TRon

He can definitely shoot, I was in the west stand when he volleyed the winner against Leeds at home 2-1 from about 20 yds. SBR was the manager and we went into that game with only Ameobi and Dyer up front against a high flying Leeds at the time. He can tackle as well, but he's no centre back I agree. If we are looking to play him as a centre back or defensive midfielder you might have a point. Is that where you would be looking to deploy him?

No, in fact it's complete sh1te, fuelled by hatred. The only valid point you make is wrt his fitness which I agreed with.

Derby just payed £3.5m for Earnshaw. Transfer fees have gone through the roof recently and wages will go in tandem. Dyer's injury record is the main concern, other than that we should have no problem getting our money back should we want to sell. I am pretty sure that Allardyce will want to keep him here unless we get a daft offer, because he is still a very dangerous player who attacks defences at speed.

Two clueless Welsh tw@ts united. Well done Wales.

The thinking is probably along the lines that 30 yrs old isn't really that old for a CB. I didn't particularly rate Speed when he was here, but Sam took him to Bolton in his 30's and for Bolton he was perfect. A box to box, high jumping midfielder at his best when the ball is in the air. You can only assume that Sam thinks he will be getting a class CB who he is prepared to wait a few months for, in the meantime the likes of Rozenhal, Taylor and Beye could do the job while Edmilson recovers. As for the 80k, wanting it isn't the same as getting it. I would think the package would have to be right for Newcastle if there is any future in this deal.

I'm pretty sure Ballack can sprint at a fair rate as well tbh.

There's no need to drag someone's dead family into a debate about commitment. That Babyaro is a bit of a waster is not really being disputed in any case.

Drogba; a pacy forward. This thread is all about having one forward with pace. Similar to Drogba's.

Sounds like Man U are trying to be cute and get Owen as a part swap deal. One recovering crock for another. Luckily there is no way the escape clause can be triggered without a solid £9m offer. Any swap deals with disputers over valuations are depending on our consent - which we won't give. So fuck of Fergie and fuck off Smith and take your manky swap offers with you please.

It's not Big Sam is it? hopefully both Carr and Baba will soon be persuaded to leave via the Yellow Prick Road

Don't know what to make of this one. it all depends how serious his injury is. If he's not available to play till January, I'll wait till then to get excited.

If we lose Martins AND Owen yes. I don't think SA is daft, that's why he sounds like he's busting a gut to keep them.

Is Dorothy the agent?

Gudjohnsen, Viduka, Alan Smith and Shola. You might be looking at our strike force for next season right there ... certainly goals in that quartet but we wouldn't really have a potential 20 goal a season guy anymore. Aaaah well. I could live with it. Let's hope it pans out if this is indeed the case! That would be a pretty slow forward line. If Owens and Martins leave we will need an Anelka type player as khyber is saying. Smith would be useless.

11 league goals in 34 games. Against the following opposition. West Ham (A) 1 Reading (H) 1 (pen) Blackburn (A) 2 (one without a goalkeeper in nets) Watford (H) 2 Spurs (H) 1 (even Parker scored against Spurs in this game ) Spurs (A) 1 (even Huntington & Butt scored against Spurs in this game ) Fulham (A) 1 Liverpool (H) 1 (gifted by comedy defending) Sheffield (A) 1 By no means irreplaceable. Especially if they replace Henry with Martins. Utter tosh. Perhaps some of the screamers he scored were because he had switched the ball with a 99p floater...and paid the keeper to dive the wrong way.

In this country he won't get a better club so I would think we are favourites. If he signed for any other British club it would be no big loss as it would show his motivation is lacking.

Big Sam is just...great.

Great how everyone could see Carr and Babayaro as expensive, workshy liabilites except Roeder last season. Yet here is Big Sam politely telling them to piss off as of yesterday. If they loiter about I wouldn't be surprised to see Allardyce round up a lynch mob with pitchforks tbh..

Sam's judgement on which players to boot out immediately with no chance of a respite is just superb.

Would be very easy to put together a team with great build up and linking play but no one to put the ball in the net at the end of it all.

What's funny is that Anal Oliver after bad-mouthing him all season has suddenly started talking of Martins as good value at £13m. The same arsehole who slagged off Allardyce last season and is now kissing his arse royally. You got this one wrong as well you ponce.

Isn't it significant that Allardyce only vent his frustration last week when he learned that Martins had a release clause as well as Owen? Isn't it significant that Viduka is suddenly expressing uncertainty over who will be his strike partner next season? If Owens and Martins leave it will have a severe impact on Viduka's effectiveness. Replacing either of those two won't be easy IMO.

His touch is s***, i won't deny that. But the guy's got talent - he scored 17 goals in his debut season for a s*** English team. Something that is mega different to anything he's ever played in before. He was effectively playing a more offensive position than normal, cos he was the only striker we had. Yet he still put a decent shift in. Movement can be worked on, and that was my major gripe with him, or it was last season as he was a centre-forward, but he was unlike one and was static. But it can be worked on with good teaching. Teaching a striker to move is hardly something that can't be done. And when he establishes causing the defense trouble with running without the ball, he'll come on in leaps and bounds, cos only a miniscule percentage of Premiership defenders can even catch teh b******. Sorting his touch out is down to him, though. We know that it's there, it just needs to be utilised. A good team/good staff will help that. And our staff, at the very least, will be 100% better this season than what it was last. I keep going back to it, but surely Martins would have learned a lot about movement from working with all of those great strikers at Inter. Do you really think that one day when he's 25 or 26, it's just going to click? It already did. Last season if you failed to notice.

Yes. Instead of hitting left foot/right foot screamers into the net, jumping to flash the ball with his head for goal, racing clear with blistering pace, chesting the ball down to hit the ball first time on the half-volley,... he should have laid the ball safely back to Carr to swing a high cross towards the goal...

Why?? He can't pass, control a ball or shoot with finesse. He has pace but doesn't use it wisely, never makes top quality strikers runs in the box and his only real asset is smacking the ball as hard as he can and hoping. Arsene Wenger I salute you.