madras

it's not really worse than stubbing a cigar in someones eye or punching someone repeatedly even when they are out cold is it ?

I know, but I thought I'd add a bit more as to how I personally think it should be done. It is an hour of each day by the way. And considering what footballers get paid, an extra hour of their day is nothing, and besides they can easily arrange for it to be lunch hour at the club canteen or whatever, and can change where they are going to be at a minute's notice. they still need to have their own lives so i think that is too restrictive but not far off. the "they get paid enough"argument is a non-starter because it covers all pro's. not just the premier superstars. i know i am better paid than some league 2 players.

So of the yanks linked with buying us, Mark Cuban is the only one who hasn't been ruled out. More likely a mystery buyer who has kept his cards close to his chest. even if it was ansculz originally he'd still have kept his cards close to his chest as he never said he was interested at any time. basically the media are trying to look for likely candidates and naming them in the hope of hitting lucky and flushing the right one out.

you think that was bad, i actually had to LISTEN to my girlfriend. still together ?

james. the only bit i thought was drastic was that the players would have to give notice of where they are going to be for an hour of each week.

true though

Really, stuff like cocaine really isn't an issue any more particularly with more random testing as you can't hide cocaine in the bloodstream. Clubs have been quite happy to take down a player on recreational drugs. Just to clarify, this thread is about stringency of procedures and attitudes to doping control rather than throwing around accusations of doping. decky's been doped i think. anyhow........apart from the knowing where they have to be 1 hour of each week which does seem a bit drastic,i have no problem with atesting team turning up at a training ground etc unannounced and testing everyone.

they'll be pleased it's back up aswell then.

edgar davids,fenando couto and jaap stam have all tested positive for nandrolone

some may say you were luckyto get that far with sao paolo's winner coming in the 88th minute

does anyone seriously think defending deep is a deliberate tactic ? it's more likely brought on by players defending with a lack of confidence. as for the long ball etc. V west brom (first half) and villa we played lots of good stuff,getting it down and passing it with some long balls to mix it up. lets make a distinction with the long ball..there is the aimless hoof up field in the hope someone tall bloke will get a flick on and there is the well placed,timed ball. attempting the latter unsuccesfully is better than the former even if the former comes off.

was the jonas subbing a tactical move or injury ? (didn't see the game and only heard bits of it)

Wouldn't shock me if Phil Brown was our manager at some point in the future. bit of confusion on whether he`s a mackem or geordie? anyone confirm? from south shields and always been cagey about his support

by the same token if it puts him off who else would it put off.

cos he was very much up front on his own and made to stay up there. a decision more by circumstances than choice.

i disagree with the special k bit. it was forced on keegan as he wanted to play all 3 and it best suited to play martins further up. roeder didn't have the strength to make his play disciplined..keegan wanted all 3,allardyce...well f*** knows. villa was the first game for me where martins played all game where he is best for himself and for the team.

With Oba I doubt he'd get a bigger club where he'd be a first choice player and have the #9 on his back, to be honest. I know he's been canny recently and he's done some magical stuff in the past, but he's not even a nailed-on starter in the current squad when everybody's fit (even though he probably should be on merit.) With Gutierrez, provided he stays fit, he seems the sort who could really offer something substantial to a better club than us (particularly thinking in the PL and Liverpool mainly with this), whereas Oba would be bit-part anywhere like that. I hope he does stay, obviously, and that he can help us to get to those levels you're talking about. with oba i'd like to think villa was the point. he stayed up a lot more and worked the centre halves and the channels. long way to go,still some poor movement but that where he needs to be and where the goals will come from

looks like it'll be the local news then. i was hoping to catch the histon goal that wasn't.

GAN ON SPARTANS. 30 years on from jackie marks,steve carney,alan shoulder,dave varty et al they are at it again on the minus side i sat and watched the tawdry advert that is the premiership waiting for the highpoint of the lower and non-laegue teams getting their moment........to find it was on ITV and i've missed it.........BUGGER!

never wear colours (practical aswell as superstition)

martins at 5/2 to score at any time tomorrow

Yet another downplaying of Acuna though. What is it with these journos? He came in cheap, did a decent job, rarely let us down and got some important goals. Not bad for a cheap DM. I'd have had him at his peak over some centre mids we've seen in recent times. agreed, underrated. Always did a good job when called upon and popped up with the occasional goal. Never complained when dropped, all in all a good squad player at the time. couldn't agree more re acuna. had he still been here he would have been a first 11 starter for the past couple of seasons.(by that i mean the standard of his play then,not taking into account his ageing)

not remember the ....hang on i'm gonna do this without a net....zeljesnicar ? support ?

So your counting on Owen and Martins to hold up the ball in the final third? Shola doesnt do it brilliantly but theres no one better who's available. if the ball isn't 6ft in the air owen does it a lot better "If" being the operative word here. Wouldnt go as far as saying Owen holds up play better - not with his back to the goal - his link up play is much better but when it comes to recieving the ball with his back to the goal he doesnt retain possession well enough. How many times have we seen Shola go for headers etc - thats basically how we play nowadays. thats how we play nowadays...when he plays. the best we have played recently is bal on the ground. even shola looked at his best with the ball played low. No question about that - our entire squad is geared towards having the ball on the floor- seems obvious to most people but somehow thats not exactly how we've been playing, personally id like to see all three play, but i dont think that will happen, i think Kinnear will be dying for an excuse to bring Owen on for MArtins and thats how i think it'll go. i agree but sub the word "MArtins" for "SH ola"

So your counting on Owen and Martins to hold up the ball in the final third? Shola doesnt do it brilliantly but theres no one better who's available. if the ball isn't 6ft in the air owen does it a lot better "If" being the operative word here. Wouldnt go as far as saying Owen holds up play better - not with his back to the goal - his link up play is much better but when it comes to recieving the ball with his back to the goal he doesnt retain possession well enough. How many times have we seen Shola go for headers etc - thats basically how we play nowadays. thats how we play nowadays...when he plays. the best we have played recently is bal on the ground. even shola looked at his best with the ball played low.