KaKa

Serious question. Can't it be argued that if Ashley feels that not as much money is coming into Sports Direct etc then he will be less inclined to release funds for the benefit of the squad?

Viduka and Oba could be really good if Viduka is ready to go. Smith and Nolan in midfield should be seriously considered also, as Butt's legs will struggle against a West Brom team that moves around very well.

Question regarding Smith in midfield. Did we ever see Smith in midfield alongside Barton? I'm just wondering if it might be worth trying him in there alongside Nolan. I know his tackling is horrendous but so is Butt's and Butt is really not much better than him in any area at all. Smith at least has a ton more mobility and will not play the long ball and therefore give the ball away as often, as he tends to look for the shorter pass more, albeit not the most exciting ones. Smith alongside a more adequate forward thinking midfielder in Nolan might be a significant improvement on Butt. Will Kinnear have the guts to give it a go though?

Well I had no idea Viduka was close to returning so I guess that explains the lack of a new striker. I hate Viduka's lazy play and lack of legs and stamina, but an Oba and Viduka partnership could be very very interesting as Oba has the legs to compensate for Viduka's extreme lack of mobility. It's a partnership we haven't seen enough of and Owen's injury could be a blessing in disguise in that sense. Viduka is just as good a finisher as Owen if not better, as he can actually shoot, but he can at least hold the ball up more. it could be interesting.

To be fair to Shola he was apparently still not 100% on Sunday and he had been out a little while. He just seems to be at least full of confidence whihc is vital. Yes, he can be really awful, but what i've always found even worse was when he compounded this by playing with a lack of confidence which made things far worse. The way he took that penalty was a sign that he at least feels confident at the minute as Kinnear is at least showing some faith in him. God help us. It's going to be a scary end to the seasont hat's for sure.

Another thing to note is that Kinnear seems to get a lot out of huff and puff strikers that are not that great tbh. Shola has been good under him as well as Carroll. We can only hope that Smith works well for him also. We need this guy to perform really badly. Hopoe he's up for it.

If we want to put a positive spin on smith here it is. If he returns to the starting lineup he will get a run of games as a striker in a 4-4-2 alongside Oba, who he has looked most decent alongside. Under Allardyce he played in a 4-3-3 as both a wide striker and a midfielder and he is worthless in these positions. When Keegan first came in I believe he played Smith in a 4-4-2 initially but I don't think it was with Oba. Then we switched to the 3 striker formation which he didn't feature in. IMO I think this is the only thing we can hold onto i.e. Smith alongside Oba as Oba will hopefully cause enough havoc to give Smith a chances in space. Smith alongside the other plodders is a waste of time.

This is just so disturbing it really is.

Wow ... I mean I can't believe what has happened this window. I was so confident they wouldn't screw it up because they just couldn't afford to quite frankly. There is something very very dodgy going on. The fact they couldn't even go for loan signings is the real killer. Even if it was for players that weren't as good at least we would have got extra bodies in, whic is the main problem. At the end of the day if they really had £8 million to spend on Johnson why couldn't it go towards something else if Man City weren't willing to sell. This window was the final test for me. They have failed massively. Ashley must be out of his mind.

Right here waiting on some news. I refuse to give up till we hear something. Still hopeful

What a head case you are. You keep on making up things in your head. I have done nothing wrong. Just because I don't moan and bitch on here 24/7 like the majority of you? Get a life of your own dude. Don't worry about what I'm doing. I'm doing just fine.

They blatantly had 4 players signed just 2 hours ago? Just ignore him, does this every window; an absolute joke of a human being. Now now, thats a bit OTT and nasty. All I've done is hope for the best. Haven't claimed to be ITK or nothing. Till that final word comes in I'll keep hoping, but that's just me though. No point folks taking their anger out on me. I'd much rather be the human being I am than some of the negative, cynical sorts on here.

Waiting for the final word from the club. Until then ...

I ain't afraid of no window! Patience folks ...

Come on Ash you can let these guys out of their misery now.

Waiting for Ashley to step out with his arms around four new ones. No doubt about it.

Works in progress ...

SSN discussing Keane returning as captain. Oh dear! Someone should check on KD. :lol: :lol:

I love this guy! Reminds me of me.

David Craig is an ass!!! Ryan Taylor major signing.

David Craig is an ass!!! Ryan Taylor major signing.

How? because ssn reported this bollocks story (which i believe has some amount of truth to it) we're c***s? :lol:

Good grief... I know right! It will be awesome. Such a turn around of events, especially when you consider that at the end of the last window Vetere was trying to hold back Keegan, who was swinging at Llambas while Vetere was cursing them both out in Spanish for interrupting his attempts to tie up the Xisco and Nacho deals. We've got nothing to worry about.

Interesting to point out the following ... The club has certainly gone out of their way to communicate all of todays happenings with the fans. Having Craig at the ground and letting all the fans know from the outset that Ashley, Llambas and JK were all at the ground working on deals. It has been so quiet so far as far as signings go but the club have not issued a single negative statement to even suggest that they are struggling to tie up deals. It's a setup. They've blatantly got four new players sitting in there with them. They've set it up so that Craig can be there to unveil it all later with Ashley making his statement. It's going to be brill!

Harry has wanted him from way back and is putting out shit to test the water. Sickening individual.