TRon

Since when was Riise valued at £7m?

That would be enough to have some here on their knees in front of Magnusson. Don't think Sam will be so easy though.

if he goes it definitely won't be on the cheap. Cough up or fuck off basically. Especially if it's West Ham.

i'd agree, when he first went to man u he looked like robocop playing at left back, very very combative, he was dodgy last season but on form i'd take him over any other left back in the premier league so would Rafa Benitez apparently.

Heinze is pure quality, only problem is he doesn't want to come. Unless that's changed we need to be bidding for targets who might actually arrive,

If Bellamy was a "great player" would he really have ended up at West Ham? He was part of a good team under SBR, and had undoubted qualities, but the bone-headed appointment of Souness changed a lot of things to be sure. Still doesn't change the fact that Bellamy is not worth having a two year wank over. Get over it and move on is my advice.

That's the only bit I'm interested in.

£8m for Shorey? Jesus. The longer it takes to sign a few defenders the more I can see these prices creeping up in an already crazy market. As left sided defenders are a rarer breed, if we haven't found one soon I can see us being made to shell out a bomb. The English market is crazily over-priced. With Allardyce's contacts I would have thought he could bring in better value options from abroad. Ideally we'd prefer Prem experience, but there's no point in paying daft prices through desperation.

Don't we have any other left backs at the club other than Babayaro? If we can't get an experienced left back surely it wouldn't be too hard to pick up a promising understudy?

Not surprised. Man U are asking for £6m for Smith and £10m for Rossi. For anything less than £5m, we'd be better off keeping him here. £4m doesn't buy you a championship player these days.

Well maybe they are just saying that Bellamy was a decent player but not a fantastic one? It's not so "staggering" really, most people have come to the same conclusion after a while! I get your point...that Fat fred was a step up from the fossils that preceded him. Once we move beyond time warp factor though, don't mention Bellamy in the same breath as Gascoigne or Beardsley or you'll just end up looking like a ewe in heat on a Welsh sheep farm. There is no comparison. I would not mention Bellamy in the same breath as Gazza and Beardsley and neither would I mention Shepherd and Hall, NUFC's league positions, and qualifications for europe between the years 1992-2007 in the same breath either in comparison to the clubs "achivements" between the late 1950's and 1992, the directors, and qualification for europe either. Unlike MICK, who thinks it is all "just the same" You can carry on making things up or presuming things if you like. It is pretty normal for some people to do this, it would seem. What about the board in 1927? I think you missed that part and how it was linked to Bellamy being a good lad and a mediocre finisher. Care to elaborate? What about the board in 1927 ? Re Bellamy, if you are one of those who can't judge footballers and so resort to Championship manager type statistics, thats your misfortune. Even more so if you think being a nice lad is relevant to being a good footballer too. It will be interesting to see how people react to barton when he starts opening his mouth. I tell you something though, I expect those such as yourself who say there is no room at the club for such personalities to be pretty quiet though. Hypocrisy, and bad judgement if ever you saw it. Actually I prefer mouthy players to nice lads like Rob Lee. If you have actually read anything I've been saying, then it might register. For the record: Bellamy is a good player with good attributes, but not a natural finisher which is a big weakness for a forward in my book. The reason I mentioned Beardsley and Gascoigne (hardly a role model either!) was because they had immaculate end product. Whether it was a killer pass, a well judged free kick or a smooth finish, they invariably produced when it mattered. Players like these are worth fretting over. If you want to have a w*** over the likes of Bellamy, which you have done for the past two years, then it says more about your judgement of a footballer than mine.

Well maybe they are just saying that Bellamy was a decent player but not a fantastic one? It's not so "staggering" really, most people have come to the same conclusion after a while! I get your point...that Fat fred was a step up from the fossils that preceded him. Once we move beyond time warp factor though, don't mention Bellamy in the same breath as Gascoigne or Beardsley or you'll just end up looking like a ewe in heat on a Welsh sheep farm. There is no comparison. I would not mention Bellamy in the same breath as Gazza and Beardsley and neither would I mention Shepherd and Hall, NUFC's league positions, and qualifications for europe between the years 1992-2007 in the same breath either in comparison to the clubs "achivements" between the late 1950's and 1992, the directors, and qualification for europe either. Unlike MICK, who thinks it is all "just the same" You can carry on making things up or presuming things if you like. It is pretty normal for some people to do this, it would seem. What about the board in 1927? I think you missed that part and how it was linked to Bellamy being a good lad and a mediocre finisher. Care to elaborate?

I have to disagree completely, Bellamy was an excellent player for us. Not just his pace and ability to worry defenders and open up space for others. But the fact that everytime you saw his name on the team sheet you knew you'd have at least one player giving everything to win. He was flawed obviously, with his injuries and his disciplinary problems. But I'll always remember his time here with a lot of fondness, even if he is a bit of a w****** So you disagree on some things, but presumably agree that he wasn't a good finisher. Quite a big flaw for a striker though...

No offence but why should you know at all? Personally I doubt there has been a direct bid. But there were continued rumours about Arsenal's interest right up until recently and there is very rarely this much smoke without fire. So while he may not have rejected a direct bid from Arsenal he has at least put a stop to Arsenal's interest in him. Something I don't think Owen would have done. Well only an official £13m bid will trigger the release clause. I haven't heard that one has been made, if you know different then please tell.

Well maybe they are just saying that Bellamy was a decent player but not a fantastic one? It's not so "staggering" really, most people have come to the same conclusion after a while! I get your point...that Fat fred was a step up from the fossils that preceded him. Once we move beyond time warp factor though, don't mention Bellamy in the same breath as Gascoigne or Beardsley or you'll just end up looking like a ewe in heat on a Welsh sheep farm. There is no comparison.

Martins hasn't rejected a £13m bid because there hasn't been one made as far as I know. Sounds similar to Li'l Mikey's retrospective pledge of loyalty, but, likewise, welcome nonetheless.

FYI Bellamy was got rid of by Souness (Manager) and Shearer (Captain) under Shepherd (Chairman). Only a fat-headed pig could attribute this to 'fickle fans' while failing to call Shepherd to account for sacking SBH for finishing 5th. FYI I'm quite aware who was behind the departure of Bellamy. I suggest you learn to read properly, then come back and understand I am referring to fickle supporters who turned against a player who gave everything for the club, after supporting him when he was here and playing a major part in us shooting up the league from a mid table place into the top 4, simply because he was sold on the wishes of a pig headed manager, that they mysteriously backed with this sale. Once Shepherd's own appointed manager and captain had decided Bellamy had to go, what is it you expected board members here to do exactly? If he was a Beardsley or Gascoigne perhaps we would have wept with frustration like you, but he wasn't. He was bellamy; a player who could cause opposing teams problems, but wasn't really a finisher. Even so, most would have been happy for him to stay, but Shepherd and his own personally selected management team decided otherwise. Now tell me again; who got rid of your hero Bellamy?

with an arse that size Shep could be in trouble then. No wonder he's fast-tracking for the exit.

Whichever way you read it, Sam is clearly concerned that getting those defenders is becoming more difficult as the days go by. We don't want to be in a position where we are chasing players as transfer deadline day approaches - more than likely players who weren't first choice targets to begin with.

FYI Bellamy was got rid of by Souness (Manager) and Shearer (Captain) under Shepherd (Chairman). Only a fat-headed pig could attribute this to 'fickle fans' while failing to call Shepherd to account for sacking SBH for finishing 5th.

Clear as a bell. "We need good solid defenders NOT superstars to sell shirts" That's how I read it. What has been impressive about Sam Allardyce is his pursuit of targets who he has identified early on. Some have come off, some haven't, like Beye and Haim but Allardyce's clarity in knowing what he needs is so refreshing. Great job so far

When we bought Bumsong, there were LOTS of people on message boards telling people how good he was - and I mean LOTS. Of course, it may have been on the basis that he was a foreigner and cost a lot of money - ala Luque - but that is true. When Souness was appointed, there were people on message boards telling people he was "a top boss." - and I mean "TOP". Was there now ? I remember an accountant backing his financial ruin of the club from the day he came until the day he left ? I remember a chairman doing similar. STILL hasn't sunk in, has it? No Gemma, I still think it hasn't sunk in with you yet, that unfortunately qualifying regularly for europe - more than everybody bar 4 clubs - is hardly a disaster. Congratulations on forecasting the financial success that Souness turned out to be, you're a credit to your profession mate. mackems.gif Not to mention the fact that you still don't understand the significance of backing managers, as against clubs that do not. A bit difficult to understand this one, particularly as you have seen the results of having a board at NUFC who don't back managers - or so you say anyway. NE5 - Fat Fred's Message Board Minder doing a grand job as usual. Backing a gormless prick like Souness after wrongly appointing him "was the fault of the 1970's board..blah..blah..dribble"

Juventus was tipped to land him. If he was from Eastern Europe we might have a chance, but an Italian will want to stay in Italy or Spain IMO.

Chronicle feelgood story tbh. If he's rated so highly would think he'd be looking for better options than us at the moment. Still, it looks good on the back page. Yawn.

ok Puyol's not a LB but seeing as this isn't realistic we could have him anyway...