Teasy

According to Forbes his current wealth is only $300 after having bank accounts totalling $1.6 billion seized by the Thai military. Though they do mention the Thai government saying that they couldn't account for a total of $600 million that they know he has stashed somewhere.. so it looks like you could be right there

Sounds like nonesense to me. Why would we go after Baines when we've almost completed the transfers of Dragutinovic and Enrique? We have our top class experienced left back and top class young left back sorted right there. There's no need for Baines..

there's your problem right there. It does seem unlikely yes..

Jesus, they better make the Champions League or he'll bankrupt himself Seriously though Man City don't exactly bring in big money and with his recent problems with assets being frozen in Thailand Forbes now claim he's no longer a billionaire (not even a pretendy dollar billionaire ). If he's going to end up spending $600 million by next summer (total including buying the club, debt ect) then that's an absolutely massive chunk of cash for him (twice what he actually has now according to Forbes). They really are going to need regular Champions League Football within in the next couple of seasons or he might bail out leaving them with the debt. Then again if Sven does everthing right and they establish themselves in the top 3 it could set them up as a massive club.

Like what?

Surely you wouldn't want to see Alan Smith in fish net stockings and knee high socks though? Or would you?.....

Martins scored only one less league goal then Berbatov last season and played two less game. Martins is going to get a lot less games though if Owen stays fit. Fair point, but you could then also say the same for the likes of Keane (11 last season) and Defoe (10 last season) at Spurs now that Bent has arrived. As well as Crouch (only 9 last season) now that Torres has arrived. None of them are likely to get more this season then last in what will likely be less games.

Martins scored only one less league goal then Berbatov last season and played two less game.

Beresford is a coule of inches shorter then Baines. What's that got to do with him "eating his heart out"? I'm sure John Beresford "couldn't really give a toss" - he's hardly gonna nick his place. Oh I agree, this is simply his attempt at being clever, which he inevitably fails with. He thinks he's making a amazingly clever point about how Baines height shouldn't be a problem due to the great John Beresford being a couple of inches shorter then him... FYI it's because Beresford said we desperately need a left-back asap. Yeah maybe, its just the fact that his point seems to hinge on height, rather then Allardyce not wanting a left back at all, that makes me think otherwise. But then maybe I shouldn't read too much into anything Oliver writes

Beresford is a coule of inches shorter then Baines. What's that got to do with him "eating his heart out"? I'm sure John Beresford "couldn't really give a toss" - he's hardly gonna nick his place. Oh I agree, this is simply his attempt at being clever, which he inevitably fails with. He thinks he's making a amazingly clever point about how Baines height shouldn't be a problem due to the great John Beresford being a couple of inches shorter then him...

Beresford is a coule of inches shorter then Baines.

I think it goes along the lines of.. Sorry Silvestre, you turned us down so we bought the beast Drago and Leighton. Enjoy playing for the reserves next year Love Anal I'm sure I've seen that movie....

They offered him a contract extension but he told them he wanted to go. Apparently the chairman was a bit annoyed because he claimed they had supported him earlier in his time there by giving him a new contract while he had a knee injury: "It is up to him to say clearly what he wants to do, said Aulas (Lyron Chairman). I like Claudio a lot. I extended his contract while he had a knee injury. It's now time for pay-back" EDIT, beat me to it Baggio

Dragutinovic was voted best dressed serb 7 years running.. what more do you people want?

Who would you like him to be? Swisstoni Bingo, that's him. Just saw him trying to strike a deal at Fenwicks chocolate counter. He was just on SSN telling the reporter how "Signing for Newcastle is.. very much like making love to a beautiful woman".

He's lived in Germany now for 9 years, so I don't see how a work permit can be a problem.

It doesn't mean anything of the sort.. also you're massively under rating Alan Smith. Obviously he's no world beater, but to say he shouldn't be anywhere near our first team is just silly, who are we?.. Barca?

He wouldn't be free at all had he decided to accept Lyon's new contract offer. So while he is likely past his best (who isn't at 31?) I wouldn't say him being a free agent has any relevance.

Anyone know the correct pronounciation? Claudio Roberto da Silva

£7m is not the price being quoted down here. More like a down payment of about £2m with more to follow based on appearances etc. Same with his wages, we are not paying anywhere close to £80k a week. He was never getting anywhere near £80,000 a week here mate, that was idiotic paper talk and nothing more. I can believe that he was on as much as £60,000 a week though.

Indeed, but if there were any chance he'd recover, we'd have offered him a longer contract. How do you know you haven't though? He may want a fresh start at another club..

There are two possible answers to the second question:- 1 - You've already got someone to replace him 2 - You aren't letting him go, he just chose to go

To be honest I'm not sure how many times Smith has played as an out and out striker, but its a fair question, one I can't answer though..

And then there is the goal difference. While I realise Smith isnt a prolific scorer (apart from one year at Leeds when he got 18), I'd he's still capable and has the potential (injuries and selection permitting) to score more goals a season than Dyer Definitely yeah, as you say Smith isn't exactly a goal scorer, but his record of a goal every 4 games over the course of his carear so far is still better then Dyer's record of a goal every 6 games..

What?! Since when did Allardyce ever claim such a thing? As for claiming he was instrumental to the team, that was an excellent move considering we've gotten £7 million for him, more then anyone here could have possibly dreamt of. Would you have preferred him to tell everyone how we didn't really want him like Souness did with Bellamy?.....