midds

Depends what you mean by 'end well'. We're all within our rights to make certain comments about our employers, and he's always been a bit Cantona-esque in having/wanting a life beyond his 10-15 year career, so just avoiding hassle probably isn't going to be his main aim. He's said before he expects to live round here for the rest of his life after he's finished playing, so presumably/hopefully he's got that in mind as he makes his decisions now. I don't want him to wreck himself, but how many times have many people wanted comments from/criticised certain individuals like Keegan for not avoiding non-disclosure agreements and giving us more of a clue about just what the hell's been going on. I'd much prefer things like this to stay behind closed doors. I know it's McKay who's made it public, and he's got every right to, but making twitter accounts in the middle of things isn't helping things. I don't think it reflects particularly well on Barton or the club by making private contract talks public. Dirty washing indoors and all that.

Ultimately, he's an employee of the club and if he's going to slag his bosses/paymasters off in public then it's not going to end well for the bloke. It'll all be used against him and I'm not sure how he's impressing any interested clubs by doing it either. He seems a bit headstrong and certainly isn't afraid to say what he thinks but sometimes it's better to shut the fuck up.

This is going to get really messy really quickly. Fucking twitter accounts man.

Hopefully if any club would go for Enrique it should be City, even if that would suck as well. Would at least get us the most amount of money which is the important part here. Aye we took them to the cleaners when Given went there didn't we?

Me too. We lost that much just on Pardew's daft substitutions against WBA. I'd far rather he played another season and left for Spain or Italy. What if he's playing poorly because he doesn't really want to be here? Very hypothetical obviously. I think Enrique will have too many options abroad at the end of his contract to bother playing badly so he can get a move to a shit-hole like Liverpool. Not so sure. Guess we'll have to see. Still think the Ashley factor might come into play somewhere down the line when in gets down to brass tacks. We already know that if a good deal is on the table on deadline day then he'll do it. We'll see.

Me too. We lost that much just on Pardew's daft substitutions against WBA. I'd far rather he played another season and left for Spain or Italy. What if he's playing poorly because he doesn't really want to be here? Very hypothetical obviously. Would decrease his chances of a move to a top club, even on a free, if he had a poor season next year. He'll be playing for his potential suitors rather than us, but I don't see him playing badly as a cause of staying one more year. Was coming at it from Ashley's point of view tbh. The absolute worst outcome for him(/us?) is him walking away for nothing in 12 months. If he's playing poorly because he'd had his head turned and wants away then I think Ashley would let him go for less than he'd want imo. You're right in what you say though, poor performances won't do him any good.

Me too. We lost that much just on Pardew's daft substitutions against WBA. I'd far rather he played another season and left for Spain or Italy. What if he's playing poorly because he doesn't really want to be here? Very hypothetical obviously.

That's the whole idea.

Only people with their head in the clouds actually believed/still believe that a player in the final year of his contract can command £15m. The selling price will be £6-8M IMO. Liverpool will know that if we hold on to him other (bigger) clubs will be in for him when he leaves on a free. They will up their bid or lose out. If he's still here at the back end of August we'll be lucky to get 5. No reflection on the player or his ability but his contract situation isn't in our favour. He holds most of the cards.

Nothing wrong with them starting low and haggling up tbh. It's what I'd want us to do if the roles were reversed. I'd be bitterly disappointed if we got any less than 7 as an absolute minimum though. He's quality.

The club doesn't have to offer him a new contract. Reading between the lines, which is all any of us can do for the time being, it sounds like the club's going to take a look at who becomes available over the next couple of months. If any decent RW's come onto the market for decent money (Larrson?) then they'll fuck Barton off. If they can't get anyone in then they'll offer him something. It's all just jockeying for position atm from both sides trying to get the upper hand on things. Fairly confident that if he moves on then he'll be replaced fairly soon. We'll see.

He'll either sign or be sold. The stuff about staying on no matter what is patently bollocks. Yep. No idea which one though. Could be the agent upping the ante by threatening to leave for nothing, could be the club playing hardball. Will be interesting to see how it pans out.

Would have been a shame to spoil two marriages. They were made for each other.

Been trying to think of who it reminds me of but it's unlike any human being I've ever seen. It doesn't look like anyone because no-one looks like her it.

Why would any manager pick him for England? The little cunt barely plays at all for fucks sake. Typical of him to spin it so it's Capello having some sort of grudge against him and him not getting the call-up's he feels he deserves. Capello's not got a grudge, he's got eyes and can see how fucking shit he is.

Sometimes nuthin can be a real cool hand.

I'd settle for that.

£10,000,000 = 1,000,000,000p It's fucking 10 figures!!!111!!!!11

I've watched him twice this season and he scored 5 goals in those 2 games. He's obviously a good player from his record but I know absolutely nothing about him. Just being honest.

Just admitting the fact I've never seen him play or know what he looks like. Purely going by the reactions on here he looks like he could do a job though.

And we're off...

Clearly did the R quite big but realised it was a bit too big so the U is a bit small. The L isn't wide so they made it a bit taller so it looked better and the E is just lazy. Should have used a stencil. 3/10.

Got a feeling West Ham will crash and burn. Not sure if they've got the bollocks to bounce straight back up.

I reckon they'll get Rapid Decline, Rapid Exit then Inter Administration.

Wigan are the new Coventry. Just hanging around doing fuck all.