TRon

Whoosh right? Bentley is ideal. I'd take Larsson over Bentley to be honest. Less Hollywood, but much more effective and professional.. Read somewhere that Birmingham were looking for possible replacements for Larsson who hasn't signed a new contract. That's who we'll go for IMO.

He's not slow at all, he's not lightning but his vision and crossing ability makes up for it. He's a much more useful winger then Routledge & Jonas put together. He's the exact opposite of those two in that he doesn't dribble much but he's quite intelligent in his use of the ball and has end product. I just can't see Ashley paying the sort of fee or wages he'd command so don't believe this is genuine.

i wouldn't exactly complain Larrson's out of contract this year and he wouldn't command the wages Bentley does. Plus we've been trying to get him from a long time back.

Would love him but I think this is a smokescreen. We might well end up with Larsson from Birmingham instead.

I never really thought we were in trouble but the Carroll injury just before we play two relegation rivals has alarm bells ringing. If we don't win at least one of those the confidence in the squad will drop through the floor.

Everton won't go down.

(obviously they were for the arsenal goal.....) I did a double take at first, I have to admit.

If Nolan is playing off Ameobi I don't think we'll see much different, but it's an opportunity for Pardew to show his flexibility.

I've missed these statements. Where can I find them? Various interviews given at press conferences.

Neither am I, I didn't think much of him before he came here but he's our manager now so I want him to do well. The fact is, the timing of his appointment means he has to hit the ground running, we can't afford to go through a slow learning process. All this will have been obvious when the decision was made to sack Hughton so it's hardly the supporters fault if we need results sooner rather than later.

I would have thought a left back and a forward were higher on the list.

Maybe I'm just paranoid but when you make statements like we gave away the goal because we "put the ball at risk" it rings alarm bells. Football is played from the back and that involves a certain amount of putting the ball at risk. I never followed Pardew's teams closely though so you might well be right. I hope s.

naturally when we have no midfielders making any sort of movement and we are lauding barton for hoofing it the most. Barton has been putting in intelligent crosses from wide right when he's played there. Also while it's been hit and miss, we have played some good football at times this season with these same players. Playing two strikers would help in that regard IMO.

classic case of young player due a break- see my post up there^ Yeah I agree with that 100%. On to the game, I think we'll do well to get anything out of this one. Before the Carroll news I was confident but the prospect of Nolan playing off Shola is just depressing.

I'm just surprised Pardew hasn't had more of an impact on our style. Maybe it's early days but his public statements do seem to suggest that with the players we've got hoofing the ball up to Carroll is the best option.

While I've been a big supporter of Krul early on, these days he doesn't even seem to trust his own judgement. He no longer comes out and claims crosses after missing a couple and a spell out will do him good to recover some confidence away from the limelight.

Supermac is having a go at Pardew's long ball tactics. He talks a lot of shite at times but can't argue with much here.

There was just no chemistry - they should have scored at least four between them. The only reason I mentioned the two being a disappointment was I actually thought they might work well together but on the occasion I saw them together they didn't gel so well. Can't be arsed searching for when that post was, but if they did so well in the cup game I'm surprised more people haven't put them forward as an option for Sunday.

Yet you'd take a much older Beckham? Beckham is a proven professional that has a desire for football, who's talent is based around technical ability. Almost the complete opposite of Michael Owen. He's also a 35 year old winger. So it's a yes to a guy who's best years are behind him, but no to Keane because his best years are behind him Don't see a massive difference tbh. Beckham is 35 but provides quality delivery. Keane is going downhill but still has a finishers instinct. Both are relying on others (Carroll) to justify their demand.

Which is why I said it's a long shot at best. But the clubs willing to take him on a permanent deal aren't likely to pay what Spurs or Keane want either. Birmingham, Villa or West Ham aren't exactly flush with cash to throw around these days.

I thought that previously but I'm sure they started a game together earlier this season and had no chemistry whatsoever. Ranger hasn't started a PL game yet. Might have been a cup game.

Interesting to read that Larsson is out of contract at the end of the season. We could probably get him at a knock down price and if Birmingham are looking at Bentley on loan that would suggest they are preparing to let him go.

I can't imagine any sort of deal that wouldn't fly in the face of Ashley's transfer policy other than a loan deal which Spurs probably won't accept. Long shot IMO.

It's a reasonable concern. That's why a loan would make most sense, but says that's definitely not happening. But is it? A squad needs balance to it. You need the right mix behind youth and ability, and experience and quality. We can't build a team of Andy Carrolls and Tim Kruls, but at the same time we can't build a team of Jose Enriques and Cheik Tiotes, nor a team of Kevin Nolans and Robbie Keanes. Put them all together and we've got a good mix of a squad. Putting Keane in the same bracket as Smith, Geremi and Owen just isn't fair IMO. He's better than that. And he gives us proper PL experience in a position that we need. He'd compliment Carroll brilliantly too. Having pace in certain areas is also part of getting the right blend. None of our current forwards have it and I agree with Pardew that it's what we need. Adding Keane to the Nolan's and Shola's isn't going to give you that. It depends what the alternatives are at the end of the day.

I'm not fussed either way. He's definitely a quality finisher but whether he'd be right for us with our already slow side is debatable. We've been down this route before with Owen and Viduka. Worth a shot on loan if we can get the right deal.