James

I presume we'd attract a similar amount of investment as Portsmouth in the team's current state.

well you'd have to assume that the end date for Togo in the ANC is the end date for teams getting knocked out of the first round. GeJon, the clubs pay the wages for all the players going to the ANC. They know what they are letting themselves in for when signing them and should have made the right preparations. However clubs have the assurance that their rivals are missing players too, but this incident derails the whole balance of the European leagues. Putting the players on leave would give them a chance to regain some mental composure, and protect the players from any possible controversy that some people could definitely go looking for.

Hard to say this without sounding insensitive, but the Togo players should be given forced leave until the end of the ANC, not just for compassionate reasons, but to stop cases where Man City play Everton with Adebayor, while Everton don't have Yobo. Otherwise if it isn't done, I can see the likes of Phil Brown bringing the issue up in the coming months, so its probably best someone sorts this issue out now. Or better bring everyone out of Angola full stop.

Yep, as I say to anyone who gives that argument: Better fitness = More time on the ball + better concentration + better control of body = better technique. So doping can improve all aspects of any sportsman's game, not just endurance sports.

http://www.ergogenics.org/484.html The above is a summary of a report by French paper Le Monde, dated 2006. It includes an interview with the Doctor (Fuentes) involved in Operacion Puerto, otherwise the biggest doping bust of all time. What it says: Fuentes insists he has worked with top sportspeople from the fields of football, tennis, athletics, handball and boxing. With football, he says he worked with Spanish First and Second Division sides, sometimes directly with players, other times passing on scientific info to other team doctors. He was team doctor at Las Palmas when Barcelona and another Italian club tried to sign him. He says he will not provide evidence against these sports as he's had death threats, and certain sports are to powerful to take on. However he reckons there is so much secrecy going on that if it came out, heads of sporting organisations would lose their jobs. Le Monde obtained two A4 sheets that came from Fuentes Las Palmas apartment. They claim it is a training programme for Barcelona. It resembles training programmes used as evidence against cycling teams.with symbols known to represent reccommended dates for usage of steroids, insulin, and epo. The document also states that the primary target is the 2005/06 Champions League. The whistleblower on the drugs clinic claims a Real Madrid player was there the same time he was. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Obviously it is all newspaper talk, but its a good example of the type of story that makes it out in the French media (i.e. the only consistent anti-drugs press really out there), but doesn't reach our ears.

I think the whole situation has been lost in translation. The fans were celebrating because they were told that Geremi is not signing for them

Ashley Cole (and Cheryl!!!!!) are apparently found very often in the town I work. Must keep my eyes open from now on!

I'm devastated.

Why he is a presenter and not a pundit.

Aw it was worth its own lets laugh at Man Utd thread

Having seen what is going on with Portsmouth, amongst other clubs, does anyone think the FA/PL need to take further measures to stop chancers getting hold of football clubs they can't afford. The measure I would propose is that for a takeover to be completed, an owner must pay a deposit to the League (millions of pounds for a PL club) and this deposit is used by the FA to pay back wage debts, transfer fee debts and so on. The benefits here are that it is a good way to screen owner finances, allows the club's issues to get resolved in a way that isn't going to impact the fans, and also gives an incentive for the owner to behave 'fit and proper' if they want their money back. Thoughts?

The question is not who they are, but are they good enough? Of the players you name, can you see a situation where having some of these in the squad are going to hold the club back elsewhere when Ashley realises he can't sensibly get them off the wage bill. Or in otherwords, we could be getting stuck with players we'd othetwise by wanting rid. Alternatively, is some club going to want to pay silly money for Kevin Nolan, giving us the funds we need to get a better all round team?

If we go up, we have to register a 25 man squad of players aged 22 or over, eight of whom have come from the English academy system. You can register U21 players, but that means having a smaller squad. How are we doing for being ready for this at the moment? How should the rule change affect our transfer policy?

Wouldn't support kick-ins, but would support perhaps a maximum distance run up or something like that.

Only 7 have been there all the time. Who is next?

He is the same below average keeper he always has been, only yesterday he was actually posed problems by the opposition. He's better than most in this division, but this club needs to come up with a strategy to have either Krul (if given a chance to show he is good enough) or a new signing (Joe Hart?) between the sticks come our first PL game next season.

Can't see him being here for another three and a half years. Left wigan because he didn't like starting PL games at left back. we've acknowledged he isn't a right back, because we signed Simpson. He's behind Pancrate, Guthrie and Barton on the RW, so he's a sub often an unused one at most. Probably wouldn't be a place for him without the seven subs rule. Will be next to go in my opinion.

Several games to play, plus an FA Cup run. We'll need them all by end of season, even Butt will have a minor use.

If Hilario was playing against the strikers in this league you'd be saying he is better than Buffon. Truth is we looked vulnerable whenever the ball came close to him today, and throughout the season he has not done anything you would not expect from another PL goalkeeper. We are either going to have to give Krul a go and see if he is better, or be forced to pay for a new keeper for next season as playing with Harper in the PL is sadly not an option.

I thought he was really poor today, although it was good to see him distribute the ball short from time to time.

Our worst spell this season came after we thrashed Ipswich. Other teams have thrashed other teams but aren't 10 points clear at the top. We have the desire to thrash the whole league after 46 games, and the intelligence to make it happen. In other words (i.e. cliches) it is a marathon, not a sprint. We have Christmas coming up there is no point tiring ourselves out before that period has even started.

RIP

Adebayor, Tevez, Robinho and owners who blatantly want their big guns up front over the players that actually make the team tick. Not to mention the inevitable striker signing they will attempt to make next summer.

I can see him leaving Man City in the summer, as now Hughes has gone, the owners will want to see the manager pick the megabucks strikers they've bought for the club and not that little cheap Welsh midget. Lets make him our number one transfer target. (of course that is assuming we get promoted, have an owner willing to pay for transfers, and have a manager who isn't going to mind having such a driven outspoken player in the dressing room)