James

My numbers are based on memories of reports from the time. I have less players to remember, so I'm more likely to be right.

Nyt, you got six out of 15.

Who were we going to sign instead before we heard his wage was the lowest then? No idea, but the name Miroslav Klose was mentioned at the time. In which case your source wasn't making much sense. It wasn't anything ITK, it was just something that got a mention in the media. I suspected that's what it was. I asked on the basis that you wrote "I can't believe that everyone spent the early hours of this morning arguing about pay packets exaggerrated by the London press who feel the need to justify the fact that good players play for us." Then proceeded to introduce press speculation yourself in the next two paragraphs as justification for what you'd just said. I go with what is mentioned at the time of dealings. At that point the information is pretty fresh, and journos will know various details from various sources. However, I doubt they keep databased information on the various details regarding every single player ever covered in their newspapers, thus today, they will just pluck a number out of the air which sounds right based on their prejudices regarding both club and player.

Who were we going to sign instead before we heard his wage was the lowest then? No idea, but the name Miroslav Klose was mentioned at the time. In which case your source wasn't making much sense. It wasn't anything ITK, it was just something that got a mention in the media.

Who were we going to sign instead before we heard his wage was the lowest then? No idea, but the name Miroslav Klose was mentioned at the time.

I can't believe that everyone spent the early hours of this morning arguing about pay packets exaggerrated by the London press who feel the need to justify the fact that good players play for us. IIRC, Martins' wage is around £40,000 p/w which was a huge increase from the £12,000 p/w he got at Inter. I'd heard that we signed him when we discovered we could pay him less than other targets. And Owen is also meant to be closer to £80k than £100k

Just read that comment by Kingdawson about Berbatov. I was physically unable to shut my mouth for two whole minutes.

Stop it. :lol: I'm just saying that if we did get him, it would match up with my 3-5-2 theory in the 3-5-2 thread.

Naturally, he'd be part of a centre-back trio, with a younger fitter and more versatile left back also being brought in to play at left wing back.

My team is: Goalkeeper for club with difficult to predict league finish. Concedes a fair few, but saves aplenty and gets MOM points. Promoted goalkeeper previously proven in Premiership. Utility defender/midfielder that takes set pieces, recently moved to club with poor defensive form. Up and coming defender at up and coming club with poor defence. Scores a few. The best defender for a top 4 club. Cheap defender at club with poor defensive form whom are expected to do better this season subject to other future signings. Cheap but influential defender whose low price reflects the difficulty in predicting his club's fortunes. Best midfielder at a top 4 club. Workmanlike midfielder for UEFA Cup club who makes intermittent attacking contributions. Very much a form player. Another form player for a mid table club. Scores some great distance goals. Promoted midfielder with potential Influential midfield captain who takes set pieces. Best striker at a top 4 club One of the best strikers outside of the top 4, whom is easily replaceable at times of form dip/injury The next Emile Heskey (when Heskey was good)

Cheers toontastic.

This will probably become a sticky nearer the time, but as no-one reads stickies, lets just bump this thread every now and then.

That's a bit shit. Actually, how can that be the case if we had Rossi for four months?

Make Krul substitute keeper, and play him in our cup games. he could also go to Holland short term. Also, nothing stopping us loaning players out in January like we did to get Onyewu.

When we were away at Fulham, he was the best player on the pitch, and at the time, there were Fulham fans in the away end, who were saying that he had been their best player that season.

The interview has disappeared! Edit: No it hasn't.

You are right Jol, hardly worth the effort. I think we should team up with other clubs that regularly miss out on latter Europe like Athletico Madrid, PSG, Boca Juniors, the 4th placed club in each CL group, and form our own tournament. Terrestrial channels would probably show our matches instead of Spurs UEFA Cup matches, and our fans would actually turn up, and we'd rake all the money and attention.

Mort's strategic review looks at the business side only, Sam is pretty much doing the same thing player/coaching wise. Sam and Shepherd sort out the transfers, Mort and Ashley will then just approve or not approve based on how much they've been told whoever costs. Barton and Viduka were only signed after Ashley had approved the deals. Transfer budget is still to be decided based on strategic review. Short and long term progress expectations boil pretty much down to the state they find the club in after the review has taken place.

NSG, please stop copying and pasting whole articles off places without even providing links. Thankyou.

I think that only Robson has had a quotable interest in him though.

As you all know, my cousin's girlfriend operates the fax machine at SJP, and she's been saying that she has been carrying baked beans over water all day.

A return in normal form by Nobby there.

I dont think that much adjustment is needed really. The players that would need to adjust a the wing backs and the wide centre backs, and if the first signing, Geremi, and the believed second signing for these positions, Beye are to go buy, it looks like Allardyce is filling the team with players who can adapt quickly.

I've been following the debate about formations in various threads over recent weeks, and have now come to the conclusion that there is a good chance of seeing a 3-5-2 next season. My reasons for this are the following: Geremi This guy is a very athletic player who will run up and down the flank all day, and is able to play in both the right back and right wing role. Thus we have a player who can play energetically run our right hand side. Beye This guy continuously gets linked, and it has to be noted that the media have been pretty much on the ball with regards to our transfer targets this summer. What stands out is that as the player can play at both right back and centre back, he will be comfortable playing on the right hand side of the three centre backs, doing both full back and centre back duties where required. Sam wants two left backs We are close to signing a second right back, and he recently said to Crumpy that he wanted two left backs. I would apply Allardyce's right sided player choice to the left hand side, that is, his two targets are someone to play left wing back, and someone to play on the left hand side of the three centre backs. Our strikers Owen, Martins, Viduka and Owen cannot fit competitively into a 433/451 formation, and yet Allardyce seems keen to see all four stay. If one leaves, Gudjohnsen is the main target, and that wouldn't really work either. That would indicate that he is going for two up front, so formation variants have to be derived from that fact. Ball playing defenders The majority of defenders signed/linked like Geremi/Rozehnal/Edmilson/Beye are sometimes known for their ball playing skills more than their defensive skills. In a 3-5-2, defenders cant rely on help from full back/winger exchanges that Newcastle usually use to pass our way up the field if we opt not to lamp the ball. Ball playing centre backs would be able to playtheir way out of danger without bypassing the midfield. General player versatility I believe that to play 3-5-2, you have to have players who can adapt to their roles, and even offer possibilities of a change in formation when things aren't working out, or even just when we move from one area of the field to another. Rozehnal and Edmilson can play in both defence and midfield, as can Geremi. Beye can play both at centre back and full back. In midfield, Dyer, Milner, N'Zogbia, Solano, Duff and Luque can take up a variety of roles. Effectively, we could switch to 442, 343 or 433 with a simple touchline order, each player being extremely comfortable at playing in the role they switch to. Kieron Dyer Sam seems keen to utilise Dyer. I suspect that Dyer would form an invaluable part of a 3-5-2 formation. i think many criticisms of Dyer is that he never fits into the team, he is OK in many positions, but has weaknesses that people are quick to point out on: He doesn't track back from central midfield, exposing the defence. His finishing isn't good enough for a striker. He doesn't track back from right wing, and can't cross the ball in the air. However Dyer is excellent at running on and off the ball, covers a lot of ground, can score a decent amount for a midfielder, and is extremely underrated when it comes to his ability at passing the ball forwards. A 3-5-2 formation creates a midfield trio, providing two players to cover him, allowing him to do what he does best, i.e. supporting the players down the flank, supporting the attackers, and creating space for his team mates by scaring defences with his forward running. When injured, I believe that N'Zogbia and Milner are great cover for this role. Steve Round Is it a coincidence that we have hired a man who is not only meant to be one of the best tactical brains in the country, but also a huge supporter of making England adopt the 3-5-2 formation?

Czech left winger. Don't know much about him in real life, but he is the worst player in the Czech team on Pro Evo.