brummie

See, I was nodding my head with the original post, and agreeing then you go and spoil it. Personally I don't think it was just the money that saw him go to Newcastle, it was also the desperate need to get some Premiership football in the World Cup year, wherever he could get it. If he fucks off over the summer (and personally, i hope he doesn't, and if the lad has any conscience, he won't) then all the stuff you mentioned above is going to leave you with a bit of egg on your face, isn't it?

I'm scared of technology, Dr S. I think he uses it to transmit mind rays to disrupt the opposition, and that Kevin Davis is actually made of Lego Mindstorms or something. I wonder why Little Sam has gone all retro though. That new one looks suspiciously late 1990s, doesn't it? Did they change it before Big Sam left or just this last game? I think we ought to know.

Will he continue to wear that stupid fucking bluetooth headset thing that makes him look like some NFL head coach? Or even worse, will he do what Sammy Lee has recently done and "downgrade" to what looks like a five year old, non bluetooth model of the type you see people wearing in call centres?

Get in there, Lukey Moore!

Villa fans at the Reebok are serenading Bolton fans with "Big Sam is a Geordie fan, Big Sam is a Geordie fan"

I wouldnt normally, but WH are fucking cheats who lied repeatedly and got away with it due to politics. Personally i want Sheffield United to stay up, theyre every bit as much a "proper club" as West Ham are.

Oh my fucking God.

Ordinarily, I would hope so. Today not, as we're currently on course for a 1 in 5 chance of getting into the UEFA cup via the fair play league. *straws, clutched*

Gardner equalises for Villa. That boy is very, very promising.

If this were a conspiracy theory by Warnock and Jewell, then Warnock would require balls of STEEL to have let them score so early.

Here's to the vile, cheating, chirpy cockneys going down today. Kitstealing bastards.

Piece of sloppy journalism on the Five Live home page: "Listen Live as the Black Cats take on the Baggies in the Championship semi-final" They're not cats, they're dogheads, FFS.

My heart says Derby, as it is still another local team for us, and that is good for the area. My head says Albion as they're a Birmingham club, which generates more local rivalry. Then again, if they don't make it, Wolves will do, as a lot of the old timers around here have fond memories of them in the 50s. My memories, mind, are of some decidedly frightening moments going to their place in the 1980s.

Kaboul is going to Spurs. Sam has been after Jloyd all season, for some reason. Oh dear, oh dear. He's a one season wonder with an absolutely dreadful attitude.

I strongly disagree. See the hundreds of threads in the past complaining about your defence for evidence of this. See also the "clear out" thread. Like it or not, Spurs have a much stronger squad. Having beaten them twice means nothing, really.

If the team wasn't bad, it wouldn't be where it is, would it?

It is very easy to admire with hindsight Arsenal's appointment of Wenger, but what would your reaction be right now if Newcastle appointed someone who had won the French league and then spent a few years rattling around in Japan? How does any club outside the top four - no, actually, three of the top four - have the hallmark of a title challenger? Clubs with pretensions to challenge for the title at any point soon don't find themselves in the bottom half of the table, or rattling around in the mid reaches. There might be better managers than SA around but that's not what it is about. It is about great managers who are *willing* to come to a mid table Premiership club, one with great potential yes, but mid table nonetheless. He might not be the most glamourous name around, he might not have managed Atletico Bumchaff to 12 Spanish League titles, but he's almost certainly the best man currently available and willing to take the job.

Surely it is hard to measure satisfaction purely on league position? I mean, what if you had put together a decent squad, with a mix of promising youngsters and experienced players, and things only really started to gel towards the end of the season, meaning that though you might finish 14th or something, you were much more optimistic about the season after? In that case, it would be about progress within the club rather than in the league. Look at Bolton, for example, on paper their high league finish is very promising. In reality, having lost their talismanic manager, they'll be many people's tip for the drop next season, suggesting that their league position doesn't really say a lot for their future.

He's only just arrived there.

David Moyes, Sam Allardyce, Alan Curbishley, Mark Hughes, Roy Keane, Aidy Boothroyd are all known for restructuring the whole club! David Moyes - Been in the club for 5 years, steadying the ship and pushing the club forward gradually. Academy has been flourishing under him Sam Allardyce - Mark Hughes - Build a one of the (maybe the) highest qualified backroom Roy Keane - Bring in reputed coach and physio Aidy Boothroyd - The extent of his work is not much known to me except that he has brought in Keith Burkinshaw as his assistant manager and his scouting is extensive judging from the players he brings in. All these managers work without Director of Football. Steve Coppell and Martin Jol work with DOF. Not to knock MON off any credits but I don't being involved in restructuring the whole club is a big deal. Even Roeder is supposed to be involved in similar activities. If you did a straw poll of all supporters of other clubs on which of those they'd prefer, how do you think the results would look? Works with DOF? So what? Brought in reputed coach and physio? Aidy Boothroyd may work with KB but he also got Watford relegated whilst playing dire football. The others are good managers, but i stand by my point, I wouldn't have any over MON.

I got 82/100 at my first go.

I'm of the opinion Sparky is more likely to take over than O'Neill - I can't put my finger on it but I think he's going to be real quality... I think MON will stay a few years. I also doubt if the Glazers would want to appoint an "I'll run the whole thing" style manager given the choice. I can see Hughes ending up there, or possibly Keane if he does well with Sunderland.

I wouldn't take any of those mentioned above MON, wouldn't need a nanosecond's thought. And as for Aidy Boothroyd, dear oh dear, one season in the premiership playing the worst long ball football seen in years, then relegation well before the season end? Nein danke. Something worth remembering is that MON isn't just managing the team, he is deeply involved in the whole restructuring of every aspect of the club at the moment.

Jesus Christ. 17 appearances in 2 years.