Kinnear sets sights on CL spot
Sunderland midfielder Alfred N'Diaye has joined Turkish side Eskisehirspor on a season-long loan deal.
The 23-year-old only arrived on Wearside in January - signed up by Martin O'Neill in a £3.8million deal from Bursaspor - but has failed to make a significant impression on new boss Paolo Di Canio.
Eskisehirspor manager Ertugrul Saglam, who managed N'Diaye previously at Bursaspor, has moved quickly for the former France Under-21 star, who managed 16 appearances during his spell at the Stadium of Light.
The Sunderland website confirmed: "Alfred N'Diaye has joined Eskisehirspor on a season-long loan. The 23-year-old returns to Turkey having arrived at the Stadium of Light from Bursaspor during the January transfer window."
Di Canio has already bolstered his squad with no less than nine summer signings - and is reportedly closing in on the capture of Greek winger Charis Mavrias of Panathinaikos.
The Chelsea boss and the Frenchman endured a difficult relationship during the Mourinho's first stint at Stamford Bridge, when he infamously called his Gunners counterpart "a voyeur" for commenting on his rivals.
However, Mourinho told how a series of chance meetings at several football tournaments following his 2007 Chelsea departure led the two men to form an unlikely friendship.
"I started meeting him in UEFA, at the Euros (European Championships), the World Cup, we had dinner and so on," the Portuguese said in several newspapers today.
"And when you are not in the same league and when you are not playing against each other, it is easier to know people, it is easier to go deeper. It is easy to speak about football, he's a very nice guy.
"I respect him a lot and I will show my respect always. (In) football sometimes even if you are friends and respect each other, you say something the other doesn't like and you react.
"But at the end of the day I respect him a lot and I have the feeling that he is the same in relation to me. I wouldn't bet on one single problem between us."
Mourinho also claimed he never doubted the intentions of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.
The pair parted ways by mutual consent in September 2007, with Mourinho leaving the club as its most successful manager with six trophies in three years.
However, the self-titled 'Special One' returned to the Blues this summer after spells at Inter Milan and Real Madrid, and hailed the Russian's foresight.
"There was always the question, 'When is he going to sell it?' 'Is he in love with the club?' 'Is he in love with football?' 'Is he doing this for the right reasons?"' Mourinho said.
"Peter Kenyon (then chief executive) and I were worried about just creating the right conditions and having a good base. Roman was always going for more, always going for the future. He said, 'If we can build 15 pitches here, why build only four?'
"We said: 'Because four is what we need now - two for the first team, one for the reserves and one for the youth'. He said: 'No, no, if we can build 14 or 15, then do it for the future, for the kids. The thing is not just to have the reserves and the first team here, it's to have all the teams here. Why train at Brentford if we can have everybody here? So the academy has the same conditions as the first team'."
The 30 year-old joined the R's as a free agent from Chelsea last summer and went on to make 23 starts and an appearance from the bench last season, scoring one goal.
But his time at Loftus Road was never smooth. The player was fined two weeks' wages in December after refusing to sit on the bench for a Premier League game against Fulham, before then becoming the subject of the R's fans' jeers over the forthcoming month.
With his time at QPR now officially over, Bosingwa is on the verge of completing a move to Turkish top flight side Trabzonspor.
Bosingwa was greeted at the airport in Turkey by his former Chelsea team-mate Florent Malouda, who recently joined Trabzonspor himself.
The visitors from Utah still lead the Western Conference while New York, thanks to Dax McCarty's stoppage-time winner, have climbed to second place in the East.
The drama came late, with little sign of what was to come when Tim Cahill headed New York ahead in the 11th minute after meeting a free-kick delivered by Thierry Henry.
Edgar Espindola then chipped in a penalty after 22 minutes to double the lead, but Salt Lake were far from finished off by that cheeky moment.
Saborio drove in his first goal from another spot-kick in the 44th minute, and levelled with a low shot that Luis Robles got a hand to with 10 minutes remaining. He completed his treble with a fine finish two minutes later, bringing a short pass under control on the edge of the penalty area, shifting the ball to his right foot and prodding a clever chip into the far right corner.
It looked bleak for New York until they were awarded an 89th minute penalty that Espindola this time side-footed into the left corner, just out of reach of Jeff Attinella.
In an end-to-end finish, the home side pinched the glory in the fourth additional minute when McCarty stole in to head home Brandon Barklage's cross from the right.
New York stand just one point behind Sporting Kansas City who were the victims of another late goal, with Blake Smith slotting home in the sixth additional minute after a fine team move.
The Colorado Rapids beat the Los Angeles Galaxy 2-0 with goals from Hendry Thomas and Dillon Powers shortly before and shortly after half-time, while substitute Antoine Hoppenot earned the Philadelphia Union a 1-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps.
DC United were beaten 2-1 at home by the New England Revolution, despite taking an eighth-minute lead through Luis Silva. Dimitry Imbongo levelled after 54 minutes and Diego Fagundez netted the winner nine minutes later.
The San Jose Earthquakes held on for a 2-1 win over the Portland Timbers, after having Marvin Chavez sent off in the 86th minute. San Jose led with a 55th-minute penalty from Victor Bernardez, backed up three minutes later by a goal from Steven Lenhart. Darlington Nagbe pulled one back for Portland two minutes before San Jose were reduced to 10 men.
The Houston Dynamo and Chicago Fire drew 1-1, with Cameron Weaver's opener cancelled out by Mike Magee.
Hughes, appointed at the end of May, had seen his charges lost 2-0 to Houston Dynamo in their tour opener but an improved display saw them deserve their victory.
Walter tucked home a low right-footed shot after 24 minutes when he was on the end of an intricate build-up on the fringe of the FC Dallas penalty area.
Stoke should have doubled their lead in the 82nd minute but substitute Cameron Jerome failed to convert a penalty as goalkeeper Raul Fernandez saved low down to his right.
The Premier League side lost defender Andy Wilkinson to a red card seconds later, as FC Dallas attempted to clear the ball away. Twenty-five yards out from goal, Wilkinson swung his left foot at the ball in the hope of connecting and testing Fernandez, but he missed his kick, and as he tried again he clattered late into Danny Garcia, resulting in the dismissal.
Kinnear, who was brought in at St James' Park last month by owner Mike Ashley, believes a realistic long-term ambition for Alan Pardew's side is qualifying for Europe's elite club competition, despite the Magpies narrowly avoiding relegation last season.
"I have worked at the club before and I know what Newcastle means to the fans," Kinnear told the Sunday Mirror.
"Last season was a disappointing one but the simple truth was that the squad just wasn't strong enough.
"The Europa League also took its toll because of injuries and that was felt in the league. My job is simple - to bring in quality players who will give the manager more options.
"What I see in the long term is help to put together a squad to get this club back into the Champions League."
Kinnear, who was manager at Newcastle three-and-a-half years ago, believes the foundation of a team that will excel in Europe is in place, but more talent is still needed.
"We have some talented young players at Newcastle and if there was one benefit from the Europa League, it was that Alan was able to give valuable first-team experience to those players," Kinnear added.
"Like Moussa Sissoko, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Hatem Ben Arfa and Yohan Cabaye. All excellent. And we have Sammy Ameobi, Shola's brother. I have spoken with Fabricio Coloccini and I am confident he is staying and Steven Taylor - well, he is a rock.
"We just need to bring in more talent."