Delima

What are Higuain's qualities then to make him such a successful striker ?

I think it would be big mistake if Sunderland sack Steve Bruce. Personally, I have no doubt that Steve Bruce has learnt the formula of building a club for long term success - a solid back 4, a functioning midfield and a goal-scoring striker. What went wrong for Steve Bruce is that the defenders he had brought in do not live up to expectations. Michael Turner, Paulo da Silva, John Mensah. All good signings on paper, unfortunately not on the pitch. Had the defense function as it should - I would have no doubt that Sunderland should be higher up on the table. I put it down to bad lucks - rather than inability of Bruce.

Decent list prophet

15 goals per season is a big ask I think. It means the striker should have scored 10 goals now. http://www.premierleague.com/page/Statistics/0,,12306,00.html This criteria will exclude players like Adebayor, Berbatove, C Cole, Anelka etc. I genuinely think Steven Fletcher is a must buy. Young, hungry, talented, proven and still has potential. Won't be too expensive either. Burnley are going down

Steven Fletcher and Chris Eagle from Burnley.

Boumsong vs madrid !!

How about N'Zogbia http://www.lequipe.fr/Football/breves2010/20100209_173606_n-zogbia-en-selection.html He will be soon eligible for dual nationality

Lennon, Beckham Cole, Young

Wes Brown Stephen Warnock Glen Johnson Ashley Cole

I voted Rooney, Defoe, Heskey, Bent. Rooney and Defoe are there by merits and form. Heskey is there by the fact that he seems to complement Rooney well despite not being at all prolific. The Bent vote is form vote. And I would replace him with whoever most in form striker before the world cup. Could be Owen, could be Agbonlahor etc.

I voted Green, Hart, Harper. Voted so because I no longer trust Robinson, and James is simply past it.

I voted Williamson. Historically it is much easier for a Championship central defender to succeed, much harder for a Championship winger to succeed, and hardest for a Championship striker.

Sorry - you were not with your wife, you don't have any rights to dictate the life of your ex. You can feel jealous or whatever, but keep it to yourself. Friends ex's, sisters are not off limits. I have seen plenty of such relationships, peaceful and amicable. Mums and daughters I have not seen myself - but probably due to age difference/gap rather than anything "standard procedure". Your wife was probably being irresponsible for going out with a new guy during pregnancy, though.

Perhaps that's why we lose out. And knowing Leeds / Bates and the obvious talent of Moses, it will be extremely hard to keep our interests and dealing secret.

5 England DF Fitz Hall (on loan from Queens Park Rangers) - proven solid/good Championship central defender. 6 England DF Mike Williamson - seems excellent. £2M ? Good price. 10 England MF Wayne Routledge - proven excellent Championship right winger. £3M ? Reasonable. 12 England DF Danny Simpson - proven very good/excellent Championship right fullback. £750k. Cheap 14 Netherlands DF Patrick van Aanholt (on loan from Chelsea) - emergency loan. Looks excellent. 20 Republic of Ireland FW Leon Best - proven Okayish Championship striker. Age on his side, has talent. Price unknown. 21 France MF Fabrice Pancrate - proven Okayish Championship right winger. Free. No complain. This is a trully fruitful window. All deals carried out secretly, none this media hoohah. All fees undisclosed - which protects the commercial interest of Newcastle United. All youngish players. Non overpriced. All directly addressing the weakness of our squad. Massive credits to Hughton and the board. I hope Chris do well in the this half season - because he no longer has any excuse. He has all the players he needs on paper. Pressure is on Chris, and I do sincerely hope that the fans won't be jumping on Chris' back immediately if results aren't that good.

What I am more worried about - does this mean Caroll and Ranger simply do not have the confidence of Hughton - which is a shame, I thought they have talent and potential. They should be good enough for the Championship at least. I certainly don't expect Hughton to put Best on the bench if he buys Best.

I am lazy to quote, but for those who are worried that we rarely look good in the Championship (despite grinding out results) .. If we refer to the history, looking good in the Championship is as much a curse as blessing Successful beautiful team : Reading under Coppell Sunderland under Keane Burnley under Coyle, West Ham under Pardew I suppose we can also find contradicting examples : Wolves under McCarthy West Brom under Mowbray Sunderland under McCarthy For successful labourers : Birmingham under McLeish Stoke under Pulis Hull under Brown Wigan under Jewell For unsuccessful labourers : Birmingham under Bruce Derby under Davies Watford under Boothroyd Sheffield Utd under Warnock All these going back to 2004-05 Championship But if we change a different angle : 2008/09 - Wolves 2007–08 - West Brom 2006–07 - Sunderland 2005–06 - Reading 2004–05 - Sunderland 2003–04 - Norwich 2002–03 - Portsmouth 2001–02 - Man City 2000–01 - Fulham In the recent years, being the Championship Champion is almost a curse. In conclusion, if anything, I wouldn't worry too much how we perform or where we are positioned in the table - as long as we are promoted. Then only we worry about how to keep ourselves in the Premiership.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100131/local/misunderstanding-in-readers-question-leads-to-neville-tevez-spat LOLz

All the talks about Martin O'Neill being an excellent manager. I just don't think so. His achievement in Celtic is not outstanding (Gordon Strachan, Alex McLeish). His achievement in Villa is not outstanding (considering the money he is afforded). I highly doubt that Lerner is going to recoup the principal unless he find a dafter foreigner who is willing to takeover the club and assume all the liabilities. Or unless Villa suddenly become a widely supported club in the whole world. Or MON win Premiership and Champions League with Villa.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jan/27/randy-lerner-aston-villa What's the point of owning a Premiership football club if the owner has to make constant losses ? How are Villa a well run club ? I wonder apart from Arsenal, which other club is financially stable and healthy.

VI can you please do a 313 words comparison on Cronaldo and Messi as you perceive it.

Ronaldo is an excellent poster. Ronaldo, TMonkey, Johnypd - trio of most knowlegeable football fans in this forum. I have always enjoyed their points of views tremendously, regardless if theirs are consistent with mine. Ronaldo is a prolific poster - it is only natural that at sometime somepoint he is going to be contradicting himself. Considering the sheer number of his posts, and considering that quite a few jeolous posters in here are vying for his fall - it is actually quite amazing and extraordinary that it takes so long to find a "flaw" in Ronaldo's posts. In my opinion, this is a superb testament to Ronaldo's calibre, if anything. I hope that Ronaldo continues to post regularly here.

I don't understand why Marquez isn't playing anymore. Is him a bit shite nowadays ? I thought Marquez-Puyol was a very good partnership. Then Barcelona went on to buy Gabriel Milito, Gerard Pique, Martín Cáceres, Henrique, Dmytro Chygrynskiy ...

Sorry Joey - I just never heard of him before - typical ignorant Delima. This kid has god amazing composure.

The new wonderkid/superstar has appeared Search youtube for "Sevilla - Racing Santander 1-2 All Goals & Highlights" 19 years old Sergio Canales http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/jan/11/sergio-canales-la-liga-sid-lowe