EPL side Newcastle United Owner Mike Ashley and Manager Rafa Benitez held talks on Saturday. The club won 3-0 over Cardiff City to move out of the relegation zone and "two points clear of danger." The owner was "keen" to re-engage with the manager, who "remains frustrated" by a lack of progress in the transfer market this month (London DAILY MAIL, 1/19). ... PAUL SCHOLES is "poised" to land his first managerial role with League Two side Oldham Athletic. He has held discussions with the club and is expected to be appointed within 24 hours. The former ManU and England midfielder will join the club with which he supported as a boy (London TELEGRAPH, 1/20). ... Gunmen in Ghana killed an investigative journalist who helped uncover corruption in football, rights groups and his employer said on Thursday. AHMED HUSSEIN-SUALE was shot three times by men on a motorbike while driving home from work on Wednesday in the capital Accra. Hussein-Suale was "part of a team" led by undercover journalist ANAS AREMEYAW ANAS. Their crew is famous for a documentary that accused 77 referees and Ghana's then-football federation chair KWESI NYANTAKYI of taking bribes (REUTERS, 1/17).
