gazza ladra

Newcastle v AZ Maccabi Haifa v Espanyol Rangers v Osasuna Braga v Spurs Sevilla v Shatkar Donesk Lens v Bayer Leverkusen PSG v Benfica Celta Vigo v Werder Bremen So when do they draw for the last eight? Will we know before AZ? Nice to have an interest in the other games.

good looks?

Quotes like that make me wish that Fenerbahce pulled if off. for relaxing

Bad falafel maybe? I did have a dodgy kabab once. Had a bad empanada once. Never look at Chileans the same again.

Bad falafel maybe?

No everyone. I got the opposite impression. Seems to me that most prefer to play Fenerbache . Personally, I'd much rather play AZ than Fener. Pretty sure I'm in the minority.

one more goal would do nicely.

Not knocking Crook out of hand.... But are there any statistics as to the number of blacks that have their coaching badges? Comparing the relative percentage of qualified blacks vs. the relative percentage of hired blacks would be a better indicator. And how many coaches are actually English anyway? Also, you probably shouldn't look at the relative percentages of citizens, but the relative percentage of footballers. In the US, blacks are a relatively small percentage of the population, but constitute 90% of the professional basketball players. For years, all the coaches were white. (And no badges or qualifications of any kind are required) Same goes for American football. Only in recent years has this problem (and it is a problem) been addressed.

Bring on the Fenerbahce invasion.

Damn.

Appiah and Alex would be good.

I found that book pretty disappointing. Basically, it is a rehashing of Simon Kuper's superior "Football Against the Enemy". Though the chapter on football in Iran is pretty good and the one one football/politics in the former Yugoslavia is interesting, the rest--- Rangers/Celtic, Barcelona/Real Madrid, etc.-- has been been covered ad nauseam. He doesn't really add anything.

Crap. Ack Ack Ack Ack

Shola and Babayaro. Most apt in that bunch. Neither one as bad as some pretend. (Still, I'd keep them on as squad players only)

Brilliant Orange is a great book. Also, "Tor!" - damn good history of German football

Rather play AZ than Fenerbahce. Wouldn't mind having quite a few of their players either-- Sanli, Appiah, Alex. (They can keep Kezman though.)

You noticed that too? Going into the the group stages you would've thought we were up against Barca, Inter, Werder Bremen, and the Harlem Globetrotters instead of Celta Vigo, Palermo, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Fenerbahce -- the way that some were talking.

I hear Shevchenko is available!

The sun shines out of Bellamy's ass.

Mad, yes. Want those three, no. if he keeps doing well for us as he has done, I'm sure the 'big guns' like Milan, Barca and co will be sniffing about. Lets see what Martins' reaction is then? He's already stated his love for Inter Milan having been there for 5 years, and how he misses the Italian way of life (loves Newcastle too apparently!) but just wonder what his reaction could be if they come in for him in the future Well, if that does happen we can sell him for a lot more money than we would get for Anelka, Kanu, or McCarthy. Actually, we could afford to buy all three plus a few more. If you really want us to buy those 3 then you must be mad Mad, yes. Want those three, no.

if he keeps doing well for us as he has done, I'm sure the 'big guns' like Milan, Barca and co will be sniffing about. Lets see what Martins' reaction is then? He's already stated his love for Inter Milan having been there for 5 years, and how he misses the Italian way of life (loves Newcastle too apparently!) but just wonder what his reaction could be if they come in for him in the future Well, if that does happen we can sell him for a lot more money than we would get for Anelka, Kanu, or McCarthy. Actually, we could afford to buy all three plus a few more.

I rate Anelka and all, but.... no. Martins is a great player--- who makes the team better, will get better himself, and will go up in value. I think that people overstate the negative affects that Le Sulk has on a team (citing stuff he did when he was 17 and all) but, that said, Martins has no such baggage or risk.

For those clubs. It is a question of aptness. Both Blackburn and Pompey are on limited budgets and they did very well with stopgap solutions. Don't think that either would've been the right fit for us, even at the cut rate price. Chelsea would've done well to sign either, though they would've cost them three times as much.

Yes, it was going backwards. Some don't believe the idea that Robson had lost the dressing room though, although I do. And yet, in your previous post you write "When Souness wasn't sacked I was further slagged by people like you for saying I'd give him nothing in the transfer window, people claiming Souness couldn't be judged until he'd built his own team having destroyed the one Robson built." Having it both ways and playing the martyr! But this is about you and people slagging you off. I have to admit that folks like you who were shouting "Souness out" very early on were right, and I, among others, was wrong. We gave Souness too much of a chance and we're paying for it now. That said, I don't remember the people who were willing to give Souness time to build a club being the one's who were slagging off other fans-- on the contrary. Any way, someone had to clear out the rot (Robson's rot). Witless Souness just did it with a match, that's all. And now someone has to clear out Souness's rot-- and Roeder is doing a decent job, with little money.

Right and right. Look at Wigan and Jewell. Sidwell is as good as gone. Imagine they'll lose a few more as well. Just waiting until the last day of the season to see who'll pull a Chimbonda.