AyeDubbleYoo

OK, most of...

Sunderland cant sign him on loan though Can they not? Why? Already got Onohua (sp) from City on loan Ah, that was a good signing, missed it.

True, ironically all our French players have been pretty good... none of them seem to hang around that long though.

Sunderland cant sign him on loan though Can they not? Why?

I wouldn't agree. Some younger players - Adam Johnson, Gibbs, Hart, Wilshere - showed that they have the confidence to step up to international level and can be relied on. Rooney looked better in a free role and I think it's likely that he'll be playing alongside a target man next time. We looked better without Lampard. There's no questioning his ability, but if we have Gerrard in a CM role and Rooney as a roving striker then there's no room for him. It's a decision that would take a lot of bottle though. You're totally right, the Lampard/Gerrard thing could have been solved ages ago, just by dropping one of them.

Well let's just say they'd both be good

Why do commentators endorse diving so much? Drives me mental.

Is Johnson the most feminine footballer ever?

Just wanted to draw attention to Barton in this one: http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/9256/bartongay.jpg

Maybe he means he hasn't actually had skin-on-skin contact with Ben Arfa.

To be fair, the same post is concluded with this:

I actually wouldn't mind this, I quite rate him.

The shit people spout. Where did that come from? What a total load of balls.

At least 'experts' will have to stop saying they're good.

He's gonna be big.

I'm thinking Hughton just means he hasn't actually spoken to the player... must be.

Can't stop myself from looking forward to it, I just love the goings-on of a season. I won't enjoy our games, but then I rarely do.

Fitness is by far the biggest factor in small-sided games, mainly because we don't do what the game was designed for and pass it around short. If we did that properly, and maintained possession, fitness wouldn't be a factor.

Erm, have we reached 100 pages? I think not.

Maybe Hughton is operating under the Ashley press-hate rules, remember when they basically released a statement saying "fuck off" to the media? He might have to just say there's been no contact in every situation. I can't even recall him saying he actually was interested in a player, even the one's who've signed. Possibly...

Well yes, we have one player who gets loads of credit for running about like a headless chicken, and shouts at everyone else for not doing it. That's irritating. Also one who is much better than the rest of us but therefore feels he needs to try to walk the ball in and take ridiculous shots. My girlfriend is always complaining about her team actually, she says she can't get them to play one-touch passing football, or keep possession by passing backwards. They are women though.

I agree, mental. I know the press make stuff up, but I'd be surprised if Marseille completely invented our interest. Anyway, it was always extremely unlikely, just wait and see what happens.

The most irritating thing about mine is the emphasis on "trying hard" and "getting stuck in" over actually playing football properly. When ever we lose we go on about not closing down quickly enough or "competing for every ball", with no mention of the fact we give the ball away after every second pass.

Is that you Chris?

This was always massively unlikely though, wasn't it? So none of these developments that seem to cast doubt on it are actually a surprise, or a sign that the club has fucked anything up.