madras

That's harsh even on Vic! She is a f****** despicable human being. somewhat above vic's standing then ?

What total s****! Are you saying that John Terry, Tony Adams, Roy Keane etc were/are not key driving forces behind their club's success as captains? If you get the right captain it can make a hell of a difference to the dynamics of the team and the club. I was initially dismayed by the signing of Barton, but he's done nothing but impress me with the way he's conducted himself so far, and I know it's early days, but he'd be my choice for captain at this stage. yes,as those players,especially the latter two were the driving forces even when they werent captains. you don't need an armband to be a leader.

You 'avin-a-go' like? Did I ever say we would not be de-listing? no you said it was a major milestone dictating the point at which Ashley would start doing something And it is! Yes it is. This happened at 08.00 this morning. Did you want him to buy Deco at 08.01? seriously, tell me why he wouldn't have 1 week ago? You are persistant. I said I was not going to debate that point (again) as it has been thoroughly discussed and answered (and it is 'obvious' anyway). So pack it in!! it's not f****** obvious FFS It is. take away the names and it's like vic's arguning with himself

Leighton Baines ?

vicky's dad "I have no son"

Most of it will come from season ticket sales and the increased TV money. I've not worked it out, but that's probably at least £25m without increasing the debt. He may even put an initial extra amount in himself. However I don't for a second believe that in the long run he will continue to put his own money into the club. In the future we will have no visibility of how much he is putting into or taking out of the club though so who knows. Let me ask you this - Ashley has built his money with a "pile it high, sell it cheap" philosophy, and a permanent "closing down sale, everything must go" marketing strategy. What makes everyone so confident that with NUFC he will adopt a risky strategy of spending big on high quality players in the hope of large rewards (ie top end of the market) rather than spending just enough on decent players to maintain premiership status and occasionally getting into Europe (ie trying to be the best of the mid range market)? What makes you think he's going to be straight up and honest with us supporters when he treats his current customers as mugs? thats what he done with soccer world etc but not his strategy at lillywhites and slazenger,karrimor etc. he has shops which are aimed at a lower market and he knows how to sell in that market but you shouldn't try and make out this is his whole strategy as it isn't.

i saw a one i quite liked,small 19 for the name with 27 for the player number

planned to be today isn't it ?

Now its not that I believe this particular story...Just using it to illustrate a point. This way West Ham seem to be going about things - The stupid contract on offer to Bellamy, there was talk that they offered Barton way more than Newcastle did...I think its embarrasing. They don't even seem to be trying to get players to come in for reasons other than the moneys. On Faubert, I heard that the kid wanted to go to Rangers, burnt his bridges at Bordeaux, then West Ham came in and gazumped Rangers bid so he was basically forced to go there. Similar to how Newcastle got Owen. Totally the wrong way to go about things I think and as such I don't think its going to end well. how was he forced,surely he was in the driving seat ie "rangers want me and i want to go there,let me go otherwise i stay here,unhappy and you get no transfer fee"...more likely west ham offered the player more money and give him the opportunity to play in a better league. as for the french coaches comments...............even if he isn't playing in the top 4 he'll still be playing in a higher quality league. If it was that simple then Owen would have gone to Liverpool instead of coming here. if liverpool wanted him ? liverpool offered a low enough sum for madrid to think it would be better to keep him ,the difference between rangers valuation and west hams wasn't massive.

but 45 mins in a friendly (an early friendly) against hartlepoo! and he had a full half at pompey

Now its not that I believe this particular story...Just using it to illustrate a point. This way West Ham seem to be going about things - The stupid contract on offer to Bellamy, there was talk that they offered Barton way more than Newcastle did...I think its embarrasing. They don't even seem to be trying to get players to come in for reasons other than the moneys. On Faubert, I heard that the kid wanted to go to Rangers, burnt his bridges at Bordeaux, then West Ham came in and gazumped Rangers bid so he was basically forced to go there. Similar to how Newcastle got Owen. Totally the wrong way to go about things I think and as such I don't think its going to end well. how was he forced,surely he was in the driving seat ie "rangers want me and i want to go there,let me go otherwise i stay here,unhappy and you get no transfer fee"...more likely west ham offered the player more money and give him the opportunity to play in a better league. as for the french coaches comments...............even if he isn't playing in the top 4 he'll still be playing in a higher quality league.

Wullie i'm interested to know whether carroll has much chance of making a PL standard forward. i know it was against hartlepool, but did he have any sort of PL player presence or did he look like the type who will fade away, if you know what i mean. also what about betram, lough and francis. surely carrolls cameos at the end of last season are a better guide ?

somebody elses SSN? maybe tomorrow mornings local segment on the beeb

being fair he may have been going to where the bloke who hit the ball across the box actually intended it to go.

i don't think there is any set budget,more a case of get the players we need based on value and who we can tempt here. for example no matter how much is spent if they get a chance to sign a world star at who would benefit the team at a massivly knocked down price (transfer request/caught shagging managers wife/last year of contract type thing)then they will do it.

Yes. Utter s***. it's close season man. what the fuck d'you expect ?

only one

I've trimmed that right down to focus on that one bolded statement. I'm not so sure anyone makes anything up, at least not consciously. Earlier today ChezGiven pointed out something to me regarding business decisions that made me think... ..or more correctly made me realise something. None of us are privvy to all the facts and yet we are all constantly forming opinions and making judgements on them. In my case I had got caught up in all the rhetoric directed against Shepherd and somewhere along the line decided he was a scumbag. That was an emotional decision that I was barely conscious of.. no, I wasn't conscious of it for I cannot find in my memory when that decision would have been reached. That emotional decision, totally without basis in fact, led me to view someone in a constantly negative way. It is a rather easy step after that to believe anything you read, negatively, in connection with that person as you want to believe it. It supports your preconceptions. So, a bit like Chinese Whispers, a comment here, a comment there, repeated with a word missing, or from a different perception can quickly become a fallacious rumour that others repeat as fact. So for instance, I never made anything up, nor in all likliehood did anyone else, conciously. They just went along with their preconceptions. It may be true, in actual fact, that Shepherd is a scumbag. But I have no real basis for that opinion other than one I created myself. just as bad......................and i'm gonna hate myself for doing this,but...TBH Don't hate yourself for that, that was exactly my point. You don't consciously form a preconception it just happens. What is prejudice but a preconception? But in recognising them you can move past them and that is surely a step forward, just imagine that a nation and it's governments could recognise their prejudices. or better still,not form them!

FYI Bellamy was got rid of by Souness (Manager) and Shearer (Captain) under Shepherd (Chairman). Only a fat-headed pig could attribute this to 'fickle fans' while failing to call Shepherd to account for sacking SBH for finishing 5th. SBH = Sir Bobby Hobson? fuck me,it really was hobsons choice

I've trimmed that right down to focus on that one bolded statement. I'm not so sure anyone makes anything up, at least not consciously. Earlier today ChezGiven pointed out something to me regarding business decisions that made me think... ..or more correctly made me realise something. None of us are privvy to all the facts and yet we are all constantly forming opinions and making judgements on them. In my case I had got caught up in all the rhetoric directed against Shepherd and somewhere along the line decided he was a scumbag. That was an emotional decision that I was barely conscious of.. no, I wasn't conscious of it for I cannot find in my memory when that decision would have been reached. That emotional decision, totally without basis in fact, led me to view someone in a constantly negative way. It is a rather easy step after that to believe anything you read, negatively, in connection with that person as you want to believe it. It supports your preconceptions. So, a bit like Chinese Whispers, a comment here, a comment there, repeated with a word missing, or from a different perception can quickly become a fallacious rumour that others repeat as fact. So for instance, I never made anything up, nor in all likliehood did anyone else, conciously. They just went along with their preconceptions. It may be true, in actual fact, that Shepherd is a scumbag. But I have no real basis for that opinion other than one I created myself. just as bad......................and i'm gonna hate myself for doing this,but...TBH

who knows,for all we are being investigated there is as much to say "the club" is in the clear.

of course TT, but it made me smile to see macbeth popping up again when he thinks there is a chance to have a pop at fred or the finance at the club. I know what I hope this is all about... oh go on, tell us There is no way in the world that this can be about Souness. Souness had no access to the club's money. He could madly suggest he had to spend what ever it took to get a player, but others had to make the money appear. If Souness made a signing happen, and the receiving club made it worth his while thro some very big brown paper bag, then I'm not sure that NUFC have lost out directly. If the club now feels it has lost money in a criminal sort of way then it is the people who had access to sign off cash who are the only ones who could be concerned. I'd guess this would cover Bruce and Freddie Shepherd, Douglas and Alison Hall, and Tim Revill as they are the directors of the business. It also probably touches Russell Cushing and Ken Slater as the only other two senior employees. if...big if,someone set up a deal and the club OK'd it then he recieved a kickback off the agent then he didn't have to have access to the cash as such. Why would they want the clubs computers then? Surely any kickback would be more discreet than that. to tie up any monies going out with those of any agent,also as much as incriminating people the police would want to discount other possibilities aswell. there is a very good chance this isn't what has happened,it was just a reply to the idea that because souness didn't have control of the money he couldn't be implicated.

got to disagree a bit,that sort of thing should be sorted out within the club,using the press like that is a strange game that rarely works and makes no-one look good. Depends how insecure everyone is and how paranoid. No doubt some sections of the press will make a story out of it, but I'm not concerned and nor should anyone be really. All managers use the press to "have a word" with the power brokers. Fergie, Rafa, Wenger, Mourinho, KK did it expertly, they all do. Big Sam even done it at Bolton, where he ruled the roost if you like. If you look at it differently, his comments are positive and say to me "action". not so quick though,especially when he says he understands the position.

of course TT, but it made me smile to see macbeth popping up again when he thinks there is a chance to have a pop at fred or the finance at the club. I know what I hope this is all about... oh go on, tell us There is no way in the world that this can be about Souness. Souness had no access to the club's money. He could madly suggest he had to spend what ever it took to get a player, but others had to make the money appear. If Souness made a signing happen, and the receiving club made it worth his while thro some very big brown paper bag, then I'm not sure that NUFC have lost out directly. If the club now feels it has lost money in a criminal sort of way then it is the people who had access to sign off cash who are the only ones who could be concerned. I'd guess this would cover Bruce and Freddie Shepherd, Douglas and Alison Hall, and Tim Revill as they are the directors of the business. It also probably touches Russell Cushing and Ken Slater as the only other two senior employees. if...big if,someone set up a deal and the club OK'd it then he recieved a kickback off the agent then he didn't have to have access to the cash as such.

got to disagree a bit,that sort of thing should be sorted out within the club,using the press like that is a strange game that rarely works and makes no-one look good.