Damien

I agree with Colin. Newspapers need to fill up space and they use transfer stories to do it. If one player is rumoured to be moving then expect them to be linked to every club that is rumoured to need a striker. So few of these rumours turn out to be anything at all. Remember when we were rumoured to be 99% done on M'Vila, then 'complications' occurred, then Arsenal fans got mad at Wenger, someone spread a rumour Wenger 'dithered', then that we wouldn't match the cost, then that Spurs had hijacked the bid and so on until we were wondering if it would be sealed on deadline day.

In the end Arsenal hadn't even made an approach that summer. An entire 'transfer saga' fabricated from almost nothing - just that the player wanted to leave Rennes.

Also 'burden of evidence'? Newspapers don't have to reveal their dubious sources so when a newspaper 'understands' that a club is 'interested' you have a nonsense of a story. A story that could be written by anyone about anything without being called upon. They could easily then have 'misunderstood' and 'interested' doesn't commit anyone to anything.

As for them sometimes being right? Well they're more often wrong than right and it doesn't take a genius to link players to positions at other clubs. Arsenal need a striker, Rooney wants to leave United, easy story. Damien understands that Arsenal are interested in Rooney.

Honestly let's come up with a set of rumours and see if we score better or worse than the press.

The only time to have some interest in a rumour is if it contains specific information or quotes that they can then be called out on. I.E 'The player met the manager' or '£70,000 a week for five years'.