Delima

With so many takeover news on so many teams recently, I can't help but ask myself - What would the Premiership look like in the long term future? Which clubs will come up top, and which clubs will sink? Which (potential) takeover would prove successful, and which will prove disastrous? The following are my thoughts. Chelsea - Taken over by Abramovich, a born again geuine football fan who has long term plan and ambition. As long as his fortune is untouched by Russian authority then I forsee the continuos dominance of Chelsea for a long while. Manchester United - Taken over by Glazer family. So far still seem to be pretty supportive of the manager (Carrick, Hargreaves). Man U won't be able to challenge the dominance of Chelsea but they are still very likely to remain in the top tier, as long as they choose the right manager to succeed Ferguson. However in Queroz they know they have a safe pair of hand in the queue. Liverpool - Constant takeover rumours. The club urgently needs new investment to fund the new stadium and to support the manager. In Benitez they can afford not to worry for a long time. But where would the club find money to fund Benitez's purchses in transfer market in order to stay in touch with Chelsea? Still, in Rick Perry and Rafael Benitez, the club won't go wrong. Liely to stay in top albeit inconsistencies. Aston Villa - Taken over by American billionaire Lerner. Managed by Martin O'Neill. Lerner's pass records does not impress. But O'Neill's does. However, can O'Neill prove to be a capable long term candidate to challenge the top clubs? I doubt so. 5 years in Celtic, spent heavily there and yet still couldn't totally overpower Rangers managed by McLeish. My opinions have swayed following Villa's current form. But can O'Neill really become one of the elite managers? Verdict: Mid to top table Portsmouth - Taken over by France-Russia-Israele trinational Gaydamak. Managed by Redknapp and Adam. The board seems to be supportive of the manager, and the club has been revitalised consequently. How far can they go before they sink? Gaydamak's father owns a club in Israel, but his record does not impress. However, wit them in charge you know they won't be relegated. Verdict: Midtable. West Ham - Taken over by the Icelandic businessman. They have vowed to make Parddew's seat safe. I think the new owner is a noble man with noble intentions. But their first mistakes is to promise the safety of Pardew. Despite having 2 much coveted Argentinians and few highly rated English futures in the squad, Pardew's West Ham is still shit. Pardew is simply not up to scratch if they were to resume the glory past. By promising so uch so early, they will come to regret it. Verdict: Mid to bottom table, unless they have a change of manager. Arsenal - Not taken over or anything. But they have the best board and manager partnership in the premier league in David Dein and Wenger. With the new stadium, needless to say they will easily remain in the top tier. They don't need too muchmoney to compete with other clubs, because they have the best academy system in the world. Tottenham - Have a good and ambitious owner who has done almost all the right things to date. With Comolli as DOF the club looks more and more like Arsenal everyday. I doubt Martin Jol is the right manager to guide them to challenge other elites, but he is decent enough to put them in mid to top table every year. Wigan - Have an amicable pair of chairman and manager. Not starved of money, but how far can they go? Or how long can they stay before they al again? They are still a minnow club. And Whelan's pocket is not bottomless. Verdict: Midtable. Everton - Do not have a rich chairman, but have a good manager who buys and manage wisely. Midtable, simply they can't compete with the others financially. Middlesbrough - Have an excellent chairman, and a series of crap manager, due to the noble intentions of the manager. His insistence to stick with Englishman, plus the current draught of excellent English manager, means that his club won't break into the elite club. Verdict: Mid to bottom table, but the club can only become stronger and stronger. One day, eventually, they are going to challenge for the title. Manchester City - No money. No good manager. No hopers. Perennial relegation candidate, unless they strike gold with a new manger. Fulham - Unsupportive board, but a decent young manager who can only improve. Mid to bottom table. Bolton Wanderers - There won't be life after Sam allrdyce. Charlton - There won't be life after Alan Curbishley. Blackburn Rovers - There might not be life after Mark Hughes. But I think they have some fund left by their previous chairman. Maybe there is life after all. Reading - Midtable. Decent manager. Watford - There won't be life after Aidy Boothroyd. -------------------- Now here comes the reason why I wrote this post. Newcastle United - Shit board with poor managers. Shepherd is a poor millionaire who pretends to be a fat cat. His money is our money, and he borrows money to fund the manager. What is the long term future of Newcastle United with Freaky Shitbird in charge? How can we compete with Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs, Aston Villa and Wigan in the long term? Ok we might get lucky with our next manager, but how much confidence do you have in FFS? We are in debt, only the TV money can save us. But everyone else will get the TV money too. We have spent loads of money on nothing. How would we fair if we spend nothing? Pray tell the Belgravia takeover goes through. A consistent top club requires a consistent top board and top manager. Only with the change of ownership we can have a new sense of direction, and only then a trully top manager will come to manage us.

1 of 2 = 1 Learn how to count. Else NE5 will come back and aunt you with 5th best in the league bla bla bla

Whatever, last post before I go. Assume that high rollers mean footballers who cost, or would potentially cost more than 20 millions transfer fee. We need a good offensive midfielder who has a presence in the box, such as Lampard and Gerrard. Both are inaccessible, so I would opt for one of Kevin Nolan or Nigel Reo Coker. Roeder likes to play target man, and Ameobi/Sibierski are simply not up to scratch. I would go for two of Dave Kitson or Kevin Doyle or Darren Bent or Yakubu or Andy Johnson or Emmanuel Adebayor or Marlon King. 2 more players. We need 2 good fullbacks. Lauren + Lucas Neill

Good way to evade a question

How exactly do you define high rollers? Is Schevchenko one? How about John Terry?

The one pelted at him at a zillion mph? Yes, the one pelted at his hand strethced out a zillion mile. Go on then sonny, you try and do a sliding challenge with your hands taped to your sides. Ad hominen blueno.gif And you try to do a sliding tackle with your hand being parrallel to your leg bluebiggrin.gif http://www.globalogue.org/Newcastle_United/Taylor1.jpg http://www.globalogue.org/Newcastle_United/Taylor2.jpg

Was there intent? Yes. His hand was fully (or 3 qurter) stretched.

The one pelted at him at a zillion mph? Yes, the one pelted at his hand strethced out a zillion mile.

Moore isn't fit unfortunately

Parker should be red carded for this offense.

How about the penalty? Parker blatantly handled the ball in the box and deflected the shot by Van Persie. No one talks about it. Why?

Good enough for us. More consistent than Bramble, better than both Taylor and Ramager. Should NOT be released in the summer, our squad is not the biggest around.

Duff is injured. He is due to have a scan tomorrow but if he trully struggled to walk after the Arsenal game due to foot swelling, then he certainly won't be able to make it in the Celta Vigo's game. How long he would be sidelined depends on the results of the scanning tomorrow. We must stick to 442/451/433, because we never play 3 at the back ala 352/343. To be brutally honest I don't trust our defenders to be able to switch system and master it in a couple of days. Given Solano - Taylor - Bramble - Ramage Milner - Parker - Emre - N'Zogbia Martins - Dyer If Roeder does not want to overwork Dyer, then Luque in for Dyer.

David Kitson is also a decent striker. Of all 3 of them, Kevin Doyle is the best and perhaps is most complimental of our strikers

Shall we, or shall we not? I think we should, even if it means budget overdraft. He is consistent, young, productive. Charlton could sacrifice Bent to fund spending

I think Rafa had disputes with Valencia board too. Part of the reasons he left Valencia for Liverpool. The link is here. http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=429348&CPID=23&clid=178&lid=1490&title=Sevilla+on+the+Up+-+Balague

Updated list of Candidates: Excellent Candidates Ottmar Hitzfeld - Free agent. Swiss Super league, Bundesliga, Champions League winner. Paul Le Guen - Might be sacked by Rangers. 3 consecutive years Ligue 1 winner. Marcello Lippi - Free agent; Serie A, European Cup, World Cup winner, Arrigo Sacchi - Free agent; Serie A, European Cup winner. Rafael Benitez - Might be sacked by Liverpool La Liga, Champions League winner. Claudio Ranieri - Free agent. Success with all the clubs he is involved except Athletico Madrid. Decent Candidates Aidy Boothroyd - Massively overachieving with Watford. Tactically astute. Very ambitious. Very intelligent. Very passionate. Very young (35). Delima's favourite. Might prefer a bigger club than Watford. But can't imagine him working with Shepherd. Quique Sánchez Flores - Good record with Valencia. Might be sacked by Valencia anytime. But could take some time to adapt to EPL. Keith Amstrong - Finnsh league winner Boyhood Newcastle supporter. Paul Simpson - Overachieving with Preston. Young bright manager. Might want a bigger club. Christoph Daum - Turkish League winner. Built an offensive n impressive Bayern Leverkusen that include Lúcio, Emerson, Ze Roberto and Michael Ballack. Nearly become Germany national coach, but he failed his drug test Free agent. Paul Jewell - Good record with Wigan, despite failing to attract players he trully wanted. Turn Heskey from donkey to horse. Young bright manager. Can't imagine him preferring Shepherd over Whelan. Chris Coleman - Establish Fulham as Premiership regular with tight budget. Very young (36). Might fancy a bigger transfer budget. Slaven Bilić - Wikipedia profile Alan Curbishley - Establish minnow Charlton as Premiership regular. Desperate of managing another premiership club. Rubbish Candidates Graeme Souness Bryan Robson Glenn Hoddle David O'leary Alan Shearer Gary Speed Iain Dowie Lee Clark

According to Guillem Balague, Quique Sánchez Flores might be sacked due to disagreements with club board (Valencia). He would make a good candidate. Delima has also been very impressed by the Croatia coach Slaven Bilić. Might worth a long term gamble.

Updated list of Candidates: Excellent Candidates Ottmar Hitzfeld - Free agent. Swiss Super league, Bundesliga, Champions League winner. Paul Le Guen - Might be sacked by Rangers. 3 consecutive years Ligue 1 winner. Marcello Lippi - Free agent; Serie A, European Cup, World Cup winner, Arrigo Sacchi - Free agent; Serie A, European Cup winner. Rafael Benitez - Might be sacked by Liverpool La Liga, Champions League winner. Claudio Ranieri - Free agent. Success with all the clubs he is involved except Athletico Madrid. Decent Candidates Keith Amstrong - Finnsh league winner Boyhood Newcastle supporter. Christoph Daum - Turkish League winner. Built an offensive n impressive Bayern Leverkusen that include Lúcio, Emerson, Ze Roberto and Michael Ballack. Nearly become Germany national coach, but he failed his drug test Free agent. Aidy Boothroyd - Massively overachieving with Watford. Tactically astute. Very ambitious. Very intelligent. Very passionate. Very young (35). Delima's favourite. Might prefer a bigger club than Watford. But can't imagine him working with Shepherd. Paul Jewell - Good record with Wigan, despite failing to attract players he trully wanted. Turn Heskey from donkey to horse. Young bright manager. Can't imagine him preferring Shepherd over Whelan. Paul Simpson - Overachieving with Preston. Young bright manager. Might want a bigger club. Alan Curbishley - Establish minnow Charlton as Premiership regular. Desperate of managing another premiership club. Chris Coleman - Establish Fulham as Premiership regular with tight budget. Very young (36). Might fancy a bigger transfer budget. Rubbish Candidates Graeme Souness Bryan Robson Glenn Hoddle David O'leary Alan Shearer Gary Speed Iain Dowie Lee Clark

Excellent Candidates Ottmar Hitzfeld Paul Le Guen Claudio Ranieri Decent Candidates Paul Jewell Paul Simpson Aidy Boothroyd Alan Curbishley Chris Coleman Rubbish Candidates Graeme Souness Bryan Robson Glenn Hoddle David O'leary

Does anyone know how well/bad did O'Brien fare in the game last night?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudio_Ranieri Campania, Cagliari Promotion from C1 to Seire A in successive seasons. Napoli 4th in Serie A, introduced Zola. Fiorentina Promotion from Serie B to A. Won Coppa Italia and SuperCoppa Italiana. Valencia He was the coach from 1997 to 1999 and guided Valencia to the UEFA Champions League and the Copa del Rey in 1997. In his first spell Ranieri left a popular man, and has been credited for guiding Valencia onto subsequent successes in the Champions League and La Liga. He was responsible for the development of several youth players at the club, among them Gaizka Mendieta, Miguel Angel Angulo, Francisco Farinos and David Albelda. Ranieri also signed several players who would become highly successful at the Mestalla, among them goalkeeper Santiago Canizares and Argentinian forward Claudio López. Ranieri's first spell at Valencia is popularly regarded as a precursor of what would later happen at Chelsea, since both clubs achieved success which was in part attributable to the input of Ranieri. Atlético Madrid Ranieri joined the club in 1999 but while manager at Atlético Madrid, the club went into administration. Nearing the brink of relegation Ranieri resigned before he could be sacked by the late Atletico chairman Jesus Gil, who was notorious for sacking managers. Chelsea As manager of Chelsea from 18 September 2000 to 31 May 2004, he had to work hard to overcome the language barrier. When he arrived at the London club he could speak only limited English; fortunately, the club had a few who could speak Italian and Spanish and could help translate for him on the training pitch. Ranieri's first season comprised of inconsistent results, with Chelsea reaching sixth place and an UEFA Cup spot. Ranieri worked to rebuild Chelsea in the summer of 2001, essentially creating a brand new midfield by signing Frank Lampard from West Ham United, Emmanuel Petit and Boudewijn Zenden from FC Barcelona, and Jesper Grønkjær from Ajax Amsterdam, as well as William Gallas from Olympique Marseille, for over £30million. Chelsea's league performance however did not improve much on the previous season, finishing 6th once again, but reaching the FA Cup final, though they lost 2-0 to Arsenal. During the 2002-03 season and throughout his Chelsea days Ranieri was accused of over-rotating his squad, and picked up the nickname of the Tinkerman from the British media. Nevertheless Chelsea finished the season on a high, qualifying for the Champions League after beating Liverpool 2-1 on the last day of the season. Ranieri's achievement, coming after a close season where the only arrival was Enrique de Lucas from Espanyol on a free, was greatly appreciated by fans and the media alike. In addition, Ranieri succeeded in getting the best out of players like Samuele Dalla Bona and Mario Stanic and nurtured emerging talents in John Terry, Robert Huth, and Carlton Cole. When Chelsea were taken over by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich in 2003, Ranieri was given a large transfer fund but also found his job under threat. Days after the takeover Abramovich was spotted meeting with England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson, although the club denied Eriksson would be taking over at the time, these rumours would haunt Ranieri's season. Ranieri spent £120 million on players in the summer of 2003. These signings included Irish winger Damien Duff for a then club record £17million, English youngsters Wayne Bridge, Joe Cole, Scott Parker and Glen Johnson, Argentine pair Juan Sebastian 'Seba' Veron and Hernán Crespo, Frenchman Claude Makélélé and Romanian star Adrian Mutu, who would be sacked 14 months later for testing positive for cocaine. The heavy investment brought the best league placing for the club in 49 years, finishing runners-up in the Premiership to the first side to go an entire league season unbeaten in over a century (sufficient to automatically qualify Chelsea for the lucrative group phase of the Champions League) and reaching the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. That season also saw Chelsea break some club records for the least number of goals conceded and highest number of points in a season. Inconsistent results achieved during Ranieri's tenure did not satisfy many at the club, who expected actual success. Ranieri himself explained that it was difficult to mould so many new players into a team within a season and that he was 'satisfied' with his work for the season. He was criticised for his poor tactical substitutions during the semi-finals of the Champions League against AS Monaco, when the team lost 3-1 in the away leg and despite leading by two goals in the home leg eventually drew 2-2 and went out 5-3 on aggregate. Former English footballer and pundit David Platt famously used the example of Ranieri to illustrate his observation that "building a team that can win the title and actually steering this team to the title are two different matters entirely." On May 31, 2004, after almost a year of speculation, he was finally relieved of his coaching duties at Chelsea, and his job went to José Mourinho, who had led F.C. Porto of the Portuguese Superliga to successive European triumphs, picking up the UEFA Cup in 2003 and then the Champions League in 2004, beating Chelsea's conquerors in the semis, Monaco. Ranieri published a book named Proud Man Walking in September 2004 chronicling his last year at Chelsea. All proceeds went to London's Great Ormond Street Hospital. Valencia On 8 June 2004, he returned for a second stint as coach of Valencia on a three-year contract. Picking up the pieces after Rafael Benítez, the manager who had led Valencia to the UEFA Cup and La Liga double the previous season, resigned and then promptly joined Liverpool. Ranieri made a series of signings from Serie A, spending the cash on Marco Di Vaio, Stefano Fiore, Bernardo Corradi and Emiliano Moretti. These four signings never really worked, after a bright start, in which the Mestalla outfit picked up 14 out of a possible 18 points and beat Porto to lift the European Super Cup, Valencia went into a slump from October, winning once in 7 games and getting knocked out of the Champions League, in no small part thanks to a humiliating 5-1 drubbing by Inter in which midfielder Miguel Angulo was sent off for spitting. After a brief revival Valencia went another 6 games without a win from mid-January. Apart from his four Italian signings Ranieri was criticised for not playing Argentinean playmaker Pablo Aimar and persistent changes to formations and tactics, something carried forward by him from his Chelsea days. He was sacked on February 25, 2005 after Valencia were knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Steaua Bucharest. Valencia were sixth at the time of Ranieri's sacking. Quique Sanchez Flores was announced by Valencia in June, 2005 to be Ranieri's long term successor. Prior to that Ranieri had picked up £3million from Valencia for the premature termination of his contract.

In Doyle and Keane I think you lot have a good coulpe of forwards who can supply good service to your national team for quite a while.

Definitely wouldn't mind Claude Ranieri.