Yorkie

Certainly Midds, i want to see us win every game, but i'd just rather we stopped chasing lost causes and attempt to win a competition that we can actually do so. I might be looking into a crystal ball here, but i really can't see us winning the FA Cup this year.

keep providing those avs and you can criticise me all you want....who she ? How the fuck i wasn't in the running for the best avatar award i have no idea. It's Evangeline Lilly from Lost.

Tell you who would benefit from Peter Crouch being at the club... Nobby Solano. His crossing is still fucking sublime. I only saw the highlights of the Man Utd game, but i've been watching him all season. And that one for Sibierski this afternoon was immense.

Not criticising you especially, Madras, it's a decent obsevation... and call be a grumpy old bastard but... so? It's 2007 and we're 13th in the Premier Division. Long way to go before i'm convinced by Roeder.

I love the FA Cup. It's a brilliant and wholly unpredictable competition that i would love, more than any other competition that we enter, for us to win at some point in my lifetime. I'm not really bothered about the fact that we don't challenge for the Premiership title anymore; though i didn't really understand football in 1996, and i'm sure those that did would have contrasting opinions. The FA Cup is just magic and there is nothing more tense than a tight, late-round cup game at St James' Park - they're awesome. However, i can't help but think that we're chasing a lost cause right now. Let's be realistic - it's majorly unlikely that we're going to win the competition, this season especially. We've had our chances in the past - but in the two 'recent' successive seasons that we've reached the final, we've played lesser teams and gotten mullered at the final hurdle. And that keeps happening. The last thing that i want to see us do this season, is clock up more needless appearances against lesser teams, then reach the quarters or semis and get hammered by the Man Utds or the Chelseas. In my honest opinion, it just isn't worth it and it is a waste of energy, in a busy season. We're far better off concentrating our efforts on the UEFA Cup, a competition which we could do this or that ( we don't really know) or, as it were - the Carling Cup. It wasn't a coincidence that i was engrossed in the league cup this year, as apposed to my favourite - the FA Cup. Because i genuinely thought we had a chance of winning it. The main cup however, i realistically think otherwise and it sickens me somewhat. Should the lesser side beat us on Saturday, i'll be disappointed, but i know i won't be sticking my head in the oven like i would have been three/four years ago.

Hence he'll be off in a year or two My concern... he'd be class at Arsenal. If we get into the Top 6 within the next couple of years, our young talents will either stay, or go for stupid money. IE - £10m+.

Nowt wrong with the midfield. It's just unbalanced. Once we've got Duff on form, and Milner continuing his progress (or maybe even SWP coming in), and the correct balance by consistently dropping Parker - we'll be fine. Hmm. :? All ifs buts and maybes, i know, but to say that our midfield is our achilles heel is farcical tbh. Balls.

Great player who'll need more great players if he'll ever achieve his full potential.

Fair play. Bet he was splitting blood in that dressing room though...

Hmm... for once, depressingly, i'm totally un-bothered about the FA Cup this year. I can't be arsed to watch us squeeze past small teams and get hammered by Chelsea or Man Utd in the quarters again. Aint worth the effort. We've got a chance of doing something special in the Waffa.

He was injured most of last season. Meh. Whenever he played for United, he was a very competent left-back. He's experienced and has got undoubted quality, and he's proven in this league. As Jon said, Heinze would be perfect. If we could get Lauren from Arsenal aswell, i'd be ecstatic and we'd have two very good and very experienced, very good defensively, wing-backs. But i'm probably pushing it.

If we're that club i'd absolutely fucking love it! He was excellent for United last season. Highly doubtful though, i reckon.

Nah, he signed up for Man Utd when he was like 15. I've got his autobiography cos i'm one of those rare Beckham-lovers. 8)

Aye in Jan, we need a striker that is proven in this league, absolutely no doubt about it. But that doesn't mean that we need to go splashing £6/7/8m on someone like Bent or Crouch or someone else of that sort. We simply do not need it. We need one striker for when Rossi leaves, a simple replacement - and plus, when you think forward to next season - Owen and Shola come back. We simply do not need another top quality striker. Look forward to August 2007 and this is what we'll have, say if we do spend £7m on Peter Crouch: Michael Owen Obafemi Martins Peter Crouch Shola Ameobi Antoine Sibierski Kieron Dyer ... All whom are capable of doing a job, and more, in the forward position. That's more than we need. Then we'll have the same defenders as this season, except maybe one cheap, crappy one whom we recruited in January. And we'll be struggling for defensive bodies and funds in August, once again, due to the fact that we've gone for an expensive striker in January that we didn't need. I'd much rather we concentrated our, probably slim, January budget on the defense, rather than the attack. If Beattie was available on loan, or Viduka was available for £1m or so, or someone else in that sort of situation - i'd snap their hand off and then focus on improving the defense. If we were to do that, we'd have this attacking line-up to choose from: Obafemi Martins Kieron Dyer Antoine Sibierski Beattie/Viduka/whoever we bring in on the cheap Owen potentially coming back in March ... We'd be fine. And we'd have a couple of good defenders in the squad aswell, which is what we crave.

Which it did...

If we play Emre wide-left or in another diamond, Roeder wants his fucking balls cut off. Where the hell is Duff?

Wonder where the hell we'd be now if we'd appointed him. I tell you what, if someone had offered me one of Steve Bruce or Graeme Souness after Bobby was sacked, i would have taken Souness. Cannot stand Bruce.

Great news, absolutely, but when he broke his foot last season, at one point he was scheduled to be back for the end of March. It's certainly good news but i still don't expect to see him either until very late in the season, or not at all. Not saying i know better, i'm just being cautious. We wouldn't want to rush him back and he could very easily have a setback. Just not getting too excited just yet.

Ok, I thought you really meant to buy Melchiot for 2m. PS 7m for Bent or 7m for Baines, I would definitely go for Bent. *Implodes*

Yeah... i was just being hypothetical.

Apart from the bold bit, that's exactly what i'm thinking. Glad you read back throuh my post, thanks. If i had the choice of: A. £7m for Bent/Crouch and £2m for Melchiot or B. £7m for Baines and £2m for Viduka ... I'd take B. That's what i was saying, because i think the we're of a greater need of a quality defender than a quality striker.

Big pro-sign defenders post. How old are you? 14 or something? Boumsong made his name at Auxerre, and was class alongside Mexes, which earned both of them places in the France squad, he was nout special at Rangers. If Oba is fucked, we are fucked, Charlton and Sheff U at home are examples of this. Obviously I want a decent defence, but I think you can spend less on a left back and get a makeshift one in untill the summer, whereas if Oba gets injured(and probably will) we could be pulled back into the relegation dogfight. Mate, i never said we shouldn't buy a striker - because we should, definitely. I just don't want to see us spending loads on one. I said either in that big one or in a previous one, that i'd rather go for a cheap gamble like Beattie or Viduka, and concentrate our cash on the defense. Rather than an expensive gamble on a big-name striker that we wouldn't need anyway. And btw, i'm 15. Why that should make a difference i don't really know - i can still use a keyboard and construct an opinion. Don't be so judgemental.

No, Martins was genuinely trying to use the quality that he has to score, but it didn't come off. Jenas just didn't have the quality. The lanky wankfuck.

YES! I love doing uber-posts.

It was a poor penalty, but he was trying to put it in the corner... he wasn't trying to chip it. :? I don't know, it looked to me by his body shape like he was trying to chip it up into top corner. I can't see how he got it that high and wide if he was just trying to put it in the corner. A chip to the top corner? now that would be taking the piss if he tried that I know. You're talking shite Stozo mate. ;-) Crap penalty, absolutely - but he was trying to chip it? :shock: