OzzieMandias

I bet it just turns out a different shade of crap.

The amount of average players on that list is scary. Lescott!

Yep.

The ten biggest transfers involving English players. Nine of the deals involve either Man U or Man City (and, no, Shearer is not the tenth one). http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/the-ten-most-expensive-english-transfers-2056910.html?action=Popup&ino=1

Bobby Charlton isn't a chief executive. I've no idea what his actual job title is, but he's basically in an ambassadorial kind of role. This makes sense because he's got a lot of charm, and because he was such an iconic player for the club he represents. Jackie, by contrast, is no fucking diplomat. And his history with this club is negligible.

So what's a more legible version of that quote? 'There's nothing in it'? Basically.

Really, the delay means that Ashley's judged his position here reasonably well. There obviously aren't a lot of clubs keen to better whatever we've offered. It's taking time because OM and Dassier are doing everything they can think of -- delaying tactics, rumours carefully fed to the press, moving goalposts -- to try and conjure a better offer, or to spook Ashley into upping his one. But Ashley may well be right to hold firm, and we could still get a really good deal here. Why aren't there loads of other clubs chasing an unsettled player with such obvious talent? Because the kid's clearly a trouble-maker and a fucking nutjob. He could work out, he could be a fucking disaster. Posters claiming that there's no risk in spunking a few million on him because if it doesn't work out we could always sell him on for more need to check themselves into the repair shop and get their logic circuits replaced. If it didn't work out we'd have wasted whatever we spent on him. It's clear the money is no longer there for the expensive failures of the past – the Owens or Luques or Vianas. Loan with option to buy is definitely the right way to go, and even if it doesn't happen, I can't blame the club for trying what seems to me to be correct strategy.

"Santa Claus doesn't exist" would be more appropriate. It's clear this would be news to many posters.

I suspect they're trying to gazump us right now.

Well fuck me sideways, I actually agree with Borenaldo.

He's this year's Robinho.

He's going to have to take a pay cut, pretty much anywhere he might go.

Not convinced we'll go down. Not convinced we'll be safe.

Yeah, the club was in a state. We're still here. He's not.

Pretty much my thoughts on the matter. When he 'engineered' his transfer the club was like a fucking disease, still is kinda, and he could only see it going one way. He gave us great service and served us impeccably and I truly believe that he would have been deeply hurt at what he saw was happening at the club, just like us. Who can blame him for walking away? He was one of the Premiership's top 5 keepers so why stay? Especially when it looked like it was only gonna get worse?! One of our best ever keepers if you ask me!! This is what I can't buy into. Some people seem to need to believe it, but there's simply no fucking way him or any other local hero who's ever walked out of here feel "just like us" about the club.

Yeah, Wenger's right. It's a question of coaching, not quotas.

Sounds like Hart had an excellent game today.

Yeah, Marseille. So why the fuck would he fly to Paris? Because there aren't any direct flights between Newcastle and Marseille.

As opposed to Marseille, one of the most dangerous cities in western Europe.

Maybe we can sell them Steve Harper for £25 million.

Nah, he's probably looking for a house near Fulham's training ground.

He didn't "give" anything at all. He was extremely well remunerated for doing his job over ten years. When he decided his own interests were better served by a move elsewhere, he had his lawyer mouth off in the press to try and engineer a move without handing in a transfer request, because that would have meant more money for him. In the middle of a season where we badly needed whatever solidity we could find, he fucked off and left us to our fate. Fuck him. I can't help but enjoy the fact that he's not getting it all his own way at City.

He's obviously a grade-A nutter and Olympic-level difficult bastard. If he signs for us, a lot is going to depend on how well Hughton can handle him.

Four out of twelve Guardian football writers predict us for the drop: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/aug/13/premier-league-new-season-predictions