AyeDubbleYoo

Pieters sounds like a good player, anyone seen much of him?

What is Toivonen like in style and quality?

Well we weren't doing it before Ashley, so it's pretty revolutionary for us. You must have missed the years Sir Bobby Robson was in charge. Unlucky. Fair point, we did some mental spending on shit players under a variety of other managers though.

He's got "nearly" 1 in 3 for Spurs, suspect he might rather join a Russian club for a massive payday though.

Fine the lad!!!

It's still a very good team, but at least without RvP we aren't guaranteed to lose. The onus will be on Tiote and Cabaye to stop Wilshere and Ramsay I guess, a very tough task but they are two good players.

Yeah, good post. Also, Joey is so volatile that he could be happy again in a month's time, especially if we do well on the pitch.

Well we weren't doing it before Ashley, so it's pretty revolutionary for us.

Gervinho and Wilshere looked very good in the Emirates cup, other than that I'm not that impressed by that lineup. Dangerous but not unstoppable.

We should have kept him in suspended animation at SJP until the Arsenal game.

What's up with Robin?

Dutch is my second favourite football nationality, after French.

Me too, not sure why! With Tiote and Cabaye and Jose still here we've got a fighting chance.

Top top post One has to wonder why something so logical isn't the strategic basis for operation by a supposedly intelligent businessman such as Mike Ashley. I agree TBH, but I hope/think that we will be able to show some progress under the Ashley approach to transfers. I think it's true we're getting further away from the top 4 (although we've been miles away for years anyway) but I think the Europa League is definitely achievable in the medium term. Last season we finished closer to Europe than for ages, and that was following a relegation and with our best attacking player out for the season. I don't think we're as far away as some people might think.

Might have something to do with him being manager of Newcastle.

He'll still do the same thing as now man. Run with the ball a bit, then a) fall over, b)misplace the forward pass/cross or c) pass it back to Jose. or d) cross it onto a stiker's head for a class goal or even e) bend it in the corner of the net for a class goal. Basically

Zhirkov has just gone from Chelsea to some Russian club for £13m+. Jeez.

I immediately ignore any sentence that includes the phrase "sell Jonas".

He consumates.

Ben Arfa might be off the striker, Gosling might be in CM, Barton might be leaving, Obertan plays for Man Utd. Think it would be unwise to sell Jonas based on that.

Top work midds! Mick Lowes said it. Ah well, that's different.

I've been wondering about that, if as we have been told that all new contracts(wages), Tiote, Barton (if he signs), the new players, Ba, Cabaye, Marvin, Abeid and now Eggyhead..........have been factored into the £35m, does that not mean that any outgoing turnover from the club can't include the wages of those players for the term of their contracts, as they are already paid in advance so to speak. If the club include those players wages for the year in next years accounts as an expense going out, why ? Who's actually said all of that is coming out of the Carroll fee though? I think its a misunderstanding coming from the fact that the Carroll fee will go into the clubs revenue and all costs will come out of that revenue. Not that the exact way its working is really that important if the end result is money coming in and not going back into the squad (or at leasr a significant portion of it). Course it is, but never let the facts get in the way of a good whinge.

Depressing how cynical some people are.

He's been behind the likes of Giggs, Nani, Ronaldo and Valencia in his time at Man Utd as well, so his lack of games doesn't necessarily mean he's shit. Fingers crossed.