Mick

A rule is in place, I don't see how it could go against us. If any of the ruling bodies had wanted to change it then it would have been done before now. By allowing Webster to move they've opened the doors for others to use it, if we have to wait then so be it. The only thing which could really be in doubt is how much is paid in compensation and who gets it.

We announced a signing because the player signed a contract with us, most clubs announce signings before international clearance comes through, this is just another form of red tape along those lines.

I doubt this will take as long to sort out as the original ruling was based on nothing, this one has a precedence to follow. We’ll be used as a test case to fine tune the rules, not set them.

If he doesn't play then somebody will replace him and it's almost certain that it will be somebody who played last season so will know his team mates. The player who would benefit more from pre-season was given a few games to work with his team mates, even if it takes a week or two before he gets league games.

Give your head a shake. Rules are not set by our club, we're bringing a player in by using a rule which is relatively new and it's the first time we've used it so we'll have to learn as we go on, it will be the same for the Spanish FA and his former club who understandably don't want to lose out. They would be stupid to throw the towel in without a fight and I would hope we would do the same if the situation was reversed. You calling for a sacking because of this is stupid to say the least.

Hartson was given a three-match ban by the FA and fined £20,000. I can't see how they could justify giving Barton more than that when both cases were similar, in the case of Barton he's also been punished in court, I don't think that ever happened to Hartson.

Even if we end up numerically the same as last season we'll be better off because we've upgraded those who have gone, at least it looks like we have. We'll not know the answer to that one by September 1st though. Even the younger players will be closer to the first team because they've had another season of learning behind them.

Excellent, as long as we can work around one player we'll be OK. That will not work for longer than a few minutes because if Gutierrez does well and shines then he'll get marked or kicked out of games. We need to offer more than that as a team, if not then we'll struggle, especially away from home when we're under pressure. Both are so slow that the opposition will be able to take a break if those two are running at them from a deep position. Barton has scored something like 1 goal every 9 or 10 games and Guthrie hasn't scored a competitive goal yet so those two will offer next to nothing in terms of goals. We'll probably have at least 1 defender who will outscore one of those, possibly both.

I think we've identified where we need players and are signing them as they become available. It would be stupid to buy in order of priority unless we had a limited budget.

Barton and Guthrie will be perfect at what?

Our midfield is one dimensional and will get run ragged by the better teams as we are lacking both pace and creativity. Our central midfield is our weakest position when we can put out our first 11 as I don't think a pairing of two from Butt, Smith, Faye, Guthrie and Barton is good enough and will be walked straight through as we'll. If we play 4-4-2 with those in the middle then we'll need our wingers to play well every game or we'll struggle to make use of our forwards. To say the creative midfield player people are wanting would be as useful as a chocolate teapot is totally wrong.

He has shown us what he can do in pre-season and if he can carry that over to league games then we've got a very good player, so far it looks good. He can't prove himself as a Premiership player until he's had a few games but he looks like he can do well for us, I've been impressed by what I've seen from him in his few games that he's played.

I'm over the moon that the club are telling the media nothing at all, especially where Oliver is concerned as he's a waste of space and most of the other hacks are just as bad. We've appointed shit managers and the press have generally give them as easy time when they should have been giving them stick and reporting facts instead of sticking up for mates. They've done us as fans very few favours so seeing them now struggle is poetic justice as far as I'm concerned.

4th signing, bastard.

I thought Gutierrez and N'Zogbia combined really well in the first half as they were switching positions quite a bit.

He wants what we want and goes to the games for the same reason as we do, he wants us to win for the pleasure that brings. He wants to build the club up and put everything in place to make sure we can maintain a high position once we reach it.

I can't see us getting anything from this game, I'll be looking to compare it to last season to see how far we've improved since early January.

Using your way of thinking we just need to boo like hell and the league is ours.

I don't think we would say that to be honest.

What pissed me off about him was the amount of time he spent talking to players about nothing challenges, I can't remember seeing one tackle which wasn't a reasonable attempt to get the ball.

The post above you mentions one, score. I think he'll be a bit like Dyer in that respect, he'll not score loads but he'll make a lot for his team mates and his running will create space for others to run into. He's got to do it in the Premiership though as Geremi looked really good last summer but seemed to leave his form behind him once the season kicked off.