Rumour Mill Grinding to Halt!

This has been the time for most avid followers and editors on footy messageboards nationwide to speculate and comment on all those rumours affecting all the clubs in the January transfer window. These rumours come from all sources but all are fair game for discussion once they hit the public domain.

Some rumours are maliciously made up, some are just plain daft, some are even believed to be leaked by club staff much to the annoyance of some managers. Other rumours are leaked by folk breaking confidences. You cant condone some of these murky goings on, but its only human nature to want to debate the gossip whatever the source. This includes discussing stuff online just as you would in the pub.

The accusations are that some of these leaks could ruin the chances of the club sealing the deals by prompting other clubs to bid in making them aware.

That may be the case but its folly to censor the rumours on the worldwide web. This will only lead to resentment by some of the posters thirsty for gossip. In any case most Clubs have more than one unofficial site and posters will seek out these other sites to find out the gossip. Security is a club issue, in some cases perhaps they have to tighten this up if they are concerned or contact the Editors of the sites to discuss the situation.

What is clear is that all clubs face the same situation, so in maintaining free speech on the internet, all clubs could either benefit or lose out because of speculation close to the truth. Some they win,some they lose so the Club's whinging will probably neither help nor prevent the rumour spreading because of censorship elsewhere.

Most rumours come to nothing, but the very fact that one or two do, will keep the momentum going during these periods.

Vital Burnley FC prides itself in letting the fans know about rumours circulating about the Clarets. We dont usually mention these if they have just come off a messageboard but we do if they are mentioned in the media.

Its an obvious statement to make, but this time of year will probably lead to the greatest number of monthly hits on all Football forums and websites.

This has certainly been the case for Vital Burnley FC with an incredible increase in site hits and new visitors to the site. This is quite simply a record month for the site which must be predominantly down to the excitement generated by our 'Rumour Mill' articles which continually find their way to the top of NewsNow Burnley FC stories.

This has additionally been an exciting time for Clarets fans. Normally we are fearing the January window. In the past two seasons we have said goodbye to key players at this time of year and have not brought anybody in. The misery of losing Blake and Chaplow in 2005 and Ade Akinbiyi in 2006 is still in the back of many Clarets fan's minds!

However, most have been pleasantly surprised and relieved that this year there has been an injection of new cash and ambition by the club, mainly down to our new Director,Brendan Flood.

The club also seem adamant to hold on to our rising stars as recently shown by the Kyle Lafferty situation and the rebuff of Celtic.

So where do we stand in these final hours?

Ins:

Ade Akinbiyi

Mike Pollitt(loan)

Eric Djembe-Djembe(loan)

Joey Gudjonsson

Outs:

Micah Hyde

Gifton Noel-Williams

Speculation is however still rife as we wait to hear if Steve Caldwell, will or wont sign. The Clarets also wonder whether we will bring in at least two unnamed players Steve Cotterill said he was after at the time of the Gudjonnson signing.

Some thought that Easter might be on his way to Turf Moor yesterday from Wycombe but most remain unconvinced and there was certainly no announcement last night as predicted on the local radio. That was news of GNW going only! We also wait to hear if anymore of our players will leave. It was widely thought that Spicer may leave on loan to Crewe but that doesn't appear to be happening after the player thought about it over the weekend and appears to have said 'no thanks'! Crewe it would appear have now turned their attention to former player, Stephen Foster and we await to hear if the loan rumour has any substance. Branch and Garreth O'Connor are other players thought to be candiates for loans, perhaps to Accrington Stanley

So if anything happens in the next few hours before the transfer window closes, Vital Burnley FC will try and be the first with the news.

After midnight tonight all Editors and the Editorial staff on Footy sites will be able to relax, but it has been fun hasnt it?

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.