Quote of the day

"After the Andy Carroll thing I am not going to use the word 'promise', it is a dangerous word. However, I am confident we will get a striker in."

A fascinating aside from Alan Pardew, talking before the Columbus Crew friendly about (we assume) Mevlut Erdinc. Has he had his fingers burned and learned his lesson, perhaps? That lesson being: never say never as long as Jabba's in charge. I can't imagine the statement will have gone down too well with the owner, hinting as it does that Pardew was lied to. There's a punitary precedent for those who speak out against Jabba's transfer decisions - a fine of two weeks' wages - and, as the person who had to dish it out to Jose Enrique, Pardew should be only too aware of it...