Smog on the Tyne?

Might we be about to add to the capture of Loic Remy with that of Stewart Downing to help provide some ammunition? The Liverpool Echo seems to think so, and in truth a move for the ex-Middlesbrough winger wouldn't be the worst piece of business imaginable, especially at a cut-price £5m.

You do wonder, though, how Shane Ferguson might feel at the Smog's arrival - after all, Fergie's shown sufficient promise in a role wide on the left to have been given more of an opportunity at the club that pays his wages, rather than at a club happy to borrow him to keep their heads above water in the Championship.