TRon

who's fault is that? Noone's, we don't have the right to know imo. In that case why put out the word that the offers were too low?

In fairness, he's hardly saying he's going to walk straight back into the team is he? I think some of this outrage needs to be chanelled at the prospect of Butt getting another contract rather than Smith who's still 6 weeks away.

who's fault is that?

Owen will keep stringing Joe along and Joe will keep blabbing how certain he is he can get a deal done, but nothing will happen until Owen sees if he can get an offer from one of the better placed clubs. As for Butt, I can't see how the powers that be will be prepared to offer him another contract if they are stalling over Owen's. Butt must be one of the bigger earners at the club and at his age should not be offered another big pay day.

Like I said in the NUSC thread, I would like to know what price Ashley is willing to sell at. Obviously no one is prepared to pay £280-300million suggested by Keith Harris, but seeing that Ashley himself has only paid around £240m there was surely some leeway for lowering the price to encourage a sale? Is he desperate to sell or not? If he intends to keep the club he has to invest in it properly otherwise he risks doing irreperable damage and there will be hell on if he's seen to be milking the club while it limps along on the cheap. I think we need some clarification as to Ashley's intentions.

An exodus of which players exactly? Owen is probably leaving in any case, other than that who is there to get that worked up about? Well nothing to really get worked up about but if I was currently in the team I'd be wondering how the future is going to pan out here. Everythings just so short term at the moment. I just hope we don't have to replace players too much, I'd rather just add to this tiny squad. Obviously theres some players I'd love to see the back of but we don't really have much choice but to keep them right now.. I'm not specifically talking about who leaves, rather how many could leave thats all. i think most of the over-paid, under-achieving wasters on our books are sweating over getting new deals rather than walking away tbh. Owen and Given are the only ones who might get a better club, the rest can fuck off tomorrow as far as I'm concerned.

The problem with changing managers on a regular basis is that every new man ends up giving big name wasters like Smith and Duff too many games before the penny drops that they are woeful. Hopefully the form of Owen, Martins and Viduka will mean Smith won't get a sniff by the time he is fit.

An exodus of which players exactly? Owen is probably leaving in any case, other than that who is there to get that worked up about?

If Mike Ashley is still trying to sell the club, there's no way in Hell he will make big money signings. Sell to buy is the way it will be, I would imagine there will be more Guthrie/Bassong deals in the pipeline if we do make any moves in the transfer market. Alternatively, if there isn't a buyer anywhere to be found, he'll win a good portion of the fanbase over if he does plough some money in - because let's face it, a lot of supporters are as fickle as feck. As it stands, the situation is untenable and something needs to be done to remedy it if a sale is not forthcoming. I think we are at a crossroads as far as selling the club goes, and Kinnear's appointment till the end of a season gives us some breathing space. By the start of next year, either Ashley will drop the price of the club or decide to stay on. Either way I would expect a proper managerial appointment next season. At this current time I don't really see what could have been done differently as far as JK goes. My only gripe is that the price of the club should have been dropped earlier for a sale to go through, but that's another subject.

If Mike Ashley is still trying to sell the club, there's no way in Hell he will make big money signings. Sell to buy is the way it will be, I would imagine there will be more Guthrie/Bassong deals in the pipeline if we do make any moves in the transfer market.

I am changing my prediction from the earlier 1-1 to a 2-1 away win. It's just one of those occasions when everything is falling into place at the right time.

A sensible view assuming the club is still for sale and the buyers haven't pulled out which is a different issue. Unfortunately we can't force anyone to buy the club quickly so a new manager can be appointed, so this is the best alternative as things stand. By all means everyone carry on lamenting though, why let the facts get in the way of a good whinge?

Not necessarily, even if the sale goes through after the new year it makes sense to give JK a contract till the end of the season to provide some stability. New owners could leave him in charge till the end of the season or pay him off if they want to bring someone in straight away.

At least that's a coherent argument which I agree with to some extent. I just feel that Shola provides a battering ram alternative which could be useful in a squad if he's not costing a lot in wages. The only similar player we have is Carroll and I'm not sure he's as effective at the moment anyway.

Has it been confirmed that Duff is definitely out? I don't want to build up my hopes only have my world come crashing down

By the same token, which self-respecting club would be renewing Butt's contract and putting him first name on the team sheet? Or buying Liverpool reserves and putting them straight into their first team? All that is being suggested is that Shola be given a contract so he can be a RESERVE target man. We can still spend £20m on a first team striker by all means. Great argument: we're already the laughing stock of the Premiership, so we might as well continue to make ridiculous decisions.. The bit you bolded was in fact your argument. I've bolded the correct bit that was relevant to my view.

Back then he was there first choice left back he has played quite a few games in CM, so he himself may want to leave & Blackburn may not regard as highly anymore. Plus Blackburn are on a downward spiral which means players are far harder to keep happy at the club. Warnock might be able to push for a move if the mood in the camp is not good.

By the same token, which self-respecting club would be renewing Butt's contract and putting him first name on the team sheet? Or buying Liverpool reserves and putting them straight into their first team? All that is being suggested is that Shola be given a contract so he can be a RESERVE target man. We can still spend £20m on a first team striker by all means.

From what I've seen he does nothing on the touchline anyway, so if he's barred from the dugout it will hardly make any difference. He only seems to have any input at half time and he can still do that.

They cost money, who knows how much is going to be made available, either with Ashley here or any potential new owners. If there was money to replace Shola and the other players who's contracts are running out, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Agree 100%, and until we know there is any money available we can't afford to get rid of players as we might not be able to replace them. The two of you are off your head. The last thing we should be doing if money is thight (which would be a disgrace, but that's another matter) is handing out contract extension to players who have proven themselves over years and years to not be good enough.. If we apply that logic to our club we would end up with a squad of about 6 players. Exactly. Yes in a perfect world we would get rid of shola, but unless we are in a position to actually bring in a player to replace him with we should keep him on for an extra year at least. Ofcourse Ranger and other youngesters should be given their chance, but what happens if they're aren't any good? NE5 has a point you know. A club of our size owes it to itself and us supporters to have a level of ambition that matches the club's stature. Over the past few seasons not only our results have dwindled, but it now seems our expectations are also getting significantly lower. I don't think that is acceptable. The owner, whether it was Shepherd, Ashley or a new man needs to be prepared to fund continuous improvement. If they aren't, we will fall further behind, because the competition certainly IS investing and improving. For me, it would be another sign of lowered ambition if we offered a below par player a new contract. If that's the best the owner can offer the club they are really letting us down and deserve to be hounded out. I agree with that, but then like i said, if we apply that logic, how many of our current squad deserve a contract?

Maybe I'm being a bit harsh, but despite the fact we've scored in most matches, we don't actually have a lot of goals in our team. Owen and Martins yes, but the midfielders contribute very few so we are relying on our front pair an awful lot. I felt a lot more optimistic when we had Owen, Viduka and Martins in tandem. Then it didn't really matter if the midfield all sat back.

I'll be really surprised if we get anything more than a draw out of this. If Viduka was starting I'd be more hopeful, otherwise we may continue to struggle for goals. 1-1

They cost money, who knows how much is going to be made available, either with Ashley here or any potential new owners. If there was money to replace Shola and the other players who's contracts are running out, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Agree 100%, and until we know there is any money available we can't afford to get rid of players as we might not be able to replace them. The two of you are off your head. The last thing we should be doing if money is thight (which would be a disgrace, but that's another matter) is handing out contract extension to players who have proven themselves over years and years to not be good enough.. If we apply that logic to our club we would end up with a squad of about 6 players.

None of the established stars would stay, other than over the hill players like Butt, Smith, Duff and Geremi. They aren't going to get better deals elsewhere. The thought of Barton staying out of loyalty makes me laugh. Any quality player who can find a decent premier alternative would jump ship. On the plus side we don't have many of those players so most will probably stay

Done.