AyeDubbleYoo

I still think the most likely thing is that the bids/offers haven't been made yet and things aren't anywhere near as advanced as we're being led to believe.

I really like Craig Bellamy for some reason... odious little bastard but I loved it when he played for us. I was really sorry to see him go.

I wouldn't back the current squad in anything, they've got very little to be proud of.

I know he's right, but I'm not sure what he's going to achieve here other than venting his spleen. I hope these statements will speed up the takeover, but I can't see it TBH.

I wasn't saying there were any... just discussing the possibility. Not trying to move any blame away from Ashley at all, but let's face facts that a less prominent, controversial and troubled club would have been a much easier purchase for him. He might well still have fucked it up, just a thought.

Pretty harsh. NRC isn't the best but he certainly isn't the worst either. In a midfield alongside Cahill, Pienaar, Arteta and Fellaini he would be alright I think. The others would make up for his lack of technical ability and he would add a hell of a lot of aggression and drive. The guy does a lot of hard work in midfield. I think he would certainly be an upgrade on playing Phil Neville in midfield. He can tackle (well, more that he's an in your face, tenacious type), the problem is that he can't pass. These are his specialities. 1. Tackles, wins ball, tries to pass it - at most - five yards to team mate, fails. 2. Makes run, box to box style, holds on to ball too long, runs into defender, loses it. Well we don't need him, we've got a couple of players who fulfill both of those roles.

Yours looks like Usain Bolt compared to ours. Yours looks like Superman compared to ours.

Was just going to say this, he thought of a football club as a rich man's toy and amusement for the weekends. His naivety was staggering. So no one thinks that his business model could have worked for other clubs? What was Ashley's single biggest mistake? The Keegan debacle? or was it the fact that he let the club play out more than half the season with Hughton and Kinnear in charge? These weren't business mistakes. What hurt Ashley the most as owner of the club was when he started to piss on the fans from a great height thinking he could do whatever he wanted and get away with it. I think that's what we were saying... they weren't business mistakes, they were 'running a football club' mistakes. He should never have bought a football club. Obviously if he had bought a club that didn't have any problems to start with, he might have done alright.

Was just going to say this, he thought of a football club as a rich man's toy and amusement for the weekends. His naivety was staggering.

Jason Scotland for £2m is a decent punt.

What's spot on about it? The man appreciates a good post, why argue?

They're not really impressive, but my champions league tickets always warm my heart when I see them. I've got a programme from the Fairs Cup campaign that was my Dad's as well, think it's Benfica.

Of course it's possible, it's just more difficult. A couple of goals here and there and we would still be in the premiership now. The problem with debt is who it is owed to. If, like Fulham and Chelsea, all of the debt is owed to the owner who gives very favourable terms and never really wants it back, it's fine (unless he changes his mind). Our spending was unsustainable, even if Fred had stayed it would have had to be seriously cut. The problem with Ashley wasn't the principle of cutting costs, it was all of the incompetent decisions he made while trying to do it.

Thought it was Ben Affleck for a second, are you sure it's not?

Fuck me, that tshirt is a disgrace. Have some respect!

No idea on this one, to be honest. It probably doesn't make any appreciable difference whether we have H&C or Kinnear. Except with Kinnear we would be waiting for him to keel over at any moment. Maybe we would do better with transfers with Kinnear, but I can't see us making many of those anyway with the ownership situation unresolved.

Watching some of the games on TV at home will be a major plus for me this year. Not worth getting relegated for, but still...

Still convinced Lita has proper potential, definitely worth a punt IMO.

That thread is pretty good like, the Adebayor brochure is brilliant!

After the fans? Hell it hurts, but the club lives on as does my looking forward to the coming season. Ashley has lost face, lost credibility, lost the security of his family (even if it is just a sense of unease, but it is likely more than that if he were to go out on the town again), and lost more money than I will ever get to see. I would say he has, all things considered, lost far more than me during his time here. A lot more than probably anyone on here. You're a braver man than me saying that! Probably right I suppose, I doubt many fans would have the perspective to admit it though.

My brother plays poker at Aspers and always sees Geremi and Bassong in there... he has a Geremi shirt that he paid for with Geremi's money!

We were the same, weren't we? We didn't complain about Shepherd or the Halls when Tino was heading stunners against Barcelona... but it was really just temporary success that we mortgaged the club's long term future to achieve. (Also agree they did a great job with SJP mind)

jesus christ dude, history and kudos? how long have you been watching football? lampard and terry were all that CH had at that time... this is turning to tragedy Mate, I didn't mean Chelsea... I meant that City couldn't compete with the likes of Barca, Madrid and Man Utd for the best players - even if they could spend more. Calm down FFS i'm calm, just saying the bold bit is what everyone was saying about chelsea then...too inconceivable to think city might emulate? Not inconceivable no, but let's admit that Chelsea had a much stronger base to build from. And London is a much bigger draw to players. Anyway, just realised I've sidetracked the thread... I'd go for the money!