GM

Del Piero I tells ya. He said world class. Back then, so was Paul Gascoigne

whats pissing people off is that we have a squad much better than the performances given. It doesn't help seeing Sven work such amazing magic with his newly formed squad at Man City and them sdoing quite so blisteringly well either. Does kinda undermine any arguments people may try to make about Sam needing time to settle and gel the team... Not really. Sam was left with the daunting task of basically finding a whole new team. Sven had a solid backbone in Dunne and Richards and a lot of his effort could be focused on getting flair into the team. I'm sure in January and next summer, Sam will look for those flair players. Assuming he's allowed to stay on that long, of course. Which I hope he is, if only just to break this pattern/cycle of hiring and firing managers far too frequently and consequently never building a team. And yp, you're right that Sven had certain key players in place which we certainly lacked. Bringing in an entirely new back four was never going to be without hiccups.

whats pissing people off is that we have a squad much better than the performances given. It doesn't help seeing Sven work such amazing magic with his newly formed squad at Man City and them sdoing quite so blisteringly well either. Does kinda undermine any arguments people may try to make about Sam needing time to settle and gel the team... They've started the season very well, but let's see how they react to that mauling by Chelsea. I'm betting they'll be back all guns blazing, in very bullish style on Monday night. blueyes.gif

whats pissing people off is that we have a squad much better than the performances given. It doesn't help seeing Sven work such amazing magic with his newly formed squad at Man City and them sdoing quite so blisteringly well either. Does kinda undermine any arguments people may try to make about Sam needing time to settle and gel the team...

I seem to recall Sam saying (upon appointment) to all the fans that there would be tough times in the early stages, but he would always strive to get things right. I guess we'll see next weekend just how long it will be before Ashley and Mort will wield the axe. If they do, then I'll hang my head in despair. Sooner or later we need (as a club) to simply learn the fucking hard lesson of how to build a successful team and not (as fans) pile on ridiculously high expectation. Slow and steady always wins the race. I'm off for another pint of whwisky.

They have Winter in Spain? Though that fat fucker had retired back to Boro.

It's a skill.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/7074523.stm And the debate evolves and moves on with Gordon Taylor of the PFA and Sir Alex Ferguson weighing in with their tuppence worth:

*cough* Willie *cough* McKay *cough*

Thanks. That's given me a craving now. Ginsters...Ginsters...oooh, a nice Peppered Steak Slice...drool...

Ligue 1 - Baros caught speeding at 170mph Eurosport - Fri, 02 Nov 12:15:00 2007 Former Liverpool player Milan Baros has set a new speeding record after being clocked at nearly 170 miles per hour in his Ferrari. The Czech striker, now of Lyon, was stopped by police on a motorway between Lyon and Geneva in the French region of Ain. Authorities said the radar reading of 271km/h (168.4mph) was the fastest speed ever recorded in the region, easily beating the 248km/h (154mph) set by a motorcyclist in 2000. Baros told police that he wanted to let his passenger "hear the sound of a Ferrari engine". The 26-year-old had his black Ferrari 430 and licence confiscated and now faces a three-year driving ban. He had to take a taxi back to Lyon. Colonel Claude Loron said: "The policeman had to take action because he did not believe his eyes when he saw the speed registered by the radar. It is a speed record for this area." Former Lyon forward Sylvain Wiltord was apprehended at training last season after being clocked driving 152km/h (94mph) in a 90km/h (55mph) zone.

I'd love it to be held in Australia. They know how to host a proper World Class sporting event.

Reading issues? Not Reading, Parky. Arsenal. Arsenal.

I'd have to say it seems Owen currently represents more of a liability for us than a corporate asset. His on field displays are also hardly meritous of the alleged six figure weekly salary.

I wish he would just fucking sign for Man City and let us make a bid for Anelka, tbh.

They have highly sophisticated iris scanning equipment on the turnstiles now at Celtic Park. Oh and most likely someone would dob the stupid bastard to the Polis if he rolled up with a ticket.

Actually, your point here: raises the question I've often wondered which is how we've ended up not playing through the summer months and having the season start at Easter and end round about November time. I suppose our climate is changing and becoming more hospitable during the winter months so the need is less to avoid games in winter reduces?

I can see where you're coming from on one level about friendly matches, but what's important is having an opportunity for the England manager (even if the current one is an arse) to gel a group of players together in training sessions - and friendly games are an important part of thaty process - to form a coherent squad who relate well on the pitch when the big games do come round. How else do you propose to encourage the growth and development of the game in other countries unless they have an opportunity to match themselves off against the more established "bigger" international teams? Just because qualification for England is now looking dodgy it seems people are suggesting that England have a birthright to qualification and only now are they asking "how dare these small, insignificant nations want to take part?" Agreed - it does seem like a simple answer.

Fo sho, it can get tiring.

What do you reckon to this then? Too harsh, too lenient or about right for the idiocy of what he did? I can't quite decide.

You're just a big bully. I've heard Alex is quite handy. I wouldn't mess about Parky. Not only is he well hard but I hear Alex is also "well connected" in the Tyneside underworld.

I think you could be right.

You're just a big bully.

So they could exclude others, perhaps? Sorry if it seems like an obvious answer.

Alex has thrown a strop! GM senses an incursion into HIS territory of expertise. Unfair and totally uncalled for. Aye, you're more huffy than stroppy to be fair. Zip it, Uncle Fester.