midds

Splitting hairs here but.........surely Allardyce was presumed innocent and never found guilty of anything?

without understating Ronaldo, I agree completely with what you say about Rooney and Gerrard, the best 2 English players in the premiership and the 2 players I would buy for Newcastle who are currently playing in the premiership and money was no object. No objections here! They're both absolute quality. Gerrard drives the team on from midfield and Rooney makes things happen up front. You could surround them with shite and the team would still do ok.

Ronaldo ? No. he didn't. Rooney did though. 8) That the fat lad who defenders let go because they know his weight will see him running into the keeper everytime hes through? no, its the fat lad who's one of the quickest and strongest players in the premiership, along with having supreme talent and a great attitude on the field. So its the same fat lad were talking about. The one who is quick, strong, talented, works hard, but whos weight/momentum results in him regularly running the ball into incoming keepers. In all seriousness, he just needs to tweak small amounts of his game to be a player who is often unstoppable unless hes surrounded by 3 of the opposition. That slightly heavy touch when he beats the last defender, and that slight amount of lift when he powers a shot in at goal from range. has the perfect player ever existed ? Is he as good as Maradona, will he be as good as Maradona ? One thing is for certain, if Gazza had signed for Newcastle instead of manure, or even better if NUFC had had a half decent club with a half decent board of directors at the time ..... We sold Gazza to sign Pele. Nowt wrong with that move. So what if Pele was 56 by that time and we already have 10 strikers in the squad and we paid 3 times the asking price? We sign top players, and intelligent boards sign players based on reputation, because thats what big clubs do. and how many boards have ran clubs who have achieved a higher league position and qualifified for europe more than us ? We sold Beardsley and replaced him with madonna for a quarter of the price. We sold Gazza and replaced him with 3 cheaper average players, we sold Waddle and replaced him with a QPR reserve player, the actions of a shite board. How many big clubs do you see that do what you suggest, but seriously, don't complain if the club lose out on the top players because they stop paying the money, if that is really what you think. I have a feeling that this is just another case of slate them if they pay the money and slate them if they don't. We don't need to hear all this again, do we? Please?

Fail to see how people can possibly have a go at Rooney. The lad has got a ridiculous amount of talent and is going to get better every year. He's a bit inconsistent and needs someone up top to play with but he's top, top drawer. The most naturally talented English player since Gascoigne. Ronaldo, as good as he looks against mediocre opposition and in low-profile games has still to convince me that he's going to win a big game single-handed. Kaka put him to shame in the 2 semi-finals last month. Even Gerrard has the ability to take a game by the scruff and drag his team through.

That kit pisses all over our new one.

Would prefer Dean Ashton mesell. Everyone's forgotten about him. £6m take it or leave it to Curbs.

He'll end up at Sunderland imo. Aye, was thinking the promotion teams would probably go after him. He'd probably be an excellent signing for the Mackems or Derby/West Brom. Brum have got enough strikers. He's just the sort of player they need. Small fee - canny wage - 2 year contract. He'd go for the £ and the chance to play for Keane. He'd be first choice forward and he'd get a reasonable amount of chances to finish. Could end up with 20 goals next season if he stays fit. Have you seen him play recently? Or am i going to be 'wooshed'... Sort of! I just think he's the type of player to get the thick twats all excited. He would do a job for them but he's a spent force. It wouldn't surprise me if he signed for them on a big wage tbh. '20 goals a season' is the response I'd expect from the deluded wankers.

He'll end up at Sunderland imo. Aye, was thinking the promotion teams would probably go after him. He'd probably be an excellent signing for the Mackems or Derby/West Brom. Brum have got enough strikers. He's just the sort of player they need. Small fee - canny wage - 2 year contract. He'd go for the £ and the chance to play for Keane. He'd be first choice forward and he'd get a reasonable amount of chances to finish. Could end up with 20 goals next season if he stays fit.

He'll end up at Sunderland imo.

Exactly. The chances are that the players he's after are also on their holiday if they're British. Or alternatively, if they're playing overseas, they'll be finishing their league seasons soon - by which time Sam'll be back in this country. Drama Queen!

Good point, that. The huge TV money plus the influx of billionaire owners is starting to create a more level playing field. In a league where everyone has cash, things like whether players want to play for the manager at the club play a large part. I can't imagine any player particularly wanting to play for Roeder, but I could imagine SA swaying a lot. I'd also expect things like club facilities (training and other) to play a large part in persuading players to move, too (as well as the obvious lure of CL football, although that goes without saying). Unfortunately, I also think that with a more level playing field, players will also get swayed by things like location, so you'll have people like Bent or Sidwell not wanting to leave London, and foreign players seeing London clubs as more attractive Surely that's always been the case though? As for level playing fields - it's only level if we're ALL owned by billionaires!

Come on, if silly money is offered - he'll be off. We all know this. EVERY player in every team has his price. If Chelsea offered, for arguments sake £26m, could any chairman turn it down? Well, the €40m offered by Juve is roughly £26.7m and that was turned down. He's not worth it but I stick with my statement in an earlier thread that I don't think Levy would even remotely consider selling Berbatov for less than £30m, probably £35m. He gives Spurs the best chance to break into the top 4, not because he can do it on his own but by keeping him, other players who might have thought about only the top 4 when moving may now consider a 5th option. OK then! Just to be pedantic what about £36m? My point is that every player has a certain amount that can not be turned down and if the buying club keep coming back with more money, eventually a bid is going to be accepted. The wishes/ambition of the player become irrelevant. Berba has publicly said he is happy at Spurs, I don't think Levy would sell him at any price with the player's own words ready to be thrown back at him should he be sold against his wishes. Negotiations are very nearly complete for an extended contract taking him up to 2013 and doubling his money. But as, currently, he is only on £22k pw he could still earn far more elsewhere. Find it hard to believe he wouldn't be sold for 'any price' but I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what happens in the next couple of years.

Come on, if silly money is offered - he'll be off. We all know this. EVERY player in every team has his price. If Chelsea offered, for arguments sake £26m, could any chairman turn it down? Well, the €40m offered by Juve is roughly £26.7m and that was turned down. He's not worth it but I stick with my statement in an earlier thread that I don't think Levy would even remotely consider selling Berbatov for less than £30m, probably £35m. He gives Spurs the best chance to break into the top 4, not because he can do it on his own but by keeping him, other players who might have thought about only the top 4 when moving may now consider a 5th option. OK then! Just to be pedantic what about £36m? My point is that every player has a certain amount that can not be turned down and if the buying club keep coming back with more money, eventually a bid is going to be accepted. The wishes/ambition of the player become irrelevant.

That's my point. If someone comes in with big money, he'll be sold regardless of whether he likes it or not. Money used to talk. Now it screams the place down.

Carrick's decent in possession and keeps things ticking over well in the midfield but I've never thought of him as someone who's going to unlock an organised defence with a bit of magic. Who knows, they may dovetail nicely and dominate the central midfield allowing Giggs and Ronaldo a bit more leeway to get forward? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Come on, if silly money is offered - he'll be off. We all know this. EVERY player in every team has his price. If Chelsea offered, for arguments sake £26m, could any chairman turn it down?

Quite like that one. Repulsive, yet distinctive.

Me neither but they can afford it and I think they need someone like him. Better than Carrick who cost more! A potential central midfield of Hargreaves and Carrick for £35m. Aye they can afford it and I suppose when Man Utd call, the price goes up by a few million. Good player but I still don't think they've replaced Van Nistelrooy yet. They've got away with it this year because they've shared the goals around and Ronaldo in particular has chipped in with more than I expected him to but I'd have thought they needed a 25-goal-a-season striker more than a bit of bite in midfield. I have said before they couldn't afford to get rid of RVN without getting in someone with his goalscoring ability but felt I had been proved wrong given their taking back of the PL crown this season. Apart from Rooney (who himself can be very inconsistant) their forwards seem very average but they have enough in their team to deal with it. Who knows though, with RVN or someone of his ability maybe they would have gone further in Europe this season. Think they're short on quality up top. Saha's not bad, Solskjaer is canny, Rooney is outstanding but they need someone for him to play off. Then again, I'm sure Fergie knows what he's doing.

Me neither but they can afford it and I think they need someone like him. Better than Carrick who cost more! A potential central midfield of Hargreaves and Carrick for £35m. Aye they can afford it and I suppose when Man Utd call, the price goes up by a few million. Good player but I still don't think they've replaced Van Nistelrooy yet. They've got away with it this year because they've shared the goals around and Ronaldo in particular has chipped in with more than I expected him to but I'd have thought they needed a 25-goal-a-season striker more than a bit of bite in midfield.

£17m is an awful lot of money. He's a good player but I'm not sure if he's worth that like.

People are probably going a bit OTT but Allardyce has proved time and time again that he can get the best out of players who are coming to the end of their careers or who have been struggling for one reason or another. Given how the majority of our team have underperformed its no suprise this subject will be brought up again and again. But i'm still in the wrong to point out the near-hysterical hero worship. It's commonly known as optimism. Some people have some for the first time in years. And realists are castigated. Fantastic. I'm not castigating anyone. People are entitled to their opinions and an awful lot of people are upbeat for the first time since Bobby had us top 4.

People are probably going a bit OTT but Allardyce has proved time and time again that he can get the best out of players who are coming to the end of their careers or who have been struggling for one reason or another. Given how the majority of our team have underperformed its no suprise this subject will be brought up again and again. But i'm still in the wrong to point out the near-hysterical hero worship. It's commonly known as optimism. Some people have some for the first time in years.

People are probably going a bit OTT but Allardyce has proved time and time again that he can get the best out of players who are coming to the end of their careers or who have been struggling for one reason or another. Given how the majority of our team have underperformed its no suprise this subject will be brought up again and again. Agree 100%. One of the main reasons he got the job imo.

Said this last week. IF, and it's a big if, we sign Sol Campbell I'd give it to him. If we don't then I suppose Butt would be a canny choice. It needs to be someone who is a natural leader of men AND starts every game if fit. Very few of our first team squad fall into both categories.

Nice to see the Old Lady back where she belongs.