Colos Short and Curlies

and random black doods with dreads

Was kinda what I was sayng - net spend is not a good yardstick Modric, Dos Santos, Bentley all good players but there net Spend is near enough nil. Very few clubs can run indefinitely on huge net spends, there has to be a balance somewhere. Even under Keegan mk1 we had to baalnce to a degree - If you have read his autobiography you will be familiar with the fact that we needed to raise £6m in player sales to offset the Shearer signing in 96. In an ideal world you would run each season with a high gross spend but a low net spend, worry when both are low.

BTW, Reading that transcript looks a lot like just putting together all the various pro Ashley stories which have gone round this summer. You could easily do just as a convincing piece on the negatives. FWIW, Some of it rings true over what I've been told - only without numbers for wages etc. Our top target was apparently Deco, Barca agreed a fee but he didn't want to come (we had also tried to get him on loan in Jan...). The money is there, it just won't be spent on a Luque.

Well if we don't get him we've missed out on a decent signing that would have certainly given us strength in depth and if we do sign him he's only someone who you wouldn't have been too fussed about if we'd missed out on anyway. Fuck Instead of win win you should have termed the signing as a 'meh'

Why the fascination with Net Spend? I'm pretty sure Spurs have spent less than us (net) this summer and may even end up with a net cash inflow once we sign Berbatov for £10m (now where's that afro pointing smiley.....) We've improved our first team with Guthrie, Coloccino and Spidey. Our second string has been improved, as has our youth team. Those we have sold were deadwood, we did well to get any sort of cash for them as they were cloggin up resources. I would love a couple more signings, like everyone else - a creative spark and a working model of Dukes will do me now. Whether they cost £2m or £20m, 22 years old or 28 years old I don't really care, as long as they improve the team

In a weird way I reckon it would be feasible to have done a deal for Berbatov on the quiet. Spurs don't want to sell to Man U, so leaking any details to the press would be counter productive to them. Its in our interest (and control) not to speak out. The agent could be paid a 'professional fee' to keep schtum. Can't see us signing Dimi however, just speculating on would we be able to keep it under wraps

Now if you could only combine those 2 smilies....

Anal picking up on my vague ramblings re Ashley not being in work on Monday.

So you all believe it when this guy tells you. But not when I do. I'm crushed!

To Bobby they might be though, personal attachment and all that. Not a factor in the naming of a stand however

You can guarantee that the rags will turn it round on us Deal fell through because Newcastle pay him too much

which is what businessman like Shepherd do. Not trying to have a go at Ashley he's fucked up with that one If a company has to hide some of its debt then its in a bad way

Its probably hidden somewhere in pages 1-82 but .com are reporting two trialists (at least one from Boavista) this week. May play on Saturday and scored in a behind closed doors friendly this week

http://img.skysports.com/08/01/218x298/MikeAshley_621291.jpg Ha ha ha ha ha ha ahuh ahuh ahuh hmmmmmmmm That pic was taken after Shola's miss at Hartlepool wasn't it?

We spent £6m on Parker, £4m on Emre, £10m on Luque. On top of the £8m spent on Boumsong in the January Signing Owen didn't prevent us from buying others

Can't believe I'm doing this but..... Define a trophy signing. Is it a big name player who we sign on big wages - if so step forward Mr Shearer Is it a big name player signed for the hell of it when other places needed filling - if so step forward Mr Luque Or is it a player who has won trophies? - Erm....... I actually agree with NE5 on the Trphy signing rubbish. If a player is good then a large price tag does not constitute a trophy signing (see Coloccino). A trophy signing for me is a signing which did not need to be made but the club are showing off (a bit like Veron for Man U) edit - not necessarily aimed at the poster, just quoting a post with the term in it going out spending 16 million on owen when we could of got him for cheaper and they we're equally as good players available (i.e. keane & anelka) available for 1/2 of that I was going to include Owen but... We needed to replace Bellamy and/or Shearer which was always going to cost big money. There was the injury factor with Owen, but he was pretty much a guaranteed hit when playing. And we don't know for sure how much cheaper we may have been able to get him for, Liverpool didn't have a bid accepted afaik, he was given permission to talk to them but (similar to Arshavin and Spurs) a fee would still have to be agreed upon. Hence I discluded him! well the fact that he cost real 8 million just a season ago, 12 million was more acceptable price that luque signing was defo one, remember we wanted boa motre but shepherd didn't think he was a high enough profile player ffs l I see what you're saying, but he was in the last year of his contract at the Dippers and was undervalued there rather than overvalued when we bought him. they we're panic trophy signings, as they happened within the last days of the transfer window and we're used to sell season tickets and shirts making a trophy signing is good, but do it at the right time although i do suspect we will make 1 big buy this summer, but it will be in the lines of an young player with potential We were after Owen most of that Summer

Can't believe I'm doing this but..... Define a trophy signing. Is it a big name player who we sign on big wages - if so step forward Mr Shearer Is it a big name player signed for the hell of it when other places needed filling - if so step forward Mr Luque Or is it a player who has won trophies? - Erm....... I actually agree with NE5 on the Trphy signing rubbish. If a player is good then a large price tag does not constitute a trophy signing (see Coloccino). A trophy signing for me is a signing which did not need to be made but the club are showing off (a bit like Veron for Man U) edit - not necessarily aimed at the poster, just quoting a post with the term in it going out spending 16 million on owen when we could of got him for cheaper and they we're equally as good players available (i.e. keane & anelka) available for 1/2 of that I was going to include Owen but... We needed to replace Bellamy and/or Shearer which was always going to cost big money. There was the injury factor with Owen, but he was pretty much a guaranteed hit when playing. And we don't know for sure how much cheaper we may have been able to get him for, Liverpool didn't have a bid accepted afaik, he was given permission to talk to them but (similar to Arshavin and Spurs) a fee would still have to be agreed upon. Hence I discluded him! well the fact that he cost real 8 million just a season ago, 12 million was more acceptable price that luque signing was defo one, remember we wanted boa motre but shepherd didn't think he was a high enough profile player ffs l I see what you're saying, but he was in the last year of his contract at the Dippers and was undervalued there rather than overvalued when we bought him.

Can't believe I'm doing this but..... Define a trophy signing. Is it a big name player who we sign on big wages - if so step forward Mr Shearer Is it a big name player signed for the hell of it when other places needed filling - if so step forward Mr Luque Or is it a player who has won trophies? - Erm....... I actually agree with NE5 on the Trphy signing rubbish. If a player is good then a large price tag does not constitute a trophy signing (see Coloccino). A trophy signing for me is a signing which did not need to be made but the club are showing off (a bit like Veron for Man U) edit - not necessarily aimed at the poster, just quoting a post with the term in it going out spending 16 million on owen when we could of got him for cheaper and they we're equally as good players available (i.e. keane & anelka) available for 1/2 of that I was going to include Owen but... We needed to replace Bellamy and/or Shearer which was always going to cost big money. There was the injury factor with Owen, but he was pretty much a guaranteed hit when playing. And we don't know for sure how much cheaper we may have been able to get him for, Liverpool didn't have a bid accepted afaik, he was given permission to talk to them but (similar to Arshavin and Spurs) a fee would still have to be agreed upon. Hence I discluded him!

http://www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10278~1361023,00.html

I'd love it to be true, but I can't believe some journalist wouldn't have picked up on the story by now if it was the case. Although scratch that. Most of the piss-heads just copy stories from the web anyway. If it was Gomis though and he signs expect every rag to make mention of the fact that he was in the crowd on Wed

Can't believe I'm doing this but..... Define a trophy signing. Is it a big name player who we sign on big wages - if so step forward Mr Shearer Is it a big name player signed for the hell of it when other places needed filling - if so step forward Mr Luque Or is it a player who has won trophies? - Erm....... I actually agree with NE5 on the Trphy signing rubbish. If a player is good then a large price tag does not constitute a trophy signing (see Coloccino). A trophy signing for me is a signing which did not need to be made but the club are showing off (a bit like Veron for Man U) edit - not necessarily aimed at the poster, just quoting a post with the term in it

Haha, classic. They're fucking pathetic. Thats like the BBC website 'The BBC understands that Chelsea have made a bid for Robinho' The official announcement of the bid on the Chelsea website may have had something to do with that 'Understanding'

The last line has one. He told Mirror Sport: "I'm really looking forward to the season. I'm excited by Kevin, seeing the team play, all of it. We're going to have fun." He didn't tell Mirror Sport that though did he - it was an off the cuff comment made to a few people out in Mallorca

Phil Neville. Injured Gillespie at OT December 95 and cost us the league

Daily Mirror