Argie bargie

One problem which has yet to resolve itself this month is the future of Sideshow Bob.

With limited information available, it's hard to understand exactly what has gone on, but as I understand it the facts are as follows:

1. His wife has already gone back to Argentina.
2. His dad, who works for San Lorenzo, has been quoted that Sideshow Bob wants to move back to Argentina to play for them.
3.  He only signed a new contract last March, so (subject to the terms of the contract) will need the consent of the club if he is to leave.

Now, I'm not going to add to the wild rumours flying around Tyneside as to why his wife has gone back to Argentina and I'm sure that whatever has caused this can't be making life any easier for Sideshow Bob, which inevitably runs the risk of impacting on his performances on the pitch.

In Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa we've signed what looks like a replacement (although given we needed a centre-half before the start of January, you'd hope that if Sideshow Bob does leave that a further reinforcement might be found).

However, despite two days of talks between the player, the club and their respective lawyers, no solution to the problem has been found.

It's a difficult position. On the one hand, you'd hope for compassion for the player from his employer and clearly there's a need to sort out the situation if he is to remain, so that it doesn't impact on his performances on the pitch. The flip side is that if he desperately wants to go, would having him around the club actually be counter-productive given that we are in a relegation scrap at the moment?

What is clear is that the uncertainty surrounding the player's future (leading to rumours that he'd buggered off back to Argentina last night) isn't helping anyone.

At the very least, I'd expect that on Tuesday night someone else might be wearing the captain's armband. Whether that's usual understudy and close friend Spidermag or another candidate (Dreamboat, Saylor, Big Lad) will be interesting to see.