Rich

So his Granddad has come out in the media and told them all Cristiano's decision and then said "he'll tell you after the Euro's"? Marvellous.

http://www.newcastle-online.com/nufcforum/index.php?topic=19161.0

well, aye, obviously. If he intends to do an Abramovic, and sells this idea, then they will attract Crouch and more big players.

No YouTube videos, man.

NE5: Opinion, sorry. I disagree entirely on the football reasons thing, to be honest, and they're owned by Gaydamak, who isn't short of a bit of cash.

Anyone who thinks this is a ragbag club with an over the hill manager should probably join Crouch at Portsmouth. There's a nice lttle club with shed for a ground that can easily accomodate a few more supporters. Plus they've got a jowelly faced cunt for a manager whose wife tells him where he can work I believe in my club, but the people saying only a mug would choose Pompey over us are deluded, tbh. Aye, especially when their posts are less than accurate when it comes to facts... what facts are those Not referring to you, mate. Hence why you weren't in that quote list. TRon's "25,000" comment when their ground only holds 20,000 and when he says they've got plenty of empty seats when I'm fairly sure I remember their ticket uptake for each game being right up there with us, not to mention the fact that they're desperate to build a new stadium to fulfill ticket demands. he's not too far out though, pompey is a canny little town and the supporters are quite good, but they [and Southampton] aren't that substantial in numbers to sustain being a top club. Without serious cash injections they will possibly bomb when Redknapp calls it a day. Building a new stadium will be nice but so far as numbers go I don't see any point in them building a stadium bigger than about 35000 at the most, and thats being generous. Crouch, being British, will know this. The only way he would prefer pompey to us IMO is because he's played for Redknapp before. None of that changes the fact that what he posted was essentially bollocks, like, even if it fits your agenda. That aside, I do hope we're still capable of attracting players like Crouch here ahead of clubs like Portsmouth, and I certainly don't buy into the thought that there's "no chance" a player would ever come here now ahead of their like (Villa, Spurs, Everton, etc.) even if all things were equal (wages, transfer fees, etc.) I just think for Crouch, personally, we'd be behind Pompey if it came to the crunch. On top of Redknapp, they've just won the FA Cup, finished top 8 and are in the UEFA Cup and they might be able to offer more wages than us these days, rightly or wrongly.

Anyone who thinks this is a ragbag club with an over the hill manager should probably join Crouch at Portsmouth. There's a nice lttle club with shed for a ground that can easily accomodate a few more supporters. Plus they've got a jowelly faced cunt for a manager whose wife tells him where he can work I believe in my club, but the people saying only a mug would choose Pompey over us are deluded, tbh. Aye, especially when their posts are less than accurate when it comes to facts... what facts are those Not referring to you, mate. Hence why you weren't in that quote list. TRon's "25,000" comment when their ground only holds 20,000 and when he says they've got plenty of empty seats when I'm fairly sure I remember their ticket uptake for each game being right up there with us, not to mention the fact that they're desperate to build a new stadium to fulfill ticket demands.

Anyone who thinks this is a ragbag club with an over the hill manager should probably join Crouch at Portsmouth. There's a nice lttle club with shed for a ground that can easily accomodate a few more supporters. Plus they've got a jowelly faced cunt for a manager whose wife tells him where he can work I believe in my club, but the people saying only a mug would choose Pompey over us are deluded, tbh. Aye, especially when their posts are less than accurate when it comes to facts...

Hasn't he admitted since he didn't exactly mean it to turn out like it did?

Disagree completely, i think he will chose us, and i think Crouch/Matins, Crouch/Owen, is a much better partnership than Crouch/Defoe. I think Defoe is very average in terms of premiership quality, his misses on Wednesday highlighted his 'head down and hit it' approach to finishing. KK would be a positive for Crouch as too would Redknapp, but i think he longs to be idolised and he could/would get that in the bucketload here. We are still a big draw don't forget that. The majority of home grown players want to play here We'll see. Crouch's recent comment about the SJP crowd being "vicious" probably aren't in our favour, neither is the fact that Portsmouth are in Europe and that they can match us for wages these days. He's been at Pompey before and left on good terms, from what I recall, and in all honesty they're a lot further along the line than we are in terms of their squad or "plan", for want of a better word. I'd be very pleasantly surprised if he came here, all things being equal (wages offered, etc.) Having played for a real football club at Liverpool, it would seem a strange decision to go to a club like Portsmouth which can barely get 25,000 supporters into a tatty stadium. If Crouch would prefer to go there than that's the best place for him I'd say. In fairness, it would be difficult to get 25,000 people into a 20,000 capacity stadium! They're building a new one soon, too, aren't they?

Disagree completely, i think he will chose us, and i think Crouch/Matins, Crouch/Owen, is a much better partnership than Crouch/Defoe. I think Defoe is very average in terms of premiership quality, his misses on Wednesday highlighted his 'head down and hit it' approach to finishing. KK would be a positive for Crouch as too would Redknapp, but i think he longs to be idolised and he could/would get that in the bucketload here. We are still a big draw don't forget that. The majority of home grown players want to play here We'll see. Crouch's recent comment about the SJP crowd being "vicious" probably aren't in our favour, neither is the fact that Portsmouth are in Europe and that they can match us for wages these days. He's been at Pompey before and left on good terms, from what I recall, and in all honesty they're a lot further along the line than we are in terms of their squad or "plan", for want of a better word. I'd be very pleasantly surprised if he came here, all things being equal (wages offered, etc.)

I would have thought he's beyond Pompey's wage structure, but they do seem to be spending big money on players which are usually beyond a club with a limited fan base. Maybe the owner is doing a Ridsdale and planning on mortgaging the club to oblivion. If reports are to be believed, Sol Campbell is one of the highest paid players in the Premiership. Gaydamak is hardly short of a few bob, is he?

If it's between us and Pompey, I think it's a safe bet he'd be playing in blue next season. Him and Defoe could be a very good partnership.

Either of Robert's against Spurs.

Is it not 8 million Euros they're talking about? (£5.5M was the figure mentioned on the Turkish sites, I think.)

Speaking of crocks, that crock Upson made 33 starts this season! Come to think of it... so did that other crock Woodgate!

I don't think Emre has played 75 games for us and he's been here for 3 seasons. You´re right. It was 76. Another myth disspelled.. Aye, but he didn't play an average of 25 games a season and technically Parker scored more goals than him over the two seasons he was here, so it's swings and roundabouts I'm afraid. How does 76 appearances in 3 seasons not compute to `over 25 games a season on average`? Fair enough about the goals I guess, although it must be close. At least with Emre there was a chance of a central midfielder scoring, which is more than can be said of the likes of Smith. I prefer to use the total minutes played rather than just the "20 games, 5 sub appearances" method, personally, as it gives a more accurate reflection. With that, he managed just under 20 games a season on average. I like the bloke as well and appreciate his talent in the same way that you do, to be honest, I don't think you can be accused of not supporting the club for being sad to see him go and for wanting to see an accurate portrayal of his time here rather than the "he was crap and always injured!!!" rubbish some have posted. I just hope we replace him effectively, 'cos as you say the creativity levels in our midfield are dangerously low now.

I don't think Emre has played 75 games for us and he's been here for 3 seasons. You´re right. It was 76. Another myth disspelled.. Aye, but he didn't play an average of 25 games a season and technically Parker scored more goals than him over the two seasons he was here, so it's swings and roundabouts I'm afraid.

I think correct incentives/protection needs to be put in place to support clubs developing young English talent. Your player should have to give something back to Watford and not just a mini-transfer fee or whatever these young players attract. The developing club should have the legal framework to be able to keep the player till they are 19/20, in this way they get some service back and a more realistic fee at that age. Same happens with apprenticeships in all other lines of work an' all, doesn't it? Nature of the beast and all that, I'm afraid. I'm sorry that isn't good enough. Clubs that develop young English talent need to be incentivised and we need to find ways to do this. The way big clubs hoover up young talent from around Europe isn't helping the English game either. Watford and Palace are a case in point where they both have good histories of bringing through English players. Don't see what will be done to stop it, personally. The rich get richer and all that. Do you really think the PL clubs give a toss about their lower league counterparts?

Obviously it doesn't take into account times where he wasn't picked in the squad and was fit (has that ever happened?), but it does tell us when he was an unused substitute, which was 5 times - 1 in 06/07, 4 in 07/08.

Added goals/assists in there as well now. Obviously the data may not be 100% accurate (I'm always sceptical of sources), but Soccernet tends to be pretty accurate for this sort of thing, especially as far as Appearances go.

Emre's Appearance Statistics (All Competitions - Taken from ESPN Soccernet's "Game Log") Season 1: Starts 20, Games Completed 13, Sub Appearances 3, Total Minutes Played 1734 (19.3 games), Goals 2, Assists 4. Season 2: Starts 31, Games Completed 16, Sub Appearances 5, Total Minutes Played 2681 (29.8 games), Goals 2, Assists 3. Season 3: Starts 8, Games Completed 3, Sub Appearances 9, Total Minutes Played 754 (8.4 games), Goals 1, Assists 4. Totals: Starts 59, Games Completed 32, Sub Appearances 17, Total Minutes Played 5169 (57.4 games), Goals 5, Assists 11. Averages: Starts 19.7, Games Completed 10.7, Sub Appearances 5.7, Total Minutes Played 1723 (19.1 games), Goals 1.7, Assists 3.7. Just to clear it up once and for all.

I think correct incentives/protection needs to be put in place to support clubs developing young English talent. Your player should have to give something back to Watford and not just a mini-transfer fee or whatever these young players attract. The developing club should have the legal framework to be able to keep the player till they are 19/20, in this way they get some service back and a more realistic fee at that age. Same happens with apprenticeships in all other lines of work an' all, doesn't it? Nature of the beast and all that, I'm afraid.

So it's all transpired now that this isn't actually "official" then? That Nathan chap said his was a fansite, not the real deal. Could still go a bit Pete Tong.

TT/Unbelievable: Leave it there please fellas. You've both said your piece, you both disagree, no need for it to get personal. It's a lovely day outside by the looks of it (I've just got up like), no need for all this hostility.