TRon

Same here. I always thought bringing Duff in was unnecessary, the sooner he's off the wage bill the better.

We haven't signed him because Keegan's being a t*** and dragging his feet so he can get the experienced Premiership players he wants instead. He's better than Crouch already but if he goes on to be a top player over the next few years and we're left with Crouch doing the f***ing robot then Keegan can f*** off. Am I reading this right? You want the club to sign players the manager doesn't want? I'd rather the club went with Vetere's opinion rather than signing w*** like Crouch, Kapo and Riise yes. Same here. Keegan isn't bad in the transfer market but he's never going to do what Wenger does - he's usually wanting established stars and that's a limitation in many ways. No way should the club be buying players the manager doesn't want. It's just madness. Unless you have a really pliable manager who's willing to have his team chosen for him it's just not going to work. The manager wont pick the player, the player will get pissed off, and we'll just end up having to sell him off on the cheap after paying his wages for doing nothing. Either that or get a new manager every year. It depends whose money is going to be spent on older, established stars who will be worth nowt in 3 years time. Keegan will collect his final pay cheque and wave goodbye, the club/Ashley will have to foot the bill to buy replacements. So unless KK wants to stump up £50m himself, I don't think he can complain if the club wants to buy up and coming players who will hold their value. To spend recklessly with a "who cares, I'm only here for 3 years " attitude would be madness.

It's about doing your "homework" and having some idea of what a player is worth. Luque is on record as saying he didn't want to come so he asked for daft wages and nearly fell off his chair when Freddie said yes without any hesitation. That's something I would hope we don't see again, don't know about you.

Keegan's never been one to build for the future which is understandable from his point of view. But we'll still be here in 3 years time so I'm with the long term vision of Ashley/Vetere on this one. I hope KK sees sense.

I'm interested in this "homework" and what it is exactly, please give a bit more detail about what more the club should have done that would have stopped us buying Duff. It wasn't just Duff, in fact I was referring to other players as well, one of which you mentioned, such as Luque. If you think our homework was done there maybe you can fill us in on the details of that one. Or Steve Carr for that matter. As for Duff, do you think he just suddenly started playing s*** once he crossed the M1? I can't answer your question, as I don't know what the homework involves. Does it involve looking into crystal balls which tell you when a player is going to get a serious knee injury? No it involves calling Luque's agent asking how much he wants and agreeing to the first daft figure which is demanded.

We haven't signed him because Keegan's being a t*** and dragging his feet so he can get the experienced Premiership players he wants instead. He's better than Crouch already but if he goes on to be a top player over the next few years and we're left with Crouch doing the f***ing robot then Keegan can f*** off. Am I reading this right? You want the club to sign players the manager doesn't want? I'd rather the club went with Vetere's opinion rather than signing wank like Crouch, Kapo and Riise yes. Same here. Keegan isn't bad in the transfer market but he's never going to do what Wenger does - he's usually wanting established stars and that's a limitation in many ways. By going for 27 year olds you're getting yourself into a position where you will always have to buy players because others will be on the way down, with a bright young squad there will be times when you won't be desperate to strengthen so you can go out and spend all of the transfer budget on one position if you wish, instead of signing a few £6 million players to cover several positions as you're desperate to replace others. It's a case of getting the balance right. One or two established players in key positions is fine, but a young squad with legs and their best years ahead of them is the right way to go. My concern is that Keegan isn't one for knowing the worldwide market and he should be using the expertise of Vetere who knows that job better.

We haven't signed him because Keegan's being a t*** and dragging his feet so he can get the experienced Premiership players he wants instead. He's better than Crouch already but if he goes on to be a top player over the next few years and we're left with Crouch doing the f***ing robot then Keegan can f*** off. Am I reading this right? You want the club to sign players the manager doesn't want? I'd rather the club went with Vetere's opinion rather than signing wank like Crouch, Kapo and Riise yes. Same here. Keegan isn't bad in the transfer market but he's never going to do what Wenger does - he's usually wanting established stars and that's a limitation in many ways.

I'm interested in this "homework" and what it is exactly, please give a bit more detail about what more the club should have done that would have stopped us buying Duff. It wasn't just Duff, in fact I was referring to other players as well, one of which you mentioned, such as Luque. If you think our homework was done there maybe you can fill us in on the details of that one. Or Steve Carr for that matter. As for Duff, do you think he just suddenly started playing shit once he crossed the M1?

I think Hughes should stay. Or maybe go.

How do you know this hasn't already happened? I'm hoping Keane is blind and will give us £6m for him.

Bent is a different type of target man, offering more power and pace which is what I usually prefer. In Crouch's favour, he probably holds the ball up better and is cleverer with his link play. Both would be good additions to the squad seeing as we are currently relying on Fatty Viduka being fit which he never is.

so we cant strengthen the squad in case it upsets 1 player ? What I said was that we have to make sure that we DO strengthen. It's detrimental buying a worse player and giving him the first team slot, especially if the player in possession of the shirt has been playing well which Zog had at the time. at the time i wouldn't have said duff was a worse player. we had n'zogbia mainly left,milner right and little else. then we had the chance to get duff a quality international who can play on both sides. it hasn't worked out but at the time it was a no brainer. just maybe duff got his place due to n'zogbias attitude. Agreed that on the surface, Duff looked a good signing at the time, other than we already had someone on fire in that position. Moving on though, we need to do our homework properly on the next left winger to come in. I don't think we did that with Duff. We saw a big name and assumed everything would be fine. think we need to be doing that for players in any position don't we? not just left wing...! but i know what you mean, was bought by roeder but it might as well have been souness eh? "proper" player who is in fact shit...if it was souness we'd have paid 10m though I'd like to think we'd be doing our homework with a new regime in place, we certainly weren't previously. Time will tell.

Crouch is not that great in the air but being the height that he is, he is still more than adequate when dealing in aerial matters. His skill is with the ball at his feet. His physical size allows him to hold the ball up well and he is excellent at linking up play. For me he is certainly an improvement on Viduka. If we can replace first team players from this season with a better player in any position then I am all for it. Fair enough. Darren Bent would be a decent alternative.

so we cant strengthen the squad in case it upsets 1 player ? What I said was that we have to make sure that we DO strengthen. It's detrimental buying a worse player and giving him the first team slot, especially if the player in possession of the shirt has been playing well which Zog had at the time. at the time i wouldn't have said duff was a worse player. we had n'zogbia mainly left,milner right and little else. then we had the chance to get duff a quality international who can play on both sides. it hasn't worked out but at the time it was a no brainer. just maybe duff got his place due to n'zogbias attitude. Agreed that on the surface, Duff looked a good signing at the time, other than we already had someone on fire in that position. Moving on though, we need to do our homework properly on the next left winger to come in. I don't think we did that with Duff. We saw a big name and assumed everything would be fine.

Crouch always strikes me as a bit of pillock being led by the nose by his WAG. But then so is Beckham so maybe we should put that to one side. Football-wise, it's been established that Crouch is mediocre in the air, which for a tall bloke, like Ameobi, is a bit condemning. So what does he bring as a target man? Is he strong enough to boss defenders? Is he strong enough to hold the ball up? I haven't really watched him closely, but if he's got those attributes he could do a job because he does score goals.

so we cant strengthen the squad in case it upsets 1 player ? What I said was that we have to make sure that we DO strengthen. It's detrimental buying a worse player and giving him the first team slot, especially if the player in possession of the shirt has been playing well which Zog had at the time.

I think quite a few people expressed their concern that that is exactly what would happen.

didn't need him ? an experienced quality (he was at the time of signing) international who can play on both wings in theses squad days. If he was bought as a squad player to fight for the shirt that would have been fair enough. In reality Roeder was too weak to drop senior players and Duff became an automatic choice even though his performances on the pitch were powder puff to say the least. and when n'zogbia played there that season he was worse...whats a manager to do ? Before Duff came N'Zogbia had been on fire. Zog doesn't take kindly to playing second fiddle, which isn't a great attitude, so it was (and is now) imperative that we buy someone as good as or better to compete. Otherwise if it ain't broke don't fix it.

Hughes has done ok but beyond the hype, I'm not sure he's cut out for a top team. Who's to say he won't turn out another Allardyce?

didn't need him ? an experienced quality (he was at the time of signing) international who can play on both wings in theses squad days. If he was bought as a squad player to fight for the shirt that would have been fair enough. In reality Roeder was too weak to drop senior players and Duff became an automatic choice even though his performances on the pitch were powder puff to say the least.

The only problem I have with our current scouting/purchasing setup is that none of them know this area so how the hell do they sell the club to a foreigner who probably hasn't got a clue what it's like? They may visit the club but they'll probably only see what is on the route from the airport and possibly a quick trip into the city centre. Maybe...just maybe, these players will have heard of Newcastle United before and recognise some of the names associated with the club and already be sold on the club to a tiny extent? I would imagine Keegan, Shearer, Owen, Viduka are pretty familiar names. The Serb underworld might even have heard of Joey Barton for all we know.

Apparently it's "arrogant" to think the same as this guy who is clearly a decent hack even if it's The Sun. amazing. A southern journo praising the club. How many people get their knickers in a twist when they slate the club and respond by saying how much bigger and better we are than they [these tossers] think ? Make your mind up time beckons, and don't bother asking Jimmy Greaves how he thinks we've always been a small club Who mentioned Martin Samuel ? Well if a southern journo thinks Redknapp should have left Pempey for Newcastle because "it's no ordinairy club" maybe the idea that Newcastle are still a big draw isn't bollocks after all? Mind we shouldn't need these fuckers to tell us it. I genuinely hope you're both right, and I suppose the proof will be in the pudding soon enough. I don't think anything is going to get proved either way. There will be some players who would go to Pompey because they are currently doing well, there will also be plenty of high quality players who will relish the idea of a big stage like St James. In the entertainment arena the bigger the stage the bigger the attraction for leading stars. We aren't Man U or Real Madrid, but then Portsmouth aren't Spurs or Newcastle although short term they are doing better on the pitch.

Apparently it's "arrogant" to think the same as this guy who is clearly a decent hack even if it's The Sun. amazing. A southern journo praising the club. How many people get their knickers in a twist when they slate the club and respond by saying how much bigger and better we are than they [these tossers] think ? Make your mind up time beckons, and don't bother asking Jimmy Greaves how he thinks we've always been a small club Who mentioned Martin Samuel ? Well if a southern journo thinks Redknapp should have left Pempey for Newcastle because "it's no ordinairy club" maybe the idea that Newcastle are still a big draw isn't bollocks after all? Mind we shouldn't need these fuckers to tell us it.

It seems even some southern writers think more of our club than some fans . From Steve Howard when 'arry was linked to Newcastle: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/sunsport_columnists/article674951.ece Apparently it's "arrogant" to think the same as this guy who is clearly a decent hack even if it's The Sun.

Anyone who thinks this is a ragbag club with an over the hill manager should probably join Crouch at Portsmouth. There's a nice lttle club with shed for a ground that can easily accomodate a few more supporters. Plus they've got a jowelly faced cunt for a manager whose wife tells him where he can work I believe in my club, but the people saying only a mug would choose Pompey over us are deluded, tbh. Aye, especially when their posts are less than accurate when it comes to facts... what facts are those Not referring to you, mate. Hence why you weren't in that quote list. TRon's "25,000" comment when their ground only holds 20,000 and when he says they've got plenty of empty seats when I'm fairly sure I remember their ticket uptake for each game being right up there with us, not to mention the fact that they're desperate to build a new stadium to fulfill ticket demands. he's not too far out though, pompey is a canny little town and the supporters are quite good, but they [and Southampton] aren't that substantial in numbers to sustain being a top club. Without serious cash injections they will possibly bomb when Redknapp calls it a day. Building a new stadium will be nice but so far as numbers go I don't see any point in them building a stadium bigger than about 35000 at the most, and thats being generous. Crouch, being British, will know this. The only way he would prefer pompey to us IMO is because he's played for Redknapp before. None of that changes the fact that what he posted was essentially bollocks, like, even if it fits your agenda. That aside, I do hope we're still capable of attracting players like Crouch here ahead of clubs like Portsmouth, and I certainly don't buy into the thought that there's "no chance" a player would ever come here now ahead of their like (Villa, Spurs, Everton, etc.) even if all things were equal (wages, transfer fees, etc.) I just think for Crouch, personally, we'd be behind Pompey if it came to the crunch. On top of Redknapp, they've just won the FA Cup, finished top 8 and are in the UEFA Cup and they might be able to offer more wages than us these days, rightly or wrongly. How do you come to the conclusion it's bollocks? I sincerely believe that good English players would prefer us over Pompey despite their recent success. There are good reasons for believing it despite the fact I said their piddly little ground holds 25,000 instead of 20,000. That's missing the point. It might be that Gaydamak might offer more money as a sweetener, but all things being equal I don't see why a player wouldn't thill to the idea of being in a Newcastle team led by the legendary Kevin Keegan rather than Droop Doggy Dogg. Portsmouth have done well but they are like Blackburn under Jack Walker. A small club punching above their weight at the moment, but it will only last as long as their chairman keeps ploughing in the cash. One iffy season and how long will that continue? How can you argue that stating they "can't even fill a 25,000 stadium" (sic) when their capacity is only 20,000 isn't bollocks? Or that you intimating that they have loads of empty seats, when they have an average PL attendance of upwards of 96% of their capacity isn't bollocks? That was what that bit was all about, putting the arrogance of your tone aside... But I'm not arguing over whether their stadium is 20,000 or 25,000 capacity. It was a rough guess which isn't really the gist of my point in any case so if you want to call it bollocks fine, it's bollocks about small detail. I won't be too disappointed if any of those players end up at Pompey because I'm not too keen on any of them tbh. Good luck to them if they go there. Doesn't change the fact that when he was interviewed for the job at Newcastle, it was generally regarded as Redknapp's last shot at a big club. It wasn't me reporting it that way at the time. Maybe they were all talking bollocks as well.