midds

Almost a full circle with me like. blueyes.gif

Agreed. Hopefully Sam can handle players better than the previous incumbents.

Not sure his behaviour at Norwich, Coventry (where his is despised) and subsequently at Anfield bears that out tbh. Souness didnt cover himself in glory. However, he should never have been employed here should he? 100% correct. But he was. And he was paid handsomely to manage the players to his disposal and get the best out of them. He failed miserably and the club suffered. Very true. It is still suffering too. The decision to piss Bobby about that summer and the problems that came with it is one which is still to be rectified. However, Bellamy's reaction was poor. His behaviour since has hardly cast him in a good light either. Benitez doesnt seem a bad manager but Bellamy has fucked up there too. Sometimes the blame has to rest with the players and in this instance I am pleased to see the back of him. Good footballer but not good enough to get away with what he wanted to. There is so much more to football than what happens on the pitch. Only exceptional players are worth perservering with. He wasnt, isnt and never will be exceptional. Neither are the other two. On that score it will be interesting to see what Allardyce oes with them. Think we basically agree on this tbh. The lad's obviously a handful and seems to find bother. However, a good man-manager could deal with this while still getting the lad to produce on Saturday afternoons. I agree that if the twatish behaviour becomes too much then action needs to be taken but I honestly think that under the right man (Hughes for Wales & Blackburn) he could be handled while he's still producing. Souness was the worst thing to happen to Newcastle for 15 years and the worst possible personality for dealing with young lads like Bellamy. Shepherd needs to carry some of the blame for appointing him in the first place though. As someone has said though - all water under the bridge and ancient history.

Not sure his behaviour at Norwich, Coventry (where his is despised) and subsequently at Anfield bears that out tbh. Souness didnt cover himself in glory. However, he should never have been employed here should he? 100% correct. But he was. And he was paid handsomely to manage the players to his disposal and get the best out of them. He failed miserably and the club suffered.

With Statler & Waldorf on this one. Bellamy was driven out of the club despite being one of the most effective forwards in the league at the time. Not condoning some of his behaviour but Souness was bang out of order too. He couldn't manage the player so he instigated the confrontation and flogged him for a fraction of his true value in a vain attempt to establish his discipline on the squad. Fucking pathetic. Dragging up the past, but still...

Henry Winter. One of the most respected football journalists out there... He does look like some new species of toad though and his voice is annoying. My hate list- Jim White, Phil Thompson, David Pleat, John Motson, Andy Gray & Rodney Marsh Beagrie's is 1000 times worse. Peter Beagrie crashed a moped through a plate glass window into a hotel reception on a pre-season tour You just can't not like him. Unless he played for your club and him beating the same player 3 times in a row instead of getting a cross in wound you up. Sorry, but he annoys me more than any person in the sport. I'd quite happily knock his teeth out one at a time with a toffee hammer.

Henry Winter. One of the most respected football journalists out there... He does look like some new species of toad though and his voice is annoying. My hate list- Jim White, Phil Thompson, David Pleat, John Motson, Andy Gray & Rodney Marsh Beagrie's is 1000 times worse.

Henry Winter. One of the most respected football journalists out there...

Peter Beagrie is class He's not like!

Demolishing Chinatown to extend SJP...

John Motson. & Peter Beagrie. Both fucking shitheads.

Quite like Ranieri tbh. Always came across as a decent bloke when he was at Chelsea, despite my initial urge to hate him! Might be the man to turn things around but I'm sure other names will be thrown around.

Can't believe the question needs to be asked.

The Premier League fudged the issue and fined them a ridiculously larger amount and hoped that the size of the fine would be enough to satisfy the other threatened clubs. As draconian as it sounds I think West Ham should have been stripped of every point they won whilst fielding Tevez or Mascherano. They lied and broke the rules. Also agree that if the roles were reversed and Sheff Utd had fielded an ineligible player, they'd have lost points.

And for how many games During the world cup too Who are those England national teams players who have been capped for 20+ and you consider them still average I am really interested Sewpa Kev? Ray Parlour.

You don't really believe that do you? Why do you think this press conference is then? Could be anything really. Allardyce was interviewed by SSN today and he DEFINITELY looked like he's getting cold feet about us. Definitely... When have you known us to have a press conference about anything other than a manager or trophy player? (And pre-game press conferences don't count ) My money's on a new sponsorship deal. Either that or an announcement about the colour scheme for the new away kit. Can't decide.

You don't really believe that do you? Why do you think this press conference is then? Could be anything really. Allardyce was interviewed by SSN today and he DEFINITELY looked like he's getting cold feet about us. Definitely...

You don't really believe that do you?

Loads... Got it's own channel.

Carr. He'd take him out.

Think Chez is implying that by including NE5 in the thread title, you've encouraged other posters to restart the same arguments NE5 revels in. Could be wrong like.

Can you imagine how Roeder would have handled the Rooney/Ronaldo situation at Man Utd last August?

Hard to impress when you're not even picked to play. The lad needed games this year and has been ignored in favour of shite. Fair enough he hasn't pulled any trees up but he needed a run of games, not just the occasional appearance here and there. Roeder needs shooting for his (mis)handling of this lad.

Devil's Advocate here: What do you think his market value is right now?

Martins. He wasn't worth the £10m we paid 12 months ago and hasn't improved one iota. If anyone offered close to £15m I'd snap their arms off.