tmonkey

This is ManU. Their movement is insane, and as a result Rooney can play well for them in a number of positions because he will always get to end up in a dangerous position. Tevez would probably be the most static player in their team, leading the line with his back to goal and holding the ball up, whilst occasionally drifting to the left flank, whilst the rest of the team swarm around the pitch like bees and cause havoc, Rooney included.

Class in both positions if judging from the various big games hes played in in the Uefa.

Ever since Freddy's rant about Owen's agents being the bad guys, it was nailed on that the clause existed.

Sell Given. Dont like his attitude, and hes shorter than Emre.

Maxi Rodriguez would be a better bet if were talking about a big midfield signing. Not as much flair as Quaresma, but far more consistency, especially when it comes to putting the ball in the back of the net. Built for the Premiership too.

Good player, but just a point that needs to be made. That hat trick against ManU was meaningless. ManU had already qualified for the next phase iirc, had thrashed them in the first meeting at Old Trafford when Rooney made his debut and bagged a couple of goals, and effectively played thier B side with a few reserves that came out without any real ambition to win the game - ie, just a runout.

If were lacking in creativity, why not go for a creative fullback or two? Daniel Alves for 15mill, Nickey Shorey on the other flank for 5mill.

Errrrrr... It was Keegan who bought Philippe Albert and he has played inside the last ten years at Newcastle. Better buy than Woody for a mile. Not as good player than woody but had much more influence to the team and he wasn't ALWAYS injured... Albert wasn't as good as Woodgate defensively, but he had flair (for a defender) and gave our play an added dimension. All hypothetical, but decent article. Have to disagree though that Barton's problem is with his temper. Stubbing cigars in a teammate's eye, and trying to rearrange the face of another - there's something more sinister to that than mere temper. Don't even recall the notorious Vinny Jones going that far. Albert was a sweeper, born for that role. Able to bring the ball out with great finess, strong going forward, good at sweeping up whilst the two centrebacks around him did all the donkey work. IIRC thats where he played for Belgium. But he was never a "good" centreback for me in a standard 4-4-2. Adequate, yes, but not strong defensively. A poor comparison, but take Gooch for example in some of his better games for us - not really shiite, definately not good, but somewhere in between. Albert was for me a slightly better versino of Gooch with alot of class on the ball thrown in as a bonus. Howey was a "good" centreback, and had the potential to maybe be better than good - easy to forget he was going to partner Tony Adams in Euro 96 before an ankle injured - but he was regularly crocked, especially whenever his form improved and he looked like he might be turning into our defensive lynchpin. Never really did anything for us, and So shes right, the only "top" defender weve had since coming into the Premiership has been Woodgate.

Koumas is a decent midfielder, would be a good backup signing in my books. No, hes not the best player in the world, but hes got decent technique, decent passing, and is a solid all round player. Again, as backup to Butt, Emre and Barton, it would be a sensible addition and one that probably wouldnt hurt us in terms of wages. Would prefer Flamini though if hes on a free.

Its nailed on now that well be going into Euro 2008 with that uber successful trio of Gerrard, Lampard and Beckham in our midfield. Worth putting a fiver on England flopping in the next championship?

Tevez, Viduka, Owen. Nowt wrong with that trio. And what would the net spending be if say we were to cash in on Martins? £10mill? £15mill?

Controlled one. A controlled one, players coming in for reasonable fees, dead wood being shipped out with only a few million excess being spent - ignoring the £30mill signing of Carlitos Tevez of course.

"His set pieces are awful, he creates nowt, and he doesn't score goals". Agreed to an extent, hes frustrating in these departments. But then hes still a good central midfielder because his first touch is naturally good, hes comfortable on the ball, he can spread the play well, and he moves the ball on quickly. As others have said, hes often the player who starts moves off from deeper positions, something that goal or assist statistics wont show. Hes like Dyer (when hes bothering). Has his faults, frutstrating lack of end product, but when hes not in the team you can see it because his basic ability level is simply alot higher than others in the squad.

Mediocre player.

Pleased. Good central midfielder in the bag.

- Finally, Owen as a player. Great finisher, yes, but he can also go for games without doing anything at all. He brings very little to the team and often spends the entire game waiting for a through ball that you need a Zidane to play, and on top of this hes lost some pace which makes it even harder to use his movement effectively as some of the balls hes looking for he simply doesnt have the pace to make up the ground. Hes also a problem tactically - can he play in a 4-3-3 that Allardyce has always favoured with Bolton? And Oba is different? Oba is far more involved in open play than Owen. Unfortunately, having an erratic touch and often being on a different wavelength to his teamates reduces his contribution to the team. Thats different to Owen, who hardly gets involved at all because of the way he plays the game. He has little interest in coming deep for the ball, his game isnt about holding the ball up or using it effectively when he has it. Its all about staying on the last defender's shoulders for the entire game. Point being, its often as though the team is playing with 10 men, and that is deemed acceptable because were rolling the dice with that 11th player - ie, if he gets a chance, hell score, and its worth having him on the pitch just for that. Hence, if he doesnt get a chance, he normally does practically nothing. Problem with this is that although its great to have such a top finisher, we could probably replace him with someone who is still a good finisher, but who can also contribute alot more to the team. Again, thats different to Martins, who youd expect to improve his contribution with some good coaching and some more experience/composure.

Difference is we're potentially a big club, and thats without a huge extrenal investment - weve had the resources and infrastructure to challenge the big boys, but weve failed in recent years due to poor decision making at board level and not having the setup in place to take advantage of our resources. Outsiders who know a bit about our club know this, and theyll probably see that these problems should be rectified with the appointment of Allardyce - add the possible takeover by a cash rich billionaire, and its hard not to see us as a step up from West Ham, who only have the latter. Granted were not a true big club in respect of current success, but then by the same standards West Ham have hardly been successful, getting relegated recently and nearly being relegated again, whilst it was only a few years ago that we were title pretenders and playing in the CL. Hence, if noone is willing to match Tevez' valuation but we were, then what would stop him coming to us?

Hes the much better forward obviously, but the reasons for picking Martins: - Owen is a crock. Or was. Either way, his injury record is dreadful for the wages hes on. Relying on him to stay fit regularly is a massive gamble. Maybe Allardyce's methods could do something here, but we simply wont know. - His contract. One year before he can buy it out for cheap? Two years before a Bosman? And hes reported to be on 110k per week, which is a massive amount for someone who has played something like 12 games in the past two years. Ask yourself, whats the likelihood of him playing another 20 games in the next two years? High? Moderate? - His priority has always been England. (imo) Thats not a downside on its own, but with Owen it is, because when hes struggling for fitness and he forces a comeback just to play for England despite the risks, its us who pays the price. - He didnt want to come to us in the first place, had his hand forced. Hes had two crocked seasons whilst being on a big wage, and now hes clearly instructed his agents, or has given them permission, to find something better. He clearly doesnt want to play for us. Combine that with his injury record, his wages, his main priority - is it worth holding on to him? - Finally, Owen as a player. Great finisher, yes, but he can also go for games without doing anything at all. He brings very little to the team and often spends the entire game waiting for a through ball that you need a Zidane to play, and on top of this hes lost some pace which makes it even harder to use his movement effectively as some of the balls hes looking for he simply doesnt have the pace to make up the ground. Hes also a problem tactically - can he play in a 4-3-3 that Allardyce has always favoured with Bolton? Personally, I would rather keep Owen and sell Martins, as Martins is a flawed player who may or may not improve, and if he doesnt than hell merely be a frustrating mid table striker who blows hot and cold, whereas Owen is the finished article, a top striker who would be playing for a better team were it not for issues with injuries and wages. However, to keep Owen, wed need to extend his contract (no chance as he already wants out), sort out his injury problems (possible but hes been dogged by them for his entire career), and nail his commitment to us in some way and having him being happy to play for us (eg captaincy, long term contract, performance related bonuses, etc). Thats asking for a lot imo, whilst at the same time, how likely is it that Martins will improve his game as he adapts further, gets better coaching under Allardyce, etc?

One of the many reasons for the poor world cup is burn out. Too many games being played by players who turn up at the world cup tired and not at their best. International friendlies should be the first to go, or severely reduced anyway. Last season was ridiculous, having an international friendly one week into the start of the new Premiership season. As a spectacle, they tend to be utterly boring, with the pace being that of a charity match. Its great that theyve reduced the substitution limit from 11 to 6, its made the fixture less of a farce, but its still pointless and just disrupts the domestic calendar numerous times, which results in compressed fixtures later on in the season. And its not as though there arent any qualifiers for the manager to get a team going.

Not good enough to ever be a true great, no matter where hes playing.

Turned out to be useful in a few games, but regardless, im delighted Sibierski has left. Apart from being big, bald and brave, hes nowhere near Premiership material.

Time to bring out the good old fake CV.

Will be a good signing for us. See him as a potential Bellamy-esque signing - not the best player in the world technically, but high work rate, a psychotic will to win, and the ability to use the attributes he does have (ie application) to good effect means he could turn out to be a top signing. Think hes a good passer of the ball too, albeit a tad inconsistent - similar to Emre. Will be a shame to see Parker go, but hes been rubbish since his positional change from anchorman to the new Gerrard. Simply doesnt know how to play the role well, and hence, replacing him with someone who does is simply a good decision.

Would love to see Shearer's goals per minute ratio in the 2004-5 season compared to Kluivert's. IIRC 7 were in the Prem, the rest against part-time farmers (they only milk the cows in the morning) in the Intertoto and UEFA.

Aye, but what do we care? We'll be using £50 notes as toilet paper in the locker rooms once Ashley completes his takeover.