TRon

From watching those same two games I'm of the opinion we won't miss him as much as I initially thought. We failed to dominate midfield in both those games and that's because Cabaye and Barton were essentially playing in the same space.

There's nowt wrong with the first offer being a little bit on the low side as long as we're prepared to up the bid. £6.6m isn't the worst bid either. There's still room to up it or up the Pieters bid if neither club takes the bait. It only falls down if we aren't prepared to go all the way and nail down one of the players even on the last day. That would be unacceptable.

Tbh if this bid is genuine I'm hopeful. If only because it looks like we are prepared to pay more to secure the better quality player. I'm sure we could do a cheaper overall deal for Pieters fee and wages all in, so to go for Cissokho who will no doubt command higher wages is a good sign.

I think team spirit might be better once he goes. Not to say he wasn't good previously in that aspect, but the changes to the squad have clearly rankled him and it might be better to build a team spirit around different characters who don't have as much animosity to their employers.

Like a player's reputation ever stopped Alex Ferguson from signing a player. He's not mobile enough for a top club, it's as simple as that.

Total bollocks man. Guthrie cannot do what Barton does. Put in a few tackles in a tight midfield and hit a few passes and miss a few? I don't see why not. If Barton could dribble, run down the line at pace and score goals then I'd agree Guthrie couldn't do it. They are fairly similar other than temperament tbh. In a three man midfield I don't think it will make much difference.

I'm not a fan of Guthrie's but he can more or less replicate what Barton brings to the table. He's slightly less aggressive but how many ball winners do we need in the central area? Cabaye and Tiote are hardly shrinking violets. Put Guthrie alongside those two and he'd do a more than decent job. Personally I think we would be better off playing neither Barton or Guthrie and using Jonas in a wider position giving us a bit more pace and width.

Undoubtedly. and what reasonable explanation can be given for this being the case? I think we need a striker and a quality left back far more than we need Barton. and the explanation that we need to give him away for free in order to bring those players in is? I was just answering the question whether if Barton's sale allowed us to bring Cissokho and Maiga in would I be happy. I assume the money saved would allow us to offer the extra needed to clinch the deals. that's fair enough, i was just asking in what world this should be acceptable. FWIW I still don't think we'll get those two players in but if there's a chance Barton leaving will clinch it I'm all for it.

Undoubtedly. and what reasonable explanation can be given for this being the case? I think we need a striker and a quality left back far more than we need Barton. and the explanation that we need to give him away for free in order to bring those players in is? I was just answering the question whether if Barton's sale allowed us to bring Cissokho and Maiga in would I be happy. I assume the money saved would allow us to offer the extra needed to clinch the deals.

Undoubtedly. and what reasonable explanation can be given for this being the case? I think we need a striker and a quality left back far more than we need Barton.

Undoubtedly.

Why would he? He already knows a big club won't come in. He is perfectly happy here by his own admission, ball is in his court. Why leave for a club like QPR now when he can pick up a bigger signing on fee next summer. He isn't be frozen out here, infact It's clear he is a starter for pardew. Another season playing like last years and a bigger club than QPR will be in for him. which bigger club would that be?

Maybe true, fact still stands that Ashley is paying the debt down. Yep. At least we know the reason why Ashley hasn't invested more money into the squad after selling Carroll. He's taking his money back basically.

I would find a pay raise, long-term contract, and the chance to get far, far away from Mike Ashley and Derek Llambias very attractive. Far away? Doesn't Ashley still live in London? With a 5 year contract on 60k a week I think Joey will be able to live with that.

Agreed. I thought Barton was only going to leave for a CL club? If he's going to QPR it's not for glamour or success that's for sure.

If we were going to sign Barnetta we wouldn't have bought Obertan IMO. We went for the cheaper and short sighted option I'm afraid. Honestly I should start up a twitter account I'd be a lot more insightful than Douglas, the prick.

How can it be a joke when even on a free only clubs like QPR and West Ham are the only ones to show interest? Did you even think this through? Why dont you atleast attempt to consider possible reasons for this beyond "Joey Barton must currently be shit" ? I've given my reasons in this thread and others countless times but they aren't very popular. Generally most people just respond with "are you a WUM" type of replies because they have no better answers.

Emnes isn't a replacement for Carroll, nor is he the forward we should be looking to bring in as the answer to our current striker search. But as a young prospect he's certainly worth keeping an eye on despite Colocho's clueless guffaw of hilarity. He really should stick to French football expertise.

Yeah but Colo is a cracking player and WILL be a miss to us. QFT

How can it be a joke when even on a free only clubs like QPR and West Ham are the only ones to show interest? Did you even think this through?

On that I think we can all agree on.

Why is this even being debated. This is true of every single footballer??? Who gives a fuck. We are giving away a first team player for free a year early for no reason whatsoever. Wake up man. We'll save £3m in wages for one and IMO he won't be missed on the pitch as much as some think. If that £3m means we will be able to get other key players in it will be well worth it. That's a big "if" I admit.

I wouldn't be worried if he did, he's been distinctly average for quite a few games now and his free kicks are crap. Do you think that maybe part of the reason he's been arguably below par (not sure I agree but it's certainly debatable) is because of the way this club's idiot hierarchy have treated him? That perhaps morale is more of a problem than the ability which he showed for large parts of last year? I don't know, was morale a problem for his first 3 years here? What most people seem to forget is that he's been here for 4 years and been good for about half a season. I think he can be a good player when he's really fired up, he can also do idiotic things. Like I said I'd prefer to keep him as a squad player, but he's not a player I'd be gutted to see go. I'd still be disappointed if he did go and we didn't replace him though. I personally think he is a big part of why we have 4 points on the board already. He has worth beyond his "free kicks", he's a leader on the pitch whatever anyone thinks of his behavior past and present and a lot of the players in our team respond to him. That he has done stupid things in the past and not provided value commensurate to what we paid for him in fees and wages is obvious. That he today is worth a lot more than being pushed out the door to bloody QPR is also obvious IMHO. good post. he's only been good for the last year is a pathetic argument for wanting rid of him, if the form was the other way around i could see the logic, otherwise it's idiotic. we simply should not be forcing a first team player out of the club. especially not one who consistently performs well, gives 100%, has a very good recent fitness record, inspires the team and fans and has been important to our good start to the season. oh but we have to pay him wages to play football? ok, give him away and make another team in the league stronger in the process. fucking stupid cunts man. Of the three big name players who have left out of Nolan, Barton (if he goes) and Enrique, only Enrique is the one I'm gutted about. He's the only one who has been wanted by a genuinely big club as well. That says it all IMO.

I know few Liverpool fans on another forum, who are starting to think that Carroll just isn't right for their setup now. They've seen how they play better football without him, though they're still willing to give him time and find a pattern of play with the rest of the team. I had to explain to him that for 1 1/2 seasons Newcastle played almost exclusively to Carroll's strength, and while it wasn't the most attractive football in the world, at least it got the best out of Carroll (and Nolan). Be interesting to see how it develops. I said that when Liverpool signed him in the Parky Liverpool thread.

I think it's purely business.