midds

Harper. Might as well get rid of all of the old guard...

As long as we've put something in place to protect us from him breaking down with his knee problem then I'm ok with it. There's no transfer fee so if we've set his contract up so it's appearance based then we should be fine. Not got a problem with players getting big money as long as they're actually earning it on the park.

Just me or was he limping when he walked through the stadium doors? Onnne knee, he's only got one knee, he's only got one knee...

Horrific appointment. A bad start and he'll be under pressure straight away - no honeymoon period, nowt. Basically he'll keep the job until he goes on a 6 or 7 game run without a win and he'll get the bullet imo. The pressure will be the key.

Bearing in mind the acrimonious way he left City for us (and his insistence on pocketing his £300k 'loyalty' payment) I wouldn't be surprised if he dug his heels in and sees this new season out. IIRC the transfer would have broken down and we had to cough up the extra so City could pass it on to Barton. Must admit I'm getting a bit sick of the situation now though.

We couldn't (and should't) attempt to compete with the deal WH have offered him. It's an insane amount of money to invest in 1 player given their their position. Lunacy.

The next Jose Enrique signed for a modest fee from Bumblefucknowhere FC.

He's gone regardless of who we sign. Had his head turned in January/February and he'll go to a better, more ambitious club in the next week or so. We'll replace him with Swansea's LB and/or Warnock for a million quid.

That's not the point. He shouldn't be putting stuff like that out in the public domain. Guess that depends on your perspective. I can understand the argument, but if our players are being f***ed about my the management I have no problem with Barton putting that in the press and being honest. I doubt he's sowing sedition where none should exist. I hate the way our club is run, and if one of the players stands up and says there's good reason for that, then respect to him. I'd feel the same regardless of who owned/ran us tbh. Things like this shouldn't be in the national press, keep it all behind closed doors and sort whatever needs to be sorted privately. Could be Ashley, Shepherd or the Queen, don't give a s*** - keep it private. But if it's kept silent and quiet, the club'll do what it has in the past. Do what it wants and spin PR towards everyone: press, fans, the lot. They'll lie like they did with Keegan, give false promises like they did with level 7 seating. Personally, I don't feel the club will sort anything out privately. They'll do what they think is best. And their track record is pretty damned poor when it comes to making big decisions. Not disputing any of that. They need to keep things in-house too and not go running to the press to try to spin things either. The less I read of NUFC in the press the better. 'Comment when you need to, not when you're asked to' should be the new motto.

It was more to do with the parity down there tbh. Not too many good teams down there but there are loads of clubs who are fairly evenly matched and in with a chance of promotion if the can string 10 or 15 good results together.

That's not the point. He shouldn't be putting stuff like that out in the public domain. Guess that depends on your perspective. I can understand the argument, but if our players are being fucked about my the management I have no problem with Barton putting that in the press and being honest. I doubt he's sowing sedition where none should exist. I hate the way our club is run, and if one of the players stands up and says there's good reason for that, then respect to him. I'd feel the same regardless of who owned/ran us tbh. Things like this shouldn't be in the national press, keep it all behind closed doors and sort whatever needs to be sorted privately. Could be Ashley, Shepherd or the Queen, don't give a shit - keep it private.

He sort of backtracked in the SSN interview so that may just save him....... Nah. He's gone imo.

Said it before but the Championship is going to be ridiculous to get out of next year. So many good/decent teams in there in with a chance of promotion.

That's not the point. He shouldn't be putting stuff like that out in the public domain.

Barton's basically made his position untenable with his remarks on Twitter today. Won't be here much longer although I've got no idea who'd take a punt on him. Proper 'loose cannon' stuff today.

Yeah, actually. Could see it. I think he's slightly better than Barton personally, but it would be another one step forward, one backwards scenario. Bit of assuming here but: Cabaye for Nolan Barnetta for Barton Taylor for Enrique Erdinc for Carroll plus Ba to beef things up up top. I reckon we'd be about £20m (maybe saving a bit on wages too?) up if that all works out. Lot of assumptions in there obviously.

Fair to say that Barnetta would/could be Barton's replacement? See v little of him other than when he popped two in a weekend or 2 ago.

It'll be the new club FC United of Stratford if they keep spending like this. Are they selling Upton Park or the ground it stands on? They just seem a bit too reckless for it all to be a co-incidence. Something doesn't add up.

When do they move into the Olympic Stadium again?

If we're that desperate during the course of the season I'd rather see Vuckic get a game tbh.

Routledge with his pace has something to offer off the bench. Those two offer f*** all. They sometimes perform 'Ok, with some nice touches'. Aye, if you're David Blunkett.

Routledge with his pace has something to offer off the bench. Those two offer fuck all. I'd think so too like but loaning him out last season and playing Lovenkrands there would suggest the managment think otherwise. I expect him to be sold like. Clearly Pardew doesn't rate him at all and he'll be moved on. Leicester is my own hunch but we'll see.

Routledge with his pace has something to offer off the bench. Those two offer fuck all.

Yep.

Funny word 'worth' tbh. His worth to West Ham is huge if he performs like he did in 09/10. His worth to us last year was huge (goals wise). His 'value'? That's another thing entirely.