chicago_shearer

He seems to have been 65-ish for a long, long time now. He'll still be there in 20 years, chewing away.

Oh dear, Van Persie is down.

Really good player. If we signed him I'd be very impressed. We won't though.

Pop onto a Portsmouth or Leeds message board and tell them not to worry about how their club is run. IMO I find it weird how anyone could not be interested in how the club is being run. If you aren't bothered, why not just turn up on a Saturday and enjoy the match, it's pointless to discuss anything beyond that. And why be bothered about how much we're spending? Of course I don't want the club to go bankrupt. But Portsmouth and Leeds aren't the only examples you could use. You could have said Man United and Arsenal who must have a billion pounds of debt between them. My point is that it isn't relevant to a supporter. How he structures his business is up to him and I'll eat my words if he's managed to sell our way to improvement, but the only winner in a profitable club is Mike Ashley unless that accompanies better results and better football. Otherwise I don't see any of it. I don't even get to marvel at our balance sheet, because it's his private business. We don't get any additional points for signing a player on 32k a week as opposed to a player on 85k a week. If Tiote's transfer fee had been double, would he be less enjoyable as a player? If Alan Shearer had been a free transfer instead of the most expensive player of his day, would his performances have been more satisfying because someone you don't know paid less? Tabloid gossip about the wage bill and a "well run club" (because well run clubs don't carry debt...) just seems like a very poor alternative to having a successful club.

It doesn't interest me at all, and I think it's genuinely weird how seriously people take speculation about wages, fees, budgets etc. It's as if there is some consolation trophy for being bad at football but fiscally responsible. Play good football and win. That is the one expectation. If Ashley can meet it with free transfers, good for him. He hasnt so far. I don't personally feel any better about a fiscally responsible wage cap or the club's profit margin. Don't buy a top tier football club if you can't afford it, and dont buy any business if you can't afford to assume it's debt. This bullshit about a club being run "the right way" seems to be a polite way of refusing to make Premiership standard investment. Which probably wouldn't bother me, if he found a clever way to get the same results for less money. But very few clubs seem to manage that. Crap about agents fees and operating costs might be interesting if I was shareholder in the company, but I'm a supporter of the club. There is a different metric for success, and you don't win any points for a balanced budget.

The only thing that could possibly make this bad situation worse would be to let him go to a team like Stoke and strengthen another mid table side. I don't expect him to be replaced, I don't expect any additional investment or apology...but can the people who run the club AT A BARE MINIMUM demonstrate just a tiny little bit of self-preservation and not strengthen a rival? Sell him to a top 5 side or sell him abroad. (Provided you can find a country that will let him in...)

Opens the door for Ryan Taylor. Almost like a new signing really.

Probably the squad of a close mid table rival. Jonas is now our most experienced Premiership midfielder. For the timebeing at least.

Yep, i want people to remind themselves of this everyday, because it will happen. That way they can blame a lack of time available to find a replacement.

I don't agree with the pundits who are saying we will go down. But a lot of this season has been gambled on these new signings. If Cabaye & Marveaux don't turn out to be as good as we hope, and if Ba doesn't turn out to be a regular goal scorer, then we are in some trouble. There isn't any depth in the squad at key positions. These new players have to succeed, and they don't have much room to adjust. Our signings this summer were not intended to build the squad or improve on our team from last season, they are direct replacements for the two best goal scorers from last year.

Yes! Suck on that one Spain.

Haven't bought one in a while, but I'm considering that black one.

If he cant leave the US it is probably something to do with his ability to get back into the UK and work visa paperwork. Someone at the club wants sacking over this. Other clubs manage to tour more exotic places than Orlando without incident.

i HAVE to disagree with you on this. rather than them thinking we're the only non top 6 club who sells if a big offer comes in, do you think it's possible that they can see the people running the club for what they are? lying cheapskates. we do absolutely everything on the cheap now and the list of excuses including bore holes and tarmac is just a farce. they'll continue to do everything on the cheap until the day ashley leaves. this summer was the chance for the change in emphasis, it's not going to happen. this financial stuff will not go away, they'll just spin it and spin it and spin it. interesting that enrique mentions it not being the fault of carroll or nolan that they left. "Coach, not a manager."

You don't see much evidence of professionalism from the players or the management.

I think he was saying the ball went out before he shot? Maybe?

What

Well I hope they take the other friendlies a bit more seriously, because it would be nice to get some "match" practice instead of whatever you call this.

He wasnt smiling on his way off. Hope it was just twisted. Marveaux looked promising.

At the ground. And its hot as fuck.

This match thread will be dependent on whether my phone gets 3G coverage in Kansas City.

Booked a car and fed my boss an excuse for why I won't be in on Wednesday & Thursday. 14 hour round trip for a friendly. Anyone else going to KC?

Puts others to shame. Did I seriously miss Larissa Riquelme? Is she in the stands?

HA HA HA HA HA Fuck off Brazil