tmonkey

We were mugged, raped, cut up into little pieces, half eaten, burnt to ashes and then pissed on with that injury. If that injury had not happened, I think the minimum we would have finished in the Premiership in between 1997 and 2004 would have been 4th. We were robbed of one of the best strikers in the world after one season, someone who we clearly meant to build the team around. The resulting player was still a consistently good forward, but that extra bit of pace and mobility that meant he frequently got ahead of whoever was marking him had gone. Its also annoying to think what might have been without that injury with respect to John Dahl Tomasson too. That injury effectively ended Tomasson's career with us, as he was neither ready nor suited to playing as our main striker that season. I think alot of our fans dont appreciate just how good a player he went on to be, granted he never set the world alight but he turned out to be a good playmaker, a very intelligent forward all round, and a real goal threat from deep at the top levels. Would have been an excellent foil for a Shearer in his prime, and although that combination might not have been as spectacular or gifted as for example Bergkamp/Henry, it would probably have been more effective in the Premiership imo. Both players would have been like slippery soap off the ball and lethal once on it. But thats why its a squad game now. None of the top teams today are built around one player solely to the extent that if that player is out injured or suffers a permanent dip in form/class/etc then they wont turn into crap overnight. We should never have let the situation get to that, but for whatever reason, we did, and the fall has been painful to say the least.

I think with any transfer policy, there'll be permissible exceptions, on top of us possibly misunderstanding the new policies in the first place. For example, when Keegan was referring to South Americans and the associated culture shock they have when moving to here, I interpreted that as him referring to South Americans based in South America, as opposed to those playing in Europe - which to me makes more sense, because e.g. on paper there should be little difference in terms of "culture shock" between signing a Russia/Germany/France and signing a South American playing in Russia/Germany/France for the past 5 years. Also, I would've thought the "signing young players with a resale value" referred to big money (transfer fee or wages) transfers, i.e. not signing those relatively expensive big names who've had their best years behind them - Duff, Emre, Owen as examples, not because theyve turned out to be poor value for money overall, just that they were better years before we signed them and therefore the current policy might have ruled them out as possible signings. Why would Ashley be concerned about the resale value of someone who isnt going to cost much (fee + wages) in the first place?

Imagine the chaos on here if our official website did something like that. The doomongers would have a field day.

Overpaying for him by quite a large margin imo, but then that seems to be the case for practically every decent player moving in this window so far.

£20m is still absolutely insane for Robbie Keane.

He might have got away with it, but I know exactly what happened and believe you me, he was far from innocent. Why didn't you try to stop it? I was holding Bowyer's coat. And Woodgate who was found guilty of playing a part in the same incident is still seen as some sort of hero up here. I wonder why. Quality player (as per your point). Still wish we hadnt sold him. That £13mill went down the drain on Boumsong, Babayaro & Faye.

Barton, by a country mile. Decent first touch and considerably better passer of the ball. He's been shit for us in comparison to the real Joey Barton because of his problems, both injury/fitness and off-field. Barton also has good ability that he's unfortunately just not shown bar the very odd glimpse. I think twice last season he hit a pass that has been absolutely outstanding - great technique and execution resulting in a fantastic final ball. It's something he's certainly capable of, naturally not on a regular basis as he's no Zidane, but h at least he has it in his locker and will attempt it when its on. Bowyer on the other hand was from the Alan Smith school of footballers. Most of the time he was a mediocre footballer on the ball beyond having a half decent first touch - some of his performances on the right wing were amongst the worst ive seen for us in recent times, granted that wasnt his "natural" position but he would've made Fumaca look a half decent player, which isnt right for a midfielder who supposedly has some ability,. out of position or not - and his passing was shit (probably had one "real" assist, e.g. a through ball, in his 3 years here) but had a good engine, ability to get stuck in, and a knack of getting on the end of chances frequently - the last of which didnt count for much as 99 times out of 100 he'd either scuff his shot or hit it weakly straight at the keeper. In all, I think he had about 3 to 4 good games with us in 3 seasons.

Keegan didnt say he'd not be able to get us into the top 4. He said we could, but it'd take 4-5 years. I.e. thats how long its going to take to undo the damage the previous board did in overseeing us going from CL qualifiers to a dogshit, relegation threatened club with plenty of s*** players on massive wages and unsustainable huge debts. Which is pretty accurate imo. Hopefully it'll take 2-3 years to undo the damage, but certainly there'll be no quick fix due to our current state and unattractiveness. you mean the same board who got us out of real dogshit and into the Champions League in the first place ? Cherry picking. Chairman during Newcastle's rise from possible relegation to the old Third Division to challenging heavily for the title: John Hall. Chairman during Newcastle's fall from title challengers to lower mid table and potential relegation plus huge debts (with one CL "blip" along the way during that slip): Freddy Shepherd. Its not the same board when the key man has left and someone else is promoted to chief. As for cherry picking, im pretty sure you've tried to credit everything positive done during the John Hall era to Shepherd and Hall Jnr. Regardless, I wasnt talking about any previous success - plenty of dogs have their day. Please refer to the fact that Freddy Shepherd oversaw the club's massive slide from potential CL regulars to potential relegation dogfighters, and holds ultimate responsibility for our current position of being an ugly, unattractive club (with respsect to top players) that few take seriously. Any excuses you want to trot out, or are you going to absolve your cousin of any blame?

Taylor, with Faye in the defensive midfield position.

Keegan didnt say he'd not be able to get us into the top 4. He said we could, but it'd take 4-5 years. I.e. thats how long its going to take to undo the damage the previous board did in overseeing us going from CL qualifiers to a dogshit, relegation threatened club with plenty of s*** players on massive wages and unsustainable huge debts. Which is pretty accurate imo. Hopefully it'll take 2-3 years to undo the damage, but certainly there'll be no quick fix due to our current state and unattractiveness.

Jose Enrique is Spanish.

Gary Speed was also a winger when we signed him from Everton. Certainly remember him playing alot of games on the left of midfield for them, and iirc did so for us at the start before being switched over by Sir Bobby.

Hard to think what he'd contribute in central midfield, other than being another "honest" hard worker who might be able to hit a decent cross/shot if he gets enough attempts. Who knows though.

defending aint just about the back 4 It can be. Look at the huge difference Woodgate made when fit. If we manage to get that one star centreback who can lead from the back, it'll make a massive difference to the current defence.

Naldo

He's half decent in a defensive midfield role imo.

On that note, Anelka would still be an excellent acquisition. Big step up over Viduka, and has been excellent as the front target player for both City (under Keegan) and Bolton.

If true, thats still an excellent offer for a player who lets face it has been very poor value for money overall, is by no means at the same level he was back when we signed him, and will be 30 years old within 6 months of the current deal running out.

Decent acquisition. Personally happy with this, as its better to give a decent young player a chance in the squad rather than buying expensive big-name squad fillers like Duff. Hope he has the same impact as Gillespie in terms of an "average" youngster given to us as part of a swap deal.

this 100%, we'll beat the crap well enough but once they come up against pace/quality they're f***ed...then there's the fact viduka & owen will never play close to a full season and our backup is appalling keegans not a miracle worker man, you can't polish s****!! But beyond the top 4, alot of the sides are pretty average. We went to Spurs and absolutely trounced them. We could easily have nicked a win a Fratton Park, where we matched Pompey pretty well. Practically every game saw Owen miss a sitter that on another day would have seen us winth the game. If the team is competent and doesnt self destruct, then 14th through to 5th/6th isnt as difficult as it seems on paper.

If songs could be visualised, thats what I imagine the stairway to heaven to look like.

We know thats not true. One or two good games and he'll be in everyone's good books. E.g. Dyer after stabbing Sir Bobby in the back and treating the club like dirt.

There needs to be a mega thread for general (i.e. non-player-specific) transfer activity worries/comments.

I always used to mock people who thought he sounded boring, but during this tournament ive consistently felt the urge to put my head on the pillow every time he's opened his mouth. Only states the obvious, repeats himself often in a monotonous fashion (even from game to game), rarely says anything controversial, and his jokes are plain and simple woeful. There've been worse though, eg Jimmy Floyd Hasselbank barely able to string a sentance together in English.

Love the way Puyol does a slide tackle 10 seconds after everyone has stopped playing.