KaKa

This is why he is necessary guys

Guthrie's delivery is sublime. Why anyone else ever takes freekicks or corners I will never know.

Nicky Butt is killing us already. Losing tyhe ball everytime.

If it's Warnock we may have more of a chance than we did in the summer given their season so far. More likely to be Baines I reckon.

Loos like those Enrique quotes might be fabricated which is out of order. I do like the fact that we are looking to get 5 players in though. That would be great.

We were linked witht his guy in the summer weren't we? He was one of the sort of not so obvious types we were linked with throughout the summer and it was hard to tell if we were really after them or not. Should be interesting to see if we bring a number of these types of players in January. It would probably be a clear indication that Wise and his team were really after these sorts, which Keegan wasn't as comfortable with.

Or you play the percentages, which players like Owen do. What percentages? We hardly create any chances so if you have space around the box then shoot the damn ball! We actually need more of this at the moment tbh. Martins vs Villa was a prime example. If we created chances like Arsenal all day then I might agree with you, but we don't. Guess Shearer was just as thick as Oba because he didn't always play the percentages right?

I actually find it quite infuriating that Owen hardly ever shoots from outside the box even when the opportunity presents itself. Shooting from outside of the box should not be seen as a negative as it keeps defences honest.

We might do if Owen leaves. That's what i meant. Gotcha

We might do if Owen leaves.

Viduka hasn't worked hard for at least 5 years now. Quite frankly he's a parasite. I was embarrassed we signed him tbh. You have to wonder what the hell we were doing signign Boro's scraps. Humiliating.

He's doing it because he is bitter as he has now realised we took him to the cleaners as Milner is clearly not a footballer.

Last season I remember Lee Dixon talking about Martins' development as a player on MOTD. He said that he is still the same player that he saw play against Arsenal at Highbury few years earlier.(When Inter won 3-0) He added that he is unlikely to improve and that's just the way he plays. I agree that he hasn't improved very much at all. That's pretty much what I've been saying since we signed him. There's some players you get who you can nurture. Bellamy is a prime example. Martins though just doesn't seem to have the brain or overall technique to improve. Someone mentioned it last week, Owen's brain in Martins body would be the best striker in the world. spot on opinion, the only thing still with martins is he has time on his side I just don't see it though. It's not like he's 19-20, he should be pretty close to the finished article now. I know some people use Drogba as an example of how you get late developers in the game, but Drogba didn't play in academies and have the training facilities with top coaches that Martins has had at Inter and us (less the top coaches bit ) until he went to Marseille which was later in his career. If Martins was going to develop as a lot on here hope and seem to expect, I don't think there's a cat in hell's chance Inter would have sold him. Whether he's improved, or is capable of improving isn't really the point. He's quick and he creates and scores goals, and we don't have anyone else who we can replace him with just yet. My vote is to stick in a counter bid of £50 million for David Villa and then put Oba on the bench. Wake me up when that happens, until then I'd rather keep Martins on the pitch. And until then I'd sooner have Owen & Viduka. That's absolutely mental quite frankly. A sick and twisted part of me wishes we were forced to witness this "dream duo" for a couple of games or so. That would soon learn some people on here really quickly.

Eh? Why not if he only gets paid when he plays? He can't hide/pretend not to be fit because he won't be paid. Also if he's s*** in games he doesn't get picked and so also won't get paid. Where's the downside here? The downside is he is too old, too fat and too crap. It would be much more worthwhile getting in someone who is actually interested in football. We don't need his stinking unprofessional behaviour around the place any longer.

Can't believe people would actually bring Viduka back even on a pay as you play deal. Why on Earth would you do such a thing with the whole summer ahead of you? What a disgusting thought.

Exactly. As I said previously Martins goals against Tottenham and Blackburn are clear examples. No other striker on our books has that kind of threat, but whatever, lets just convince ourselves he's a neanderthal incapable of dressing himself in the morning. Knowing our rotten luck, the Martins abusers will soon get their wish when he gets injured, then we can all sit back and take in this Owen and Viduka partnership they all crave. Problem is this the year 2008 and not 2000. The ineffectiveness of the partnership would be a shock to the system for you all. could say owens two goals were an example of his movement and nouse that martins doesn't have. You could also say that Owen's two goals were a result of the pace and movement Martins and Jonas possess but Owen doesn't. i'd say both goals were as a result of all those things. myself i thought owen was pretty shifty for the second goal,look where he is when martins gets the ball. i also think,as i've seen it too often,if the positions were reversed martins would have used his pace to go near post,making it much harder to get anything out of the situation. espesh on the first goal it was the movement that lead the way for the pass. Not sure what you are trying to prove here. If the roles were reversed Owen wouldn't have been able to beat the man out wide to deliver the ball like Martins did. Come on! what you on about,first off it's andy griffin he's up against and he doesn't get passed him. did you have another look at owens movement for the first goal. i've never seen martins be that clever. That's because he isn't that clever, he doesn't have the poacher's instinct that Owen has, by the same token, Owen doesn't have the athleticism or explosive speed that Martins has. Unfortunately we only get pure thoroughbreds on their way down, like Butt, Viduka, Owen and probably plenty more through the years. Put them all into the same team and it's Oscar De Lahoya on a football pitch. The class is still there but the legs aren't. Well said. Especially frustrating how managers just can't see past these players' name/history. Yes we all know they have achieved a lot and have been very good players but they are clearly not performing on that level any longer.

Exactly. As I said previously Martins goals against Tottenham and Blackburn are clear examples. No other striker on our books has that kind of threat, but whatever, lets just convince ourselves he's a neanderthal incapable of dressing himself in the morning. Knowing our rotten luck, the Martins abusers will soon get their wish when he gets injured, then we can all sit back and take in this Owen and Viduka partnership they all crave. Problem is this the year 2008 and not 2000. The ineffectiveness of the partnership would be a shock to the system for you all. could say owens two goals were an example of his movement and nouse that martins doesn't have. You could also say that Owen's two goals were a result of the pace and movement Martins and Jonas possess but Owen doesn't. i'd say both goals were as a result of all those things. myself i thought owen was pretty shifty for the second goal,look where he is when martins gets the ball. i also think,as i've seen it too often,if the positions were reversed martins would have used his pace to go near post,making it much harder to get anything out of the situation. espesh on the first goal it was the movement that lead the way for the pass. Not sure what you are trying to prove here. If the roles were reversed Owen wouldn't have been able to beat the man out wide to deliver the ball like Martins did. Come on! what you on about,first off it's andy griffin he's up against and he doesn't get passed him. did you have another look at owens movement for the first goal. i've never seen martins be that clever. This is crazy.

Exactly. As I said previously Martins goals against Tottenham and Blackburn are clear examples. No other striker on our books has that kind of threat, but whatever, lets just convince ourselves he's a neanderthal incapable of dressing himself in the morning. Knowing our rotten luck, the Martins abusers will soon get their wish when he gets injured, then we can all sit back and take in this Owen and Viduka partnership they all crave. Problem is this the year 2008 and not 2000. The ineffectiveness of the partnership would be a shock to the system for you all. could say owens two goals were an example of his movement and nouse that martins doesn't have. You could also say that Owen's two goals were a result of the pace and movement Martins and Jonas possess but Owen doesn't. i'd say both goals were as a result of all those things. myself i thought owen was pretty shifty for the second goal,look where he is when martins gets the ball. i also think,as i've seen it too often,if the positions were reversed martins would have used his pace to go near post,making it much harder to get anything out of the situation. espesh on the first goal it was the movement that lead the way for the pass. Not sure what you are trying to prove here. If the roles were reversed Owen wouldn't have been able to beat the man out wide to deliver the ball like Martins did. Come on!

It could work true, but only with better players I feel. Basically I think a much more talented midfield would be needed to make it work, one with ability, athleticism and pace. With the midfield we currently have, I'm not sure any kind of system could make an Owen and Viduka partnership effective.

Exactly. As I said previously Martins goals against Tottenham and Blackburn are clear examples. No other striker on our books has that kind of threat, but whatever, lets just convince ourselves he's a neanderthal incapable of dressing himself in the morning. Knowing our rotten luck, the Martins abusers will soon get their wish when he gets injured, then we can all sit back and take in this Owen and Viduka partnership they all crave. Problem is this the year 2008 and not 2000. The ineffectiveness of the partnership would be a shock to the system for you all.

Wonder if Reo-Coker might be available this January. It seems Sidwell has moved ahead of him and recently he's being played at right-back if at all. If so I think he would be a good option that would improve our midfiled. Not the best passer in the world, but an absolute workhorse. Strong and mobile.

Off the top of my head Martins against Tottenham last season and against Blackburn the previous season. Basically situations in which the opposing teams had pushed a number of players up to try to get a goal and Martins has got the ball at the half way line and taken it all the way to the other end to score. Owen simply cannot do this. My issue isn't with Owen though, it is with Viduka. he does not hold the ball up anymore so why is he being brought on exactly? Leave Owen and Martins on. Simple.

Why does this surprise anyone? Ashley it seems will definitely be selling up next summer at the moment, and Owen is contracted to us until then right? Why would you all then expect him to throw more money at Owen at this moment in time.

The sad thing about all this is that it is down to JK trying to keep everyone happy and pretty much payting too much attention to previous reputations. Viduka imo should not be brought on to the pitch ever okay. Not unless we are losing and need an extra striker on. He is an unprofessional, fat lump who has seriously taken the piss while he has been here.

Signign a left-back is not a problem. As long as other areas are improved also I will be very happy with an additional left back, purely because any sort of injury to Enrique and we have to start patching things together again. I know Bassong is decent there, but in my opinion he is too important for us in the centre of defence and needs to stay there.