midds

Blatantly lost to West Ham on the last day to secure first refusal on Tevez...

Funniest thing I've ever seen just so happens to be the best goal I've ever seen 'live'... Seaham Red Star were playing some no-marks and the Seaham striker was having a shite day - he could barely kick in a straight line... Anyway, it was about half way through the second half, and the bloke was getting more wound up by the minute. He missed a 1-on-1 with the keeper and was running back to the centre circle - swearing as he went. The keeper then miskicked it back into play and it bounced off the back of the striker's head. He just went apeshit while the ball dropped behind him, and I swear he didn't even look, he swung his foot at the ball as hard as he could and it fucking flew into the top corner from about 30 yards out. The bloke was so angry that it could have gone anywhere, he didn't have a clue where it was going. The best goal I've ever seen. God's honest truth. blueyes.gif

One or two grades lower than what we should be looking at. Not a bad player, but nowhere near good enough for where we should be going.

That's fair enough. I think we'll shift thousand's of them, but there you go eh! We'll see. Do you buy the shirts btw, Midds? Think i can remember you saying something about non-uniform days. I don't anymore, no. We clearly don't need 3 of them this season (any season??)...but if there's money to be made then the club will exploit it and do whatever it deems necessary.

That's fair enough. I think we'll shift thousand's of them, but there you go eh! We'll see.

Providing people haven't already bought the home and away kit. If this kit was a stunner, and we had it guaranteed for two or three years, and it was guaranteed that we'd actually wear it (IE, it was an official away kit and not an alternate kit) - people would buy it. However, this is totally different. Even if it is a nice kit, i'm not going to bother with this, and i'm one of those who'll buy shirts willy-nilly. I've spent £110 on Newcastle shirts already this season, and i can imagine plenty others will have done aswell. It's blatant exploitation. We don't need this kit in any way shape or form. Just, if it takes a fiver to make, they're gonna squeeze atleast some profit out of it by releasing it. I said masses wouldn't buy it, but some people will. It'll do well in 10 or 12 years as a collectors item, no doubt. A la the Sheffield Wednesday green kit. Of course it is! Welcome to the 21st century. If the club thinks that it can make money by having 3 kits - they'll release 3 kits. Looks to be better than the away kit tbh...

Do they normally show 2 games on the Sunday or botlick the Champs and give them the full works on opening weekend? 2 games from what I remember. The year we lost down at Highbury, Chelsea beat Wigan straight after, and last year they had Man Utd and Chelsea on the Sunday. In that case I'd suspect we'd be a good choice for the opening game before Man U @ 4. Looking at the other fixtures, ours is the only one that stands out as being vaguely interesting for the neutral. (Big Sam going back to Bolton blah blah blah.....) Cheers PM.

If they get it right, this 'Argentina' kit would be a massive hit imo. It's totally different to anything I've ever known us to wear and they could, conceivably, make a fortune out of it.

Do they normally show 2 games on the Sunday or botlick the Champs and give them the full works on opening weekend?

I'd like to think the 2 you've mentioned are the back-up's to the 2 CH's we're hoping to sign. I'm aiming for the stars mate. Think big, be big. blueyes.gif We can't get two big star centre halves in this summer. We aren't a big enough attraction for them. We might be able to get one in. I'd be quite happy to get an experienced one in now like Campbell or Hyypia and maybe get a year or two out of them then possibly sign Woodgate when Boro go down (fitness depending) blueyes.gif Seriously though, Allardyce has said himself he wants 2 lefts backs and one more centre back as far as the defence goes. I can see him bringing in a proper right back as well if a good enough one is available. Rozenhal will not have come here to be a 4th choice centre back, and i think it would be a terrible decision to take Taylor out of the team now. I think he'll go into next season full of confidence and really step up a gear alongside some real defenders. I'm not wanting to start one of the Taylor debates though anyway. I would be looking for Campbell or Hyypia to slot in alongside him unless we can get a top defender in at his peak which i doubt. Sorry, don't believe that for a second, mate. We can offer the players a good wage and I'm assuming whoever we target can read, the possibility of genuine investment in the squad and the ambition to challenge the top 4. We're on the up and things are looking good financially - I'm pretty sure we could attract a canny standard of player to the club.

To be serious for a minute...has anyone actually seen the lad play? Or are we quite happy to continue to make shit puns based on his name? (Myself included btw).

I'd like to think the 2 you've mentioned are the back-up's to the 2 CH's we're hoping to sign. I'm aiming for the stars mate. Think big, be big. blueyes.gif

If we sign Beye and Bridge, I think we'll still need 2 top-drawer Centre-Halves to complement them. (Rozenhal isn't one of them)

The Champions (Man Utd) always have their game shifted to the Sunday. I'd be surprised if we were shifted to the Sunday too. May be wrong but Sky will definitely shift the Man U game.

Fanni batters Mackems.

Journo's the length and breadth of the country have got their fingers crossed...

Just a word too long. Fixed it for you.

Don't know who he's trying to kid coming out with this pile of shit. Deluded or in denial of just how limited he was? Can't decide.

Getting the impression that he's decided to stay, although it would be nice if he actually came out and said it publically. Whether or not he's staying because he's not had the chance to move clubs is another matter... Personally, I think he should be offered an extension because his value decreases with every month until he goes for nowt in June 2009. If he's not prepared to sign on for another 2 years, list the get and accept any reasonable offers.

See post above! Why the fuck are you here? Perhaps he's here to share his opinions on football in general? To be perfectly honest, he seems like he's got his head screwed on and quite sensible. He's talked an awful lot of sense and he certainly doesn't deserve some of the shit that's been slung in his direction. His opinion is just as valid as anyone else's on here. Give the bloke a break.

If Zog sorts out his problems with the management, If Duff comes back from injury playing the football we know he can If we sign Bridge, An awful lot of 'ifs' there. Allardyce still need to work hard to bring in players to fit the needs of the squad atm. We aren't there yet.

Hmmmmm... If Cole gets back to his form of a year or 2 ago, there's not a LB in the League who gets near him imo. Bridge is good, Cole (generally) is better. Wouldn't disagree. But last season, for me, there was no question that Bridge performed better when he was in the team, than Cole. If we can sustain Bridge's form in a good side with consistent football, we'll have hit the jackpot. If we manage to sign the bloke and keep him fit, there's no reason to suggest Bridge can't have an excellent season at LB for us. He's never had a decent run of games for a few years now and I honestly think he'd jump at the chance of starting 40+ games next season for us. Bring the bloke in and make him first choice.

That's more a criticism of the British footballing culture rather than the Spanish one tbh. Todds long gone tbh. Was more about the type of character he'd be up against tbh. Semantics. Substitute Todd for Bikey etc.

He's never got 20 in Spain so why would he do it in the Premiership? I would be very wary of handing over £20-odd million for a striker who scores less often in La Liga than Forlan and Kanoute Fairly confident that if he plays 50 games, he'll get 20 goals. He's good enough on the deck and the lad can finish chances if they come his way. I'm not making him out to be the next Pele but i think he'll do a job for them and he'll progress as a footballer under Benitez. Take those blue specs off! In 50 games maybe. I was meaning in the league, which is where they struggle. They're already spot on for Europe. And I haven't got my blue specs on, I'm genuinely not that bothered about them signing him. My reasoning being Messrs Forlan and Kanoute. If they had signed Eto'o on the other hand, I would have been very jealous and very angry! Ah, right! If Benitez makes him Number 1 and plays him regularly, I think he'll score regularly. I do, however, think he'll get kicked to shit in Premier League games and think he'll struggle a bit to cope with the physical side of things. My thinking is something like 15 in the League, 4 in the domestic Cups and maybe 5 in Europe?? Something like that? Don't think Kanoute or Forlan could do better. Eto'o would run riot like. blueyes.gif

Hmmmmm... If Cole gets back to his form of a year or 2 ago, there's not a LB in the League who gets near him imo. Bridge is good, Cole (generally) is better.