will Everton sell? Impossible.

"If I can, I give young players a chance. I was just 16 when I first played in Serie A."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

A brace from Rafael van Der Vaart capped a 2-1 victory at White Hart Lane and ensured that Tottenham remain in and around the top four ahead of the international break. Harry Redknapp’s men finally appear to be getting themselves into gear and starting to display the type of performance that saw them gatecrash the Champions League party last season.

This week at FFC we have seen a mixed bag of Spurs blogs which has included…Tottenham’s contingency bid; solving the Van der Vaart dilemma and does the Olympic Stadium move really suit either club?

Plus we have taken a look at the best Tottenham stories on the Web this week.

The 10 Ugliest Footballers of their time

Worst Spurs XI in recent memory

The NEW king of White Hart Lane?

The £150m question that Tottenham fans must ask themselves

Does the stadium move really suit either club?

Simply a contingency bid from Tottenham Hotspur?

Where does VDV rank among Spurs’ top 10 foreign imports of all time?

Tottenham’s midweek win highlighted a flawed system

Solving this Van der Vaart dilemma – Harry should drop duo!

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Best of Web

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FAO Sullivan, Gold and Brady – Dear Mr Levy

Levy treated me like bit of meat – Sun

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He Made The Right Choice… – Who Framed Ruel Fox?

Only 31 games to go – Spurs Musings from JimmyG2

Van Der Vaart’s New Love [photo] & Three Unrelated Moans – Harry Hotspur

San Siro Ticket Scandal – Triffic Tottenham

A spoon full of Sugar makes the Venables go down – Dear Mr Levy

Plenty of column inches have already been written about Alberto Aquilani’s time at Anfield, with the general consensus being that the Italian wasn’t given a fair crack of the whip. I personally could see both sides of the argument, although I do find it hard to overly criticise a player who was only given a handful of chances to impress.

I was extremely surprised that Roy Hodgson decided to send Aquilani out on loan. Although Joe Cole had duly arrived the fact remains that every successful team needs strength in depth, (something we haven’t) therefore it seemed strange not to give the Italian a chance given he had finally returned to full fitness after his troubles last season. It is one of many decisions made by Hodgson since his arrival that has left me baffled.

According to reports in the press today, Juventus have been impressed with Aquilani’s contributions so far that they are looking to broker a permanent deal. Although the terms of the apparent season long loan deal suggests that Juventus already have first refusal on a €16m Euro deal, they are looking to bring it forward and trying to snap up Aquilani in a £10m in a cut price move. It is certainly a dilemma for the current board to consider, especially given our current debt.

Although we are all keeping our fingers crossed that the NESV takeover bid will be approved by the Premier League and we can finally see the back of Hicks and Gillett, it still remains to be seen what they’ll bring to the table and whether there will be endless millions to spend. Not knowing the exact financial mess that will await them, they may be tempted to take the £10m, especially as the current manager clearly has no intention of keeping him.

So what shall we do with Aquilani? Should we take the £10m now to enhance our January transfer budget or should we hold out for the full amount next summer?

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Sunderland manager Steve Bruce had no excuses for his team's lamentable display in the embarrassing 5-1 derby defeat to Newcastle United.

Kevin Nolan scored a hat-trick for Chris Hughton's team, while Shola Ameobi grabbed a brace before Darren Bent's stoppage-time consolation goal for the hapless visitors.

To add to the Black Cats' woes, former Newcastle defender Titus Bramble was sent off in the early stages of the second half for a professional foul on Andy Carroll, although Sunderland were already trailing 3-0 at that stage.

An aghast Bruce said after the rout:"It's pure disappointment. We've got a group of people who will have to apologise.

"There are no excuses. We were beaten well and truly. We were naive and didn't handle the occasion at all.

"Everything which could have gone wrong went wrong. We all have to live with this – it hurts.

"They had a couple of bounces of the ball, a few richochets, deflections, sendings-off, penalties – everything which could have gone against us did within the space of about 45 minutes.

"In the first half we simply didn't handle the occasion and we didn't show anything like what we can do. I have no complaints about the red card.

"I know it will take a lot to win the fans back over. We've let ourselves down and it couldn't have happened at a worse place. It was the worst performance since I've been in charge.

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"To come and let that happen at Newcastle is very disappointing for us all. The whole thing accumulated into a terrible afternoon for us.

"My message to the fans is – we apologise. To witness that is difficult to take and there'll be a few – me included – who have a repair job and rightly so."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

With everything that is good happening on the pitch, the potential move to the Olympic Stadium is becoming a massive concern to Tottenham fans off it. The East-London venue, already home to West Ham’s Upton Park, is hugely unpopular with the majority of fans who believe the club should stay true to their roots and stay in the North of the capital. Is seems a matter of head against heart with most fans choosing the latter, but who could blame them?

A Spurs fan with the most sentimental of connections with White Hart Lane would agree that it’s time for a new stadium, or a least a re-development of the old one. The clubs recent transformation under Harry Redknapp into a force in the Premier League can only be aided with a bigger ground which can in turn bring in bigger revenue. But a move into enemy territory? No wonder Spurs fans are unhappy; the only thing worse would be ground-sharing at the Emirates.

There is, of course, some method behind the madness. The ambitious Tottenham board believe the only way forward is to a move into a bigger stadium. What better than one which will be state-of-the-art and ready and waiting to use? Logically, the argument stands up. But the flip side is retaining the history of football. Is money more important than the legacy of Tottenham Hotspur?

Fans certainly don’t think so. The petition, ‘Say no to Stratford Hotspur’ is picking up speed and has over 2,000 signatures already. Speaking to the Haringey Independent the creator of the petition, Tim Framp, explained that Spurs are much more than money-making gimmick.

He said: “Tottenham is more than just a name. It is the traditions that you love. The people you drink with in the pubs before the match. The people that have become your friends that you sit with in the stands.”

There is an alternative idea which seems to sit more favourably among Spurs supporters. Tottenham are awaiting the final decision on whether they can have planning permission on Northumberland Park, considerably closer to White Hart Lane than the Olympic Stadium would be. But this causes its own problems: Can Spurs afford to have a new stadium to pay off? Will this impact on the clubs spending in the next few years? Take Arsenal for example. Since moving into the Emirates, Arsene Wenger has been unable to spend as freely as he would perhaps have liked. Although he insists that is his choice, considering the club have been without a league title since 2004, I’m not so sure.

It really is a fight between head and heart. Disregarding any sentiment, the logical move for Tottenham would be to the ready-made stadium which could bring in the type of revenue the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal benefit from week in, week out. There-in lies the platform to make a real attempt at winning the Premier League. Of course this type of emotional connection with footballs great legacies cannot be ignored as it runs much deeper than any money-making scheme. It’s understandable Spurs fans oppose the move, but when you talk of the potential success and financial implications on the club, is it time to let go?

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The weekend’s football was hardly the goal fest of last week, but it provided some important results at the top and bottom of the Premier League. Everton and Birmingham thwarted both Tottenham and Chelsea’s title aspirations, while Wigan are edging their way out of the bottom three with a hard fought draw.

In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories, as Redknapp is confirmed on England’s shortlist; Carlos Tevez backs Mancini, while Mark Hughes remains unconvinced by Arsenal’s defensive pairing.

Redknapp on England shortlist – Daily Telegraph

Tevez backing Mancini – Sky Sports

Houllier ‘made Liverpool winners’ – Guardian

FA dismiss Fifa breakaway – Daily Telegraph

Harry rubbishes Ade talk – Sky Sports

It’s Hugh ‘n cry for Magpies – Sun

Hughes not convinced with Koscielny and Squillaci pairing – Mirror

Fergie keen to bring Stoke defender Shawcross back to Old Trafford – Daily Mail

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Ancelotti losing sleep – Sky Sports

Liverpool battle Bayern München for Palermo midfielder Josip Ilicic – IMScouting

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Aston Villa’s new record signing Darren Bent intends to lay low until the anger has subsided following his abrupt departure from Sunderland.Bent, 26, joined Villa on Tuesday in a surprise move worth between 17 and 24 million pounds after rocking the Sunderland hierarchy by handing in a transfer request.

With Sunderland fans enraged at losing their leading goal-scorer mid-way through a promising English Premier League season, the noted user of social networking website Twitter will not risk sharing his thoughts just yet.

“While it’s fresh in everyone’s mind I’m going to be public enemy number one up there,” Bent said.

“I’m sorry it ended the way it did. I won’t be Twittering for a few days. I can imagine that I’m getting annihilated by the Sunderland fans.”

“Once the dust settles, I’m sure they will remember me for more than just the way I left. I had two great years at Sunderland and I hope that’s how people remember me up there, playing well and scoring goals for them.”

“They are having their best season for a long time in the league and I’m sure they think I’m just abandoning them. But these opportunities don’t come around too often.”

“Some people said my mind got turned and my form dipped, but I don’t believe it. All strikers go through periods when you score goals and don’t score goals.”

Bent is now the most cumulatively expensive British footballer, with career transfers totalling approximately 53 million pounds. But he rejected accusations that he is a mercenary.

“It does hurt to be honest,” Bent said.

“When I was at Charlton I could have gone to West Ham for double but I chose for footballing reasons to go to Tottenham. I am sure people will have opinions on why I have joined Villa given where they are (17th in the league).”

“But I believe Villa are in a false position and it’s a massive football club with massive tradition and massive history.”

The good news kept coming for Villa fans, with manager Gerard Houllier declaring that Ashley Young and Stewart Downing were ‘not for sale’.

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“He will be a tremendous asset,” Houllier said of star signing Bent.

“This is a great day for our fans and a major milestone for Aston Villa football club.”

“Obviously if you buy a player of that calibre that means the chairman is backing you.”