Slugsy

Get the family to move up here, f*cks sake, how many other people move around not only one country but continents for their job. How the hell have they not moved before now - what a load of hogwash! I'm sick of the selfish little t*at - my only worry is we won't get another midfielder in time given Mort and Ashley apear to be as quick as paint drying when it comes to giving Sam the cash.

We are not in Europe and we are not based in London. Those two issues alone will make it difficult to get players, particularly foreign ones. To attract players we will have to offer mega wages and I'm not sure where the new ownership stand on this matter compared to Shepherd's exuberant financial management.

I'm more concerned about him talking about Stephen Carr in the first team!!!

None of those are 'top' RBs though. So you could argue that, whilst we have good cover at RB, we still need a top one. Completely agree

Good signing but still not convinced he is a good right back, would be much happier if we signed an out and out right back as well.

Michael Owen is on a lot more that £100k a week and that is directly from the bank who funded his transfer.

More upmarket version of Campo. He didn't turn out badly did he? I take your point but Bolton signed Campo when he was 28 (signed in August 2002, born Feb 1974) and his injury record wasn't anywhere near as bad.

I am not impressed by this signing at all - ageing crocked player, questionable whether he can come back fully fit after having 3 operations, questionable as to the level he can perform at again and whether he is on the decline, questionable as to his ability to adapt to the premiership and its pace and physicality and questionable as to whether he can adapt to the country full stop - does the guy even speak English?

£16.5m payable over 3 years confirmed! That's a lot of dosh!

Ageing player with a dodgy knee?? No thanks.

Great news if true!

Instead buy a £8m defender like Boumsong The only other time we have spent that sort of money in the last 10 years was Woodgate and he was the best defender I have ever seen in a black and white shirt. We spend £1.5m on Stephen Carr - sh*t We spend £1m on Babyaro - sh*t I'm not saying the money hasn't got to be spent wisely, it shouldn't be wasted and if Allardyce can find obscure players from nowhere then great or proven top players on free transfers - brilliant - but historically we tend not to spend a lot on our defence on real top - proven defenders - instead we go out and spend shed loads on cr*p left wingers and I think that has contributed to our woeful defence.

Big money will not always get you a top defender. A good manager can identify a quality defender though even if he isn't a big name. True but there are also top players out there who would cost money and historically we have bought cheap fullbacks who have been nothing short of mediocre. Unless you get them on a bosman or in their last year of a contract, good full backs and centre backs tend not to be cheap, as with any player. I would love us to do an Arsenal and find obscure young players who turn out to be class - hopefully that will be the case but all I meant was apart from Woodgate and Boumsong, since Keegan, we never spend any serious cash on defenders and most of the time you get what you pay for.

I'd like us to stop paying mediocre amounts for mediocre defenders - you get what you pay for and its time we started buying decent full backs in particular and stop bargain basement hunting in the £1-2m bracket. We won't get a decent defence till we buy a couple of quality full backs and at least one more decent centre back. These players don't come cheap but if we are serious about improving the team then we need to focus on areas where historically we have been inept or just plain tight at addressing.

I don't want a trophy signing but would like to see us competing for quality players who come at a price such as Richards. Targetting players who are past their best such as Hypia isn't what I would call getting the best in - more a stop gap strategy. I appreciate we need to get experience in at the back but there are experienced defenders out there who are also on top of their game - yes they come at a price but if we are to believe what the media is saying, we should have the money to get those players.

Excellent player, one I would have loved to see here.

On reflection, I was hoping that with Big Sam and a bit of cash, we might be looking at better players than this, not trophy signings or owt but just better - or should I be more realistic?

If we sign Smith as a replacement for Ameobi then fine, if its in case Owen or Martins is going then not fine, not fine at all!

I was at the lunch last Friday at St. James where he did the Q&A session and it was supposed to be a light hearted Q&A with Clare Tomlinson. To be fair, niaevely he did say at the start he would appreciate if there were any news people in the room to take his comments as light hearted and in the appropriate context but clearly that was never going to happen. Bizarre that this Q&A session got so much publicity, clearly its quite on the football news front at the moment as I have been at previous dinners where he says far more about the likes of Bellamy and not in a complimentary way!

Being linked to any right back at all is encouraging, the thought of Carr being our right back again next season fills me with the dread

Man U have spent circa £47m already, jesus - light years ahead.

This

Because he likes to wind people up and he isn't really arsed about NUFC. Christ can you name another club that has made such a fuckup of getting along with the neighbours in the past few years than NUFC? Chelsea

I can understand where you are coming from there re this season and what we needed, I don't think Berbartov woudl do badly in any team but that's as much supposition as saying Berbartov is only good coz he plays for Spurs. On Martins/Berbartov, they are different types of player - Berbartov is world class and Martins at this point is not! Just my personal opinion, but how anyone can say Martins is a better player/striker whatever - needs their head read.

Martins isn't in Berbartov's class, although I do remember people saying earlier in the season that Martins was a way better buy......