Ronaldo

No managers accused Nolan of lack of effort or Owen or Viduka.... Because Owen is Owen, managers see him as untouchable. Capello has alluded to it though Viduka? O'Leary had a go at him for it several times, Mclaren also did iirc. As for Nolan? He's just a terrible footballer who Megson got rid of for £4m

Funny how none of his managers have never accused him of a lack of effort

Mourinho loves Jenas, has for a while

Genuine question, and one I've made a few times, but what could Shearer teach him that the likes of playing under and alongside top strikers like Mancini, Crespo, Vieri couldn't? It wasn't Crespo or Vieri's job to teach him. Plus neither of them played the game as intelligently as Shearer

indeed

like that makes any difference whatsoever

The Watford incident was over 2 years ago and never substanciated And going straight down the tunnel at Boro? Who cares, who really gives a fuck if he didn't shake Joe fkin Kinnear's hand or not?

Because he didn't suddenly become hit and miss in those last 10 games. He only showed up when he felt like it for many games before that and this season. based on what? Based on many s*** performances when you could be forgiven for thinking he wasn't even on the pitch, countless missed chances which a more accomplished striker would easily have buried/or at least tested the goalkeeper, his strops and disrespect of managers and coaches - and that's only this season. disrespect of managers and coaches? His antics prior to Stoke away were a f***ing disgrace. If thats not showing direspect then what is? One incident where he acted unprofessionally and gave Shearer late notice

Because he didn't suddenly become hit and miss in those last 10 games. He only showed up when he felt like it for many games before that and this season. based on what? Based on many s*** performances when you could be forgiven for thinking he wasn't even on the pitch, countless missed chances which a more accomplished striker would easily have buried/or at least tested the goalkeeper, his strops and disrespect of managers and coaches - and that's only this season. disrespect of managers and coaches?

Because he didn't suddenly become hit and miss in those last 10 games. He only showed up when he felt like it for many games before that and this season. based on what?

You could say the same about you and Owen tbf. FWIW I discount the injuries in both cases. Injuries only excuse you so far, and they definitely don't stretch to missing a couple of open goals and a handful of one on ones. Owen wasn't playing with an injury from March onwards though. And Oba unlike Owen was at least having an impact on the games

Why aren't people acknowleging the injury as a legitemate reason why his performances were poor in the last 10 games?

A midfield of Fabregas, Xavi and Iniesta would surely get torn apart at the top level

would they play him over Iniesta or Xavi? doubtful

If Fat Sam was the right man at the right time why was he such an unmitigated disaster? the change of owner played a massive part, obviously

What I meant by 'spot on' was appointing the right man and at the right time, something he'd never done previously

Shepherd's net spend by the end of June was £6.5m, having signed Viduka and Barton, 2 good players as it happens. Had Allardyce remained in charge we may have seen the best of them, who knows Allardyce may be a cunt but saying he isn't a good manager is daft, Blackburn won something like 10 games under him, with that pile of shite squad

erm...no He'd hired a good manager at exactly the right time and promptly gave him the funds to bring in new players

Really wouldn't believe much that Greame Souness says. This is the guy who didn't rate Beardsley, refused Robbie Keane for £3m, sold Bellamy for peanuts and would have kept Shearer in the team till he was 50. It easy enough to point to good players now and says, 'i wanted him but so and so didn't.' Not saying Shepherd is ideal, but i'd trust him before Souness any day of the week. Shep made his mistakes but funnily enough was starting to get it spot on when the club was sold from under him.

Did he back his managers or spend money on players he wanted (or who Willy Mckay and the rest of his crony friends told him to get)? Seem to remember quotes from managers that the players we got weren't always who they wanted (e.g. Souness wanted Boa Morte and Anelka and got Owen and Luque) The same Souness who thought £3m was a ridiculous fee for Robbie Keane?

If we could get Gerrard linking up with Rooney in the next few games I think we could really do well at the WC. Young and Cole on the wings, Lampard and Carrick/Hargreaves in the middle

Forgive me but i'd carry Shepherd to St James' Park if it meant getting rid of Ashley and cracking on with the preparations for next season

Enrique, Barton, Martins, Xisco

The whole 'out of his depth at international level' thing always makes me laugh when you compare the average opposition at premiership level to the average opposition in the international games.