A couple of rumours and Chelsea on Saturday

I'm just back from a few days away and while there is very little going on, we do have some rumours and a match coming up on Saturday. I'm more interested in the match than the rumours, but we will look at them, because they are interesting.

The first one is that Fiorentina and Sampdoria are interested in John Carew and well, with the manager having got rid of Carew at his last club, all things look as if Carew will be leaving and well, for most it won't be nice but most will also accept that we have to move forward and logic suggests that that isn't going to be possible with Carew.

On his day, Carew is impossible to play against, it is just that those days don't seem to happen all that often and you could argue that he needs more football but playing John Carew also means you need to have another striker up with him and that dictates 4-4-2, something this manager I don't think is a huge fan of.

So, if the speculation is true and the supporters are given notice, I'm sure his send off will be fantastic, but on the other hand, he has plenty of opportunities to convince the manager he wants to play and is willing to put in the effort, so while there is a chance these clubs are interested, the player can also show the manager that he wants to stay, but if I was a betting man, I'd put money on him playing away from Villa Park next season and maybe even from February onwards.

In other speculation, we are apparently interested in Lille striker Gervais Kouassi. I'm not sure where this rumour started from, but he is playing in France and chances are we will see a player from France join the ranks at Villa Park, so it could just be two plus two coming up with nice, or there could be some substance. Please point me in the direction of the speculation if you know where it started.

Lastly, Chelsea on Saturday. A big game and one that can be won. I believe that because on our day we can beat anyone and the manager, while not having the time needed to get the players to play his way, would have had some time and we still have this 'new manager syndrome' impact feeling at the club.

Match preview later this week and I will be speaking with a Chelsea fan and asking a few questions - if you have one you would like asked, put it in the comments and frem - please no player requests in the comments - it is now too much.