Parky

You're not looking at the big picture love...Or maybe you are.... I mean BIG..!! If pushed into a corner and raped by the writers group....I would probably take Fatuka if his wage demands were reasonable. That is the key.

He will want 40/50k a week if we get him free. if this "clear out" does happen then we can give him 40k. 40k a week for 15+ goals a season is a bargain. Good point....But replace baggage with baggage? he has 37 goals in 76 starts. i dont consider that baggage. Here: Years Club App (Gls)* 1993-95 1995-98 1998-00 2000-04 2004- Melbourne Knights Dinamo Zagreb Celtic Leeds United Middlesbrough 48 (40) 82 (40) 37 (30) 130 (59) 67 (21)

He will want 40/50k a week if we get him free. if this "clear out" does happen then we can give him 40k. 40k a week for 15+ goals a season is a bargain. Good point....But replace baggage with baggage? he has 37 goals in 76 starts. i dont consider that baggage. I agree to an extent and I'm not being a bitch....But I'd rather have Kanu here, think also G how much he can teach the likes of Martins and Shola. Nigeria my brothers.

He will want 40/50k a week if we get him free. if this "clear out" does happen then we can give him 40k. 40k a week for 15+ goals a season is a bargain. Good point....But replace baggage with baggage?

Are you really comparing Viduka ( and I do like some of his attributes and yes YG there is merit in what you say) to this: Nwankwo Kanu (born August 1, 1976 in Owerri, Nigeria), usually known simply as Kanu, is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for the Nigerian national team and for English club Portsmouth. He is the most highly-decorated African footballer in footballing history, with over 10 awards to boast of, including a UEFA Champions League medal, a UEFA Cup medal and two African Player of the Year awards. He is also the only current Premiership player to have won the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, Premiership and FA Cup. Owen and Martins are here for goalgetting remember.....And think what hooftastic material Viduka will make (my main fear).

He will want 40/50k a week if we get him free.

Ah ok, fair enough. Shearer only got about 150 for us then, cos penalty's don't count do they. They're not difficult to take - no one ever misses them. They don't change games, do they. Of course. And anyhow, he's scored an absolute boatload more in the cup competitions. He's been an invaluable player to Boro - all the Smoggies are desperate for him to stay. Yeah he did get 6 in the Uefa cup against Latvian/Polish/Norweigan part-timers.

....and Babel probably takes shits more dangerous than Viduka.

05/06 he scored 7 goals in 19 PL games. 06/07 9 in 21. Yes so Shola is probably better.

He's scored 18 goals in 60 games at Boro...I don't think the stats bear out the rose tinted on here. I think he takes pens as well doesn't he...So you can knock 4/5 off that as well.

Kanu is one of the best black players in the history of football. Viduka as a fat Aussie cnut. You decide.

That'll be me then.

Now you're moving away from what we quaintly call reality.

Some good points yes. But imo we would be better monitoring the Kanu situation at Pompey...I hear has turned down the 1yr offer.

Babel is one of the highest paid players in the Dutch league, but he is also a player that can only but gain value. Viduka would cost at lest 40k a week in wages...This for someone who isn't a regular or have future potential to get your money back is one of the problems we have been through in the wages thread. We are going to have to start doing things right at this club......Or stop whinning.

All players are gambles not just youngsters.

he wouldn't be free you tit. How much do you think he is demanding in wages for, wait for it, scoring goals as a striker, as dan b puts it? and you really think having that fat wanker around will improve squad morale? no more fucking stopgaps, and no more eejits saying 'if you don't want to sign XXX because he is free you must be mad' honeslty, with your record on match threads, it's a wonder you have the balls to post any football opinions blueyes.gif

The post was born out of his comments yesterday. Yes we could pick up a 20 year old with his ability but they would cost a hell of a lot more than he would which is kind of the point. ....and stay away from Babel.

Rubbish. Consider youself sacked from the writing group.

G how many times has this idea been floated on this board? I would have thought you would be able to resist. He's too old there are as many 20yr (ball holder uppers around) if we needed to pick up such a creature. Vibloater would be just more baggage for our squad probably would end up hardly getting a game and pack up the weighloss shakes.

I know FS has been in a bad way...Never realised it was this bad.

£2m and I'd take it. Who would you replace him with, with the £2m? Alright £2.3.Meewoown.

£2m and I'd take it.

Nah, nee way. He's got those, "I've got dark terrible, terrible secret" eyes. Maybe because most of his face is made from metal? Valid point, but after a quick Google image search it's blatently clear he has dark secrets http://www.nytimes.com/images/2002/05/23/magazine/26fash-slide2.jpg Clearly a bender of the highest calibri.

the same major shareholders as in 1992 ? You are not seriously suggesting that Shepherd runs the club himself, and appoints the managers himself, without the major shareholders ? I've said this before, and I'm still staggered that people appear to believe this is the case. All the managers have been backed to the same degree by the same major shareholders too. It seems pretty clear to me that the Halls are no longer interested in the day to day running of the club, and haven't been for some time. I'm sure that their approval is sought before a major decision like the appointing of a manager is made, but that's as far as it goes. Up until recently, they've been happy to hand the reins to Freddie. I think they now realise that Freddie has been screwing up, and that there's a better alternative both for themselves and the club. you "think" they realise Shepherd is screwing up ? Don't you know ? Or are you just guessing. On the contrary, if THEY picked Souness, it is THEY who screwed up. And neither you, nor I, know. Do you ? If I ran Newcastle United, and I was the major shareholder, one thing I would NOT do is allow someone else to run it for me, or make the single biggest appointment in the football club, if I thought they were screwing up, and as you suggest, they APPROVED of the managerial appointments, at the very least. According to Sir Bob's book, in all his time at Newcastle, he only saw Douglas Hall 3 or 4 times. The guy lives in Gibraltar, and Sir John is retired. It's completely obvious that they're absentee owners. Neither of the Halls seem to be big football fans, and it suited them to take a back seat and let Freddie, who's the real enthusiast, run the show. Sir John doesn't want to take over again, and Douglas doesn't seem to have the ability. I think the way the last two managers have been recruited reflects this arrangement. I think Freddie did all the sounding out and then presented his chosen candidate to the Halls for their approval. Even if they weren't convinced that Freddie had found the best possible man, if they say no they really have to go ahead and find a better man themselves, and they've got no inclination to get involved in that way. I don't think they're interested in much beyond the business side. But personally - and this is where I differ from a few - I don't think the main problem has been the choice of manager. It's been the way the managers have been treated, and the position they're put in. Shepherd acts like a Director of Football, and the managers don't have the power and initiative that is needed, particularly in the transfer market. Good post Bobby. Suffice to say and it's been said a million times on here, there is a distinct lack of professionalism and objectivity at the highest level. I'm not one to bang the drum about FS being incompetant because he is far from that. His main failing is to hire real help for himself on the football side, even a sounding board with experince in the game would do wonders.