TRon

He does have a point though, we do tend to buy high and sell low. There are plenty of tits on this board who would happily blow their load at getting 500k - would probably agonise their tortured souls to see Dyer valued at anything like £6m tbh.

The "moving for family reasons" line is only part of it. For me, using this excuse would be unforgiveable in most cases and I'd want him out of the club ASAP. In Dyer's case though, I think he has been subjected to far more abuse and hatred than warranted which has been reflected on these boards over the last couple of years ( see post above for prime example) so I don't blame him for wanting to leave. Even so, Allardyce is right. We WON'T allow other clubs to nick our players on the cheap, and anything less than £5m would be a travesty. If we don't get the right money then Dyer will have to stay and get on with his job which he is well paid for.

that can be looked at in oh so many ways! Have any of those clubs bar Spurs, bought anyone who would really have wanted though? Portsmouth got Distin but he was past the post by the time Allardyce got here. The reason he isn't here has more to do with past failings than present. That's not really the point though is it? I don't think anyone is expecting Sunderland and Fulham to bring in the sort of players we have in the past. In the past we were playing in Europe not struggling in mid-table. It's a bit unrealistic to expect us to compete with Liverpool or even Spurs right now. Remind me again where we came in the league the season before we signed Owen, Luque, Emre, Solano and Parker. Only Owen out of that lot is a top tier player. He came because there were no better options available. Don't think it would be different for any of the others mentioned there either. We were competing with Everton for Emre and Parker, no one for Solano and Luque far as I'm aware. all of them came because there were no better options available,that includes practically every player before and since. Fine. But then people need to factor this into their expectations. No we won't get Heinze ahead of Liverpool for example. No we won't rush to sign Baines just in case Sunderland get him instead. If Allardyce considered Baines good enough he'd be here already. And if he was that good Liverpool would have snapped him up instead of pursuing Heinze IMO.

that can be looked at in oh so many ways! Have any of those clubs bar Spurs, bought anyone who would really have wanted though? Portsmouth got Distin but he was past the post by the time Allardyce got here. The reason he isn't here has more to do with past failings than present. That's not really the point though is it? I don't think anyone is expecting Sunderland and Fulham to bring in the sort of players we have in the past. In the past we were playing in Europe not struggling in mid-table. It's a bit unrealistic to expect us to compete with Liverpool or even Spurs right now. Remind me again where we came in the league the season before we signed Owen, Luque, Emre, Solano and Parker. Only Owen out of that lot is a top tier player. He came because there were no better options available. Don't think it would be different for any of the others mentioned there either. We were competing with Everton for Emre and Parker, no one for Solano and Luque far as I'm aware.

that can be looked at in oh so many ways! Have any of those clubs bar Spurs, bought anyone who would really have wanted though? Portsmouth got Distin but he was past the post by the time Allardyce got here. The reason he isn't here has more to do with past failings than present. That's not really the point though is it? I don't think anyone is expecting Sunderland and Fulham to bring in the sort of players we have in the past. In the past we were playing in Europe not struggling in mid-table. It's a bit unrealistic to expect us to compete with Liverpool or even Spurs right now.

Pigs are fat but apparently quite clever. So I don't want to insult any intelligent party by making comparisons between said mamals and Freddie Shepherd. Let's just hope this is an end to jobs for the boys and future employment decisions are based on merit above all else.

that can be looked at in oh so many ways! Have any of those clubs bar Spurs, bought anyone who would really have wanted though? Portsmouth got Distin but he was past the post by the time Allardyce got here. The reason he isn't here has more to do with past failings than present.

Except Dyer doesn't have a release clause, so happy or unhappy, I see no reason to allow other clubs to take our players on the cheap, especially when we need them. Like I said earlier...cough up or fuck off. It's that simple.

Yes, except so many attacking LB's don't do this. Warren Barton didn't, Beresford didn't, Carr doesn't, Babayaro and Bernard were usually more concerned with events further up the pitch - so personally, I'm not really intersted in full backs who look great going forward only.

Don't know where people are getting this idea that Zog is lightweight. He's filled out a lot in the last two years and is physically bigger than many LB's in the Prem. And twice as hard.

Wouldn't be keen on playing N'Zogbia at LB anyway, but too lightweight for the position? Reckon he'd be a lot more powerful than the majority of LB's in the Premiership. I am pretty sure Zog has all the attributes to be a terrific LB but I don't think he'd put his heart into it. Considering he's unsettled as it is, might not work out, although I agree he's a far better bet than some of the names being bandied about. Would far rather see a real LB brought in and Zog given the left mid role.

looks like another non-story which Oliver pulled out of his arse hat

A tad harsh, I feel. So now we know. Bellamy is posting undercover using the Norwegian-Geordie alias...

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?