Nate

Webber hits the post for Sheffield United. Blackburn 2-2 Reading. Doyle.

How can any football fan prefer Wigan to be in the Premieship than West Ham?

Pen to Wigan! Sheffield Utd 1-2 Wigan. Unsworth. Graham Taylor: 'He may be overweight, he may be slow, but he knows how to take penalties..'

Sheff Utd 1-1 Wigan. Stead. Bolton 1-1 Aston Villa. Gardner.

Should have been made captain again, tbh. World class.

There's no 'conspiracy', Warnock simply couldn't risk it. If Wigan & West Ham were to score simultaneously, Sheffield United are down £30m. Isn't he supposed to hate Jewell too?

Yeh we shud sgin Karka! Barton although an absolute cunt would improve out team dramatically. Yes, because 'Karka' is the only creative midfielder in the world. I've said i think we should sign Barton, but a midfield pairing of him and Butt doesn't inspire much. Perhaps if we do switch to 4-3-3 they could both fit in, alongside someone else providing the 'spark' we lack.

Don't agree. It seems alot of people don't seem to recognize Joey Barton effectiveness as a forward going midfield player if you look at it statistically he has got 7 goals this season and 5 assists and last season he got 6 goals and 6 assists something this club has lacked for some time since Rob Lee. On your point about helping Obafemi Martins and Michael Owen, Joey Barton can by not only his ability to support the front two with the amount of forward runs he makes but also by providing like he has in the past 5 assists this season and 6 assists last. I agree HTL point about Barton being a better forward going player but thats not our Captain best role his best role is breaking up the play and winning back the ball for the team this is proven by the Opta Stats this season as he has not only had the highest tackling rate this season in the whole of the Premiership but also the 2nd highest tackling success rate in the Premiership. -Back to Joey Barton- the Vital thing if Big Sam does want him is that he can back up signing the bad personality that comes with Joey Barton by getting 3rd, 4th, 5th like Sir Bobby did with the similar personalities in the dressing room (Bellamy), if he can't then signing him could prove to course big problems. I know what Barton is capable of going forward, but he certainly isn't the creative midfielder we're crying out for.

I saw him against Watford this and last season. Way to judge a player who is as solid as Woodgate mackems.gif Jesus you are more of a joke than i 1st thought, well done. Watch a lot of Wigan, do you?

Barton and Parker in midfield together... I'm sure Owen & Martins will be salivating over the prospect. Again, i would like to see him here as a replacement for the captain, not a partner.

FYP. Tevez will be most effective around equally intelligent footballers, not the likes of Obafemi and Shola. We haven't gone and wrote a ridiculously low get out clause in Martins contract as well have we? There's no evidence that we've wrote one in Owen's contract yet. We should accept the first offer that sees us make a profit on Oba either way.

I think he could have been a good option to have in midfield, but i only wanted him as a replacement for Parker, not a partner.

We'll see. I don't think he is good enough, by the way.

That's just conjecture. My point is, i don't think that's how he genuinely sees it. There's a risk element attatched to everything. He could come here, break his leg in the first game of the season, and waste a year of his career. Going to Chelsea is actually a small gamble with potentially massive rewards. I did say relatively small.

FYP. Tevez will be most effective around equally intelligent footballers, not the likes of Obafemi and Shola.

Also, don't you think he finds the thought of playing under Mourinho, alongside the likes of Terry and Shevchenko, and challenging for the Premiership, Champions League etc. enticing? From his point of view, the worst case scenario is that he doesn't even get close to the team all season and leaves to join a mid-table side, which is the current alternative, this time next year. I can't blame him for giving himself a chance of making it at a successful club and i'm suprised he's being so heavily criticised for doing so. I bet the relatively small difference in weekly wage comes quite far down his list of reasoning.

Why do you think he left Arsenal for Reading if money is all he cares about?

I did think they would finish above us next season, due to how bad Roeder was, and how good i think Keane will be, in equal measure. Not any more.

Yes, i do. As you've already said, he's dropped down leagues before in order to find first team football, in reality would he now knowingly sacrifice his playing career for an extra £5-10k per week? I don't think so. The latter certainly could have outweighed any doubts about the amount of first-team opportunities he'll receive, and you can't really blame him for that.

Fair enough, it just seems as though if a player joins a big club he gets put down for being a mercenary and not caring about his career, and if he goes to/stays at a smaller club he's showing a 'lack of ambition'. Do you think Chelsea are going to pay him more than the £40k-a-week we reportedly were?

Yep, showing the ambition and self-confidence to go and compete for a starting place against some of the best midfielders in the world... very similar to Neill joining relegation candidates as opposed to a team in the Champions League final for an extra £20k a week. I doubt Chelsea were even offering significantly more than us in all honesty, players can't win these days. You honestly think he has gone for the challenge? As I posted above there are about 6 players already fighting for those 2 spots, 4 of them are MUCH better than Sidwell. So you think Neill did the right thing in going to a smaller club with the guarentee of first team football for the entirity of his contract?

Yep, showing the ambition and self-confidence to go and compete for a starting place against some of the best midfielders in the world... very similar to Neill joining relegation candidates as opposed to a team in the Champions League final for an extra £20k a week. I doubt Chelsea were even offering significantly more than us in all honesty, players can't win these days.

N'Zogbia & Luque - hopefully. Bramble - unfortunately.

Do you actually know any Chelsea fans that didn't support them before the Abramovich takeover?

No they weren't. ...I mean, correct. Chelsea fans don't seem particularly impressed, it will interesting to see how he does there.