Yorkie

Would love Moritz Volz. I have a feeling he is available on a free in the summer. If i'm being really ambitious and really optimistic, i'd like to see us bring in: RB. Moritz Volz................. Aged 24................. Free CB. Tal Ben Haim.............. Aged 24................. Free CB. Oguchi Onyewu.......... Aged 24................. £3m LB. Leighton Baines.......... Aged 22................. £7m CM. Steve Sidwell............... Aged 24................. Free ST/RW. Giles Barnes................. Aged 18................. £3m All of the freebies are really optimistic, except maybe Volz, and i can imagine the likes of Baines and Barnes will have many possible destinations. However, that's not a lot spent which is a bonus. Going the other way would be: Stephen Carr. Titus Bramble. Craig Moore. Olivier Bernard. Matty Pattison. Albert Luque. And probably Emre, although i'd love for him to say. I would rather keep him but he'll probably leave. That's why i'd bring Sidwell in. Given Solano --- Taylor --- Ben Haim --- Baines Milner --- Parker --- Sidwell --- N'Zogbia Martins --- Owen Harper Volz --- Onyewu --- Ramage --- Babayaro Barnes --- Butt --- Dyer --- Duff Ameobi --- Sibierski Goalkeepers: Shay Given, Steve Harper, Tim Krul* Defenders: Nolberto Solano, Moritz Volz, Steven Taylor, Tal Ben Haim, Oguchi Onyewu, Peter Ramage, Leighton Baines, Celestine Babayaro, David Edgar*, Paul Huntington* Midfielders: James Milner, Nolberto Solano, Giles Barnes, Scott Parker, Steve Sidwell, Nicky Butt, Kieron Dyer, Charles N'Zogbia, Damien Duff, Alan O'Brien* Strikers: Obafemi Martins, Michael Owen, Giles Barnes, Kieron Dyer, Shola Ameobi, Antoine Sibierski *Loan Like i said before, that's very optimistic and i'm sure that it won't pan out like that at all, but that's something that i'd like to see. Some names have been used more than once there, but that proves the versatility of that very young squad. As i have time on my hands, the average age of that squad is: 24, 25 next year.

The technicalities that Delima has stressed are not incorrect. However, and i know this sounds corny, but in football and regarding a situation like this - i'd prefer to go by fate than facts. Ipswich Sunderland West Ham Wigan Birmingham Even the likes of Blackburn who were relegated not long after they won the league I've seen it far too many times before to believe anything other than Reading are going to go the same way. Smashing team with some smashing tactics and some great players, but what makes Reading any different to the other teams who have overachieved in their first season?

£15 adults? I'd still say that was too much tbh. You can buy 1500 Haribo Cola Bottles for that price.

The policy's right. It's the same policy that Bobby Robson enforced and look where he took us after a few years. However, if another Sol Campbell comes along and is turned down, Glenn wants spiking. In terms of strikers, if we blow £10m on another one i'll be very annoyed, no matter how good the striker is. We simply do not need one. Ashton's a great player, but next season we'll already have five strikers in the squad when Ameobi and Owen come back. Viduka on a free or Beattie on the cheap would be ideal.

Stupid prices for what's bound to be a shit game where we play shit. Aye, we'd like more fans, but it ain't gonna happen for prices like that. The Blackburn game is £1 for kids and £5 for adults. That's how it should be, especially for a game like this.

I like Beckham's actually. My Side.

Bobby wasn't going to sell Shearer right after he'd scored 30 goals in all competitions the previous season... (28 for the pedants)

Bobby wasn't going to sell Shearer. He turned down Liverpool's offer. He wanted Mpenza aswell - who was doing very well at the time. He saw him as the long term replacement goalscorer for Shearer.

We're voting in Feb?

Apologies!

<Snip. We've been through all this...> Wins: 6 ... Draws: 3 ... Losses: 2 ... Points: 21/33 Total Points: 57 This is what i can see, really. Probably a little pescimistic, but i simply cannot see us winning at the likes of Sheffield United and Wigan - teams fighting for their lives, well Wigan are. It really is a nice run in and we should do well.

Ah shite.

Where did you say all this?

Aye Colin Murray would be OK... if he didn't present football games. I can imagine he'd do alright on the Poker things. John Barnes/Jon Helm/Joe Royle... all crap.

That's boiling your piss? Bloody hell - i can't imagine what you were like in the Souness era. I think it's clear that Nobby is the penalty taker. Martins just wanted the one last night. And so he should! We want to see him hungry for goals.

Good game from Bramble. His one good game in six or seven if the past five years are anything to go by.

Didn't look too convinced in my opinion. But he said that overall he was pleased with the performance, very unhappy about the goal conceded, and was disappointed by the sloppyness at times, not going to get complacent but pleased overall.

Nonsense. You want your goalscoring centre-forwrds to be greedy for crying out loud! I think it's great to see him so desperate to get his name on the scoresheet. It's not 'just' to get his name on the scoresheet - it's not 'just' that. He's the number 9 centre-forward and he is desperate to be top goalscorer, and justfiy his price tag - and so he should do. I'm fecking glad Shearer was greedy... I thought he had a poor game aswell, one of his worst this season without a doubt, but i can't agree with what you've said there for a second.

Tmonkey, Dave, agree wholeheartedly with both.

Aye that tickled me aswell.

Tonight merely confirmed it for me. Not a bad performance, not a bad one at all, but that wasn't Kieron Dyer. He had very little influence on the game, apart from a good run for the first goal, and there was NAFF ALL movement upfront. Movement that he would have been providing had he have been played up there. Of course, there was no alternative this evening but for him to play in centre-mid - but that is the only time in which he should be used there. When we're down to bare bones. He's a forward.

I thought Duff put in a very decent performance in the second half to be quite frank. Would like to see him release the ball earlier, his main and only flaw throughout the game, but he tore the right-back to pieces (granted, the opposition was abysmal), but it's definitely an improvement and it's nice to see his spark returning. This really should just kick him on, and with another good performance next week, hopefully things will start to snowball. Not particularly impressed with the dive, though. I don't think he needed to - because he would have scored anyway. It wasn't that tight an angle. But, atleast the fact that he was going to score, makes the goal actually justifable. Not impressed by the dive though.

Nobby's just come back from injury. He's had plenty of rest the 'od bugger.

If we were offered the chance to take Ben Haim on a free, and turned it down, Roeder and Shepherd would want killing - very, very painfully. Hence why they would, because they're not stupid (arguably). Very good defender, Ben Haim. Absolutely key player for Bolton over the past couple of years.

Yup.