Great Scots?

The latest transfer speculation has us linked with a £4m move for Celtic captain Stephen McManus. The centre-back is a good age (25) and - for what it's worth - has also captained Scotland when Barry Ferguson's been unavailable. (Incidentally, it all seems to have gone quiet on the Ferguson front, and indeed it's refreshing to be linked to a Celtic player for a change - perhaps we've abandoned interest in scouring Rangers' squad for possible recruits now that we've got one of their old boys on board?)

Bizarrely, our interest apparently came to light when the Bhoys made an enquiry of their own about Jose Enrique. If that's true, (a) Celtic's scouts must be blind and/or stupid and (b) surely we can come to some kind of mutually beneficial arramgement (by which I mean an arrangement that's entirely stacked in our favour)? Selling our only natural left back would seem very foolish indeed were it not for the fact that the left back in question is Enrique - and, in any case, it might hasten a loan bid for John Arne Riise, who it seems is too pricey for Hull.

One Scot who very definitely has arrived at St James' Park is Colin Calderwood, the ex-Nottingham Forest boss having been appointed as a coach until May. Only last week he was rumoured to be taking charge of the Faroe Islands national side - if he thinks that by accepting this post he's avoided witnessing disspiriting ineptitude and haplessness of the highest order on a regular basis, then he'll soon discover otherwise...