Warnock snub Hammer blow to Allardyce

It appears that Sam Allardyce's efforts to get Stephen Warnock to solve his left back problem have been scuppered.

Says Sam "another club in the Championship have made him a more long-term offer and he has decided to take it.

"That is another lot of hard work wasted. Only a small percentage of the time does it pay off. Ninety-nine percent of the time you are wasting time."

Rumours indicate that Leeds United's Neil Warnock (no relation) has swooped in to capture the Villa Park misfit before the window closes.

In other news, Alan Hutton is packing the Ambre Solaire and heading off for a loan spell with Real Mallorca, with a view to a permanent deal if he can hack it in La Liga, while Shay Given won't be allowed to escape from the bench on a loan deal.