Silly season used to be classified by football agents and journalists picking rumours out of the hat either to drive attention up in a particular player - to get themselves a bit of easy money - or just to fill the gaps between Jim White screaming and pretending to be on his phone while live on air, but now thanks to Twitter a new breed has emerged to make silly season even more silly, and even more spurious. With Newcastle's interest in Clement Grenier well reported, and the added kicker that not only is the player available but Arsenal - led by French fancier Arsene Wenger - aren't interested in signing a "new" "rumour" has appeared on the social network site that suggests Alan Pardew's side have made a bid of £7m to bring the attacking midfielder to St. James' Park. So far, so typical: it's a well trodden rumour, and one that Newcastle fans will lap up as they continue their summer excitement on the back of six new signings - which is precisely the point. The problem - and the likely justification for those who suggest this news has been plucked out of somebody's posterior - is that the source of this "rumour" is a Twitter ITK, 100K followers deep - since that's an indication of real qualifications these days apparently - who works for a football betting site (888 Sport in the interest of clarity). Could it perhaps be that the Twitter account has teamed up with a company looking to profit from football fans to drive traffic to their site and shower them in delicious looking betting offers, and might not actually have a clue about Newcastle's notoriously guarded business? Maybe that's just too cynical... Let's be honest here - if Newcastle have indeed made a bid for Grenier, then it won't be announced through a gambling site or from a Twitter ITK who models himself as a superior IndyKaila. But then, such is the new nature of silly season: it won't go away until 100k followers realise they're being fleeced.
