RUFC - Rumours, Rumours, Rumours

Rotherham United and rumours go hand in hand these days and with the transfer market open the rumour mongers amongst us have been working overtime.

Gone are the times when we picked up rumours in pubs now we just turn on a computer and/or television and there you have them.

For instance, I wandered into Jack Fullerton's during the week and was told that Richard O'Donnell, the Owls goalkeeper, had been seen going round New York Stadium and an hour before, on the bus, had been told that Rhys Taylor was signing. Asked where they'd heard all this, they said, 'on line'.

Within minutes of Asa Hall leaving Oxford he was more or less signed and in the Millers first team of the season - which, of course, with him moving to Shrewsbury couldn't possibly be right. Former Leeds United players Lloyd Sam and Ramon Nunez are supposed to be the next on Steve Evans' radar.

Even my eighty-one year old Mother-in-Law pulled a name out of the hat the other day saying, 'Are Rotherham signing that big lad who dances like a robot? Because my hairdresser said so.' I mused for a minute and said, 'probably not.'

Michael Owen has been let go by Manchester United and has said that he doesn't think he'd manage to play in the Premiership or Championship anymore so, straight away, his name appeared next to the Millers.

Of course, quite a few of them are said tongue in cheek - for instance, I've seen a picture of Lionel Messi in the new Millers shirt which, although very good, I'm not really taking a lot of notice of (mind you, our Manager did say we'd been very pleased and happy with the next signing on Tuesday afternoon!)

But, do football rumours hurt anyone? They don't hurt the fans, although when the actual signing appears it could be a bit of a let down. Do they hurt the players? It could do I suppose, if a player has expectation of moving to a higher league only for it to be a rumour. What of managers? Well, we've actually experienced this at Millmoor haven't we, with the Ronnie Moore and Ipswich rumour - which did neither manager or club any good. Also, if the manager is trying to get a player in before someone else realises he's on the transfer list, the rumour could put paid to that. Although, I do sometimes wonder if the player's agent or player himself starts a whisper in a hope of getting more money in transactions between teams and players or even for the club the player is at to sit up and take notice and maybe offer more. Then there are the 'bad rumours' that can ruin the reputation of a player and even finish it altogether.

So, should we listen to rumours? Should we ignore them all until it is proved true or not? Or is it just a 'bit of fun'?

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