Derek Davis' Football Chatter

IAIN Dowie is set to return to football management this week following Milan Mandaric's takeover at Leicester City.

As Godfather to one of Jim Magilton's children he will be made very welcome at Portman Road on Saturday if he is in the Foxes hot-seat by then.

Former Portsmouth owner Mandaric was due to complete the purchase of City last week but had to return to Belgarde as his mother was taken extremely ill.

He was at the Walkers' Stadium on Saturday to see them only draw with Luton, a result that leaves Rob Kelly vulnerable. He said that significant progress had been made regarding the sale.

The paperwork is expected to be completed within the next 24 hours with Mandaric then being officially announced as the new opener.

WORD reaches me that Alan Brazil will soon be back on our televisions.

The popular pundit is being courted by Irish broadcaster Sentanta, who want him for their increased football coverage of European and international football and their newly-found piece of the Premiership action.

Brazil, pictured above, is hoping to keep his gig with TalkSport and work for two bosses but whether the radio station that has brought him back due to listener demand allow that, has yet to be established.

Brazil was a huge success on Sky Sports before they decided they wanted Andy Gray as their No. 1 and his presence at Setanta would be a huge fillip for the company, who have been looking to secure other big-name pundits but looked to have failed in landing presenter Martin Tyler.

THE announcer at Norwich City on Saturday was not as on the ball as he might have been when reading out the half-time scores.

Perhaps a bit down as his team were a goal behind against bottom club Leeds United, he announced that it was 0-0 after 45 minutes between Spurs and Manchester United.

Trouble was, the game was not due to kick off until 4pm on the Sunday, a mere 24 hours away from when he read it out.

NEE naa, nee naa - you can actually hear the sirens now as Football League clubs prepare for the emergency loan window opening on Thursday morning.

Because it suits the Premier League to fall in with UEFA's demands for transfer windows, lower league clubs have to continue to suffer and after January 31 no more deals were allowed to be done.

We are now in abeyance with no movement allowed but that changes when the crafty chiefs of the Football League, and the FA, allow club's to bring in players for 'emergency' cover.

Stoke City have made it clear they have a striker lined up because even though they have four, they are not scoring enough so they need a goalscorer.

Clubs should not need to go through this charade and should be able to trade freely without this restraint.

If the Premier League are so scared that big-money transfers will be scrapped under European legislation then they should wield the power they have, backed by the FA and the other European federations, and take on the EU.

The only people benefiting are the agents who are raking in even higher fees because of panic buying, illustrated no clearer than by West Ham.

SUGGESTIONS made on the web that Simon Walton joined Cardiff on loan because they are a bigger and better club turn out to be complete hogwash.

What Walton actually told my colleagues in Wales was that he preferred a team that was pushing at the top end of the table and not mid-table obscurity.

And the truth is that even though Walton was at Portman Road to see his old mates when they played Swansea, Jim Magilton had not made a fresh approach to take him anyway.

Funny how things get distorted by agitators on keyboards.

Another former Ipswich player who secured a new club in the window was Norwegian Vemund Brekke Skard, who has decided to keep his teacher-training on hold and signed for Spanish Third Division club CE L'Hospitalet in the Catalonia region.