Rich

Was waiting for someone to mention Spurs. Doesn't even come close man.

I'd be worried if he was a success and won us something within this current contract he'd leave on a high. Good point actually, and you couldn't really blame him if he did. It's a worry that I have no matter who the manager/chairman/players is/are. If we eventually win something of note, such as an FA cup, then it'll be seen as "job done" and we'll be straight back to mediocrity the following season. If we do build a team capable of winning something and have a manager capable of winning something, then it's imperative that they would see that first trophy as "just the beginning". Be typical of us to finally do it, then go to shite the next season.

Until he's no longer the right man for the job or able/willing to do the job. Until that time he can stay here for as long as he likes.

Lampard has played on the either side for England IIRC, and also off the striker. Just basing that on memory but I'm fairly sure he has. And I hate to get all Gol on you (I really, really do) but I'd say Lampard's form for his club has been as devastating as Gerrard's for his, if not moreso. Obviously just a difference of opinion, but I don't think there's much between the two of them at all. If anything, Gerrard has been MORE disappointing for Engerland than Lampard has - especially at crunch times. I personally thought Lampard was fucking outstanding at Euro 2004, not just for the goals he scored, either.

Exactly. Ed: Though I should qualify this by saying that at Euro 2004 I thought we played some of the best football I'd seen us play for a long, long time on a very big stage with those two in the centre, Beckham on the right and Scholes on the left. Actual good football, not just getting good results

Mojo: Surely you can say the same for Gerrard though? He's managed to score less goals for England than Lampard, despite playing more often, arguably with more of his goals coming against shite, an' all. Gerrard: Germany, Macedonia, Serbia, Switzerland, Austria, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Trinidad, Sweden, Andorra x3, USA. 3 in friendlies, 7 in qualifiers, 3 in major tournaments. Lampard: Croatia, Iceland, France, Croatia, Portugal, Austria, Wales, Northern Ireland, Austria, Poland, Jamaica, Greece, Germany, Croatia. 5 in friendlies, 6 in qualifiers, 3 in major tournaments. There's not much to call between them at all, yet you make Gerrard the focal point of the team while claiming Lampard isn't international class. Beggars belief.

so many options with the england team, sad that none are ever taken i agree with gerrard there though - he needs to be there or there abouts given freedom to maraud, he's totally untouchable when he does that i'd make fat fwank carry the kits, never been an international class midfielder Utter bollocks. I'll use Euro 2004 as the sole basis for my argument, because I cannot be arsed to delve any deeper than that.

Aye. LB, CM, CF of a similar standard to the three who played on Sunday and we're laughing. I like people not expecting much from us.

Might tag along with some tee total sorts. .Mt to be better than The Trent! :-)

More like get people into the ground sooner so they're buying last minute drinks in the ground rather than elsewhere. One pint doesn't last 50 mins.

Bugger.

On my phone on the metro, but if Super Al doesn't mention Prince Albert in that article I'll eat my hat.

Think I might set off now! I'll bring the tent.

Definitely worth getting up there a bit sooner for this one like.

Is that even allowed? Aye aye. Take the details of the ticket to the Box Office prior to the game and you can upgrade the seat for 1 match to whatever you need it to be regarding prices. Had to do it a couple of times last season when my season ticket was stuck down in Hull. so you can do it for single match's then? Yep. Dunno why there hasn't been more publicity of it. Think you need your season ticket number, address and the name of the ST holder. I gave mine to Toon's Taylor off here last season for the Reading (?) game 'cos I was stuck down in Hull due to a last minute hitch and he got sorted no bother. All you pay is the difference between the ticket price, if yours is a student and your old man needs an adult ticket.

Who else can they get? Until that "yo-yo" tag is rid of, if it does even happen, they're going to struggle to attract the "right" sort of players. I honestly think it's just a case of Keane getting hold of what he can in a scattergun approach. As long as the backing is there and it's not going to be debt for club, it's probably fair enough. As footballers, Diouf, Chimbonda and Malbranque are more than good enough, but like you've alluded to they may not have the necessary attitude for the long haul. Suppose we'll see by the end of this season though whether players have been worth the fees they've commanded, and not just Sunderland players. I hope you're right about them though, because otherwise they will be another rung up the ladder to stability.

Is that even allowed? Aye aye. Take the details of the ticket to the Box Office prior to the game and you can upgrade the seat for 1 match to whatever you need it to be regarding prices. Had to do it a couple of times last season when my season ticket was stuck down in Hull.

See your point Rich, but i just disagree. For seventy million pounds, i know i'd expect a little more than 'Premiership stability'. A lot of teams have survived without spending anywhere near that amount of dosh. It's obviously what needed to be done, though, as it just about kept them up last season. This season they've spent money on what you'd expect to be "better" players which should kick them on another level. Who else has come up recently and remained stable like? Reading managed a season and then went back down, after being runaway winners of the Championship, Birmingham and Derby both sunk last season while Sunderland stayed up. Watford and Sheff Utd both went down the year before when Reading did brilliantly, Birmingham and West Brom the season before after 4 seasons and 2 seasons up respectively (hardly stable). And so it goes on. Wigan were the last team to come up and put together any kind of stability, and they've had to spend a pretty penny to do that as well, even then they've only been a PL team for 3 seasons so far... It's not easy - or cheap - to do, at all, especially when you've a team as bad as Sunderland's is/was. Sunderland's plan is obviously to become a PL stalwart, like we are, is there anybody else who has managed that in recent times for a really prolonged period? Only Blackburn, Fulham and Bolton, probably, way back in 01/02, when the market wasn't as crazy as it is now. More recently you've only got Wigan and West Ham who have survived more than 2 seasons since coming up, and even they've been really, really close to going back down at times. It's a funny one, but as long as they stay up again and can afford to spend the money they have done, you can't really argue.

Same for Bolton, still. Absolutely loads of choice in all areas of the ground.

Has to be Terry.

At the end of the day, Owen has us by the short and curlies. All the talk of him taking a wage cut is optimistic, if you ask me. I'd personally be amazed if he stays on less money than he's currently getting. Not saying he deserves more, but I'll not be surprised to see him keep his wedge or even increase it.

Have we been linked with him? Was rumoured to be one of the two Mallorca players Alan Oliver claimed Keegan wanted a second look at. Along with Trejo.

I hope we bum these cretins into next week. Cannot hack Bolton.

Very short-term thinking there, because you cannot buy being a part of the PL, on a regular basis, if you get my meaning. It's like the promised land. They're doing what they need to in order to try and stay afloat and rid the club of the "yo-yo" image of recent years. Obviously if they go down after spending that much then it is an unmitigated disaster for all concerned down there, but if they do stay up and become a regular big club in the PL - like ourselves *smug* - then it'll have been worth it.

Why so? Read the rules man. No football clips allowed.