greydos

City would be better off forwarding that offer to Zenit st Petersburg and buying a similarly aged but likely more effective player for next season.

Better than Emre's too. Didn't Beye score from a corner this season? Faye against ManU? Was a corner, wasn't it?!?! And Cacapa from a corner

Whilst we were on our unbeaten run nobody said anything bad about barton, or getting rid of him. Now he gets sentenced for something he did BEFORE that run and we all want him out? What a bunch of h8tuz!!

I included Cahill at Everton, but Carsley/Gravesen and Neville also played CM for them last year in a midfield 3. Arteta was wide right so unfair to compare. Same with tainio who spent his season wide left when malbranque didn't play (tainio's poo anyway). I went to the Reading game last season and, from that point onwards JB showed real class. Great passing off the outside of his right foot for Martins was a ball he played with repeated success. His engine is brilliant. I hope we keep him, and we can have this debate at this time next season. I think he'll do well.

Barton or Jenas and Zokora? Personally i'd put JB in there as much as the other 2. Barton or Reo Coker and Petrov (taking it Barry's leaving). I'd have Barton as much as Reo Coker. Barton or Muntari and Diarra. Fair enough he doesn't make it. Barton or Parker and Noble/Mullins (Barton walks in for the latter 2 for me, and i think would do a similar job holding midfield in that better passing, slightly worse tackling). Barton or Cahil/Carlsey/Phil Neville. (I know Carsley's gone, perhaps Gravesen takes Carsley's spot). I'd get Barton in that midfield ahead of Carsley and Phil Neville. Barton or Tugay and Reid (walks in) Barton or Hamann and Elano. (he doesn't get in in the summer, but the winter he shifts Elano). Barton was quality after KK took over and got into the new system. I want him to stay. He's our best CM by a distance. Has the engine to play CM and overlap martins down the left an put crosses in, gets out to the right too and tracks back. He's got a physicality that none of our other CMs have bar butt, an that's only cos butt stays inside 20sq metres of the pitch per game.

Would rather Pavlyuchenko from Russia. Big strong with room to improve. Better eye for goal too

If he does go there i hope he sells Bentley and Santa Cruz to us for 5mil all in. Like i used to use a second team on FM to get great players on the cheap

Didn't the early articles surrounding Wise's appointment say that he was working part time, like 2/3 full days a week so he could have more time with his family? Perhaps Wednesday is his day off, thus allowing him to be in Moscow to catch the game of the season. This thread needs to wait for the start of next season when we can look back and ask "what were our scouts doing all summer and beforehand?"

I'll add Veron. This could be a fun game

Less than 2.5m fee and small wages he'd do. Then move on to bigger and better

I'm a criminal paralegal in a solicitors in Cardiff. For all those wondering about the length of JB's sentence, it wasn't overly harsh at all. If was par for the course really; if anything perhaps slightly lenient.

My sources tell me Brett Emerton is a pending transfer to the toon

There was a 5-10 minute feature on The One Show just now with Myleene Klass in newcastle investigating the Blaydon Races song. She's fit

Take Diarra in a heartbeat

Given Beye Ben Haim Faye Enrique Bentley Barton Modric Owen Berbatov Martins Subs: Harper, Taylor, Shorey, Butt, Viduka

Freshen the team up, Milner starting for Geremi, Emre coming on for JB after 70 with Geremi back in for Milner 1-4 toon

Not sure if it's been posted, Keegan's quotes on sunderland taken from Journal article: “I know some people say, ‘I’d like to see them go down’, but these games are very special. We do not need a strong Sunderland, just one we can beat every week, but we need them in the division.” Quality!

4-2

I thought the really stupid question was "so Kevin, were you happy with the team performance, as you've been working on that for the last few weeks" No s*** he's been working on the team performance, doesn't every manager at every minute of their job? Bint

Geremi's corners were dreadful, however his freekicks were serious quality! Which does suggest that near-post corners were a deliberate tactic of the manager's due to Pompey's strong and tall defence. It didn't come off, but that's fair enough. General with crosses, striker's have to get on the end of whatever ball comes in. A number of times Viduka didn't have the pace/energy/wherewithall to pull 2 yards off campbell and to have a header at it. If he did we'd have had more headers on target and less corners that's for sure!

Will who be remembered? What now?

I'm not going to get all uncivil on you but i could not disagree more re enrique. He seems like he has confidence, as he keeps trying to play the passes, and the amount of times he picks the ball up deep and drops his right shoulder to beat his man tells me he's playing with confidence as if he loses it there we really would be in trouble! 1 v 1 i'm yet to see him get beaten, often he recovers very well too, see once in the 2nd half where Defoe broke free down the right channel and Enrique caught him, put a foot in and then barton collected the lose ball. I for one don't mind losing possession if it's come from a cross. You can't expect every cross into the box to be capitalised on by our forwards, and if you lose possession anywhere, the safest place is in the opposition box as it's furthest from our goal and likely they'll be hemmed in. He's no world beater yet, but he absolutely doesn't have to be. He's 22, and he's first season in a new country not speaking the language. I know if i was in spain i'd make a shabby waitor due to language differences, let alone a premiership quality fullback!

HTT, Diop played right wing today (badly).

I think Owen was deeper today than he has been in previous games, but he HAD to be, as Pompy had Diop and Kranjcar cutting in which would have left us short in midfield on the wrong end of a 4 v 3 mismatch for much of the match. Enrique's passing, yeah he put a couple in touch, but i take the view that Arsene Wenger does with Hleb, let him keep trying because all it takes is one pass to thread the needle an that's a goal. When one assist comes, more will follow. For those who thought Beye could have got forward more, remember we were playing away from home, weren't technically safe yet, and it's better to guarantee you don't give a goal away and hope to nick one, than go all out for a goal and possibly concede one. As to the one poster who said Joey Barton was a better player 5 years ago, what when he was 20? I haven't seen a player with such stamina and determination off the ball as JB, absolutely put himself everywhere and got in the way of some crucial passes that Pompey could have made today. I don't mean interceptions, just placing himself well to cut out options, and holding up a player until Enrique/Butt/Faye could arrive and crowd em out. For me, JB is one of the key players for next season. If he takes a step up again like i think he can, he'll be a true inspiration. Love the guy! (i'm probably on my own in this camp!)