oldtype

I'm stopping myself because it's probably been done a billion times already, but writing out a starting XI for this would feel so good.

Six months too late is infinitely better than "never", which is what I was expecting. Happy days.

Jonas played extensive minutes on the right in his debut season. He wasn't that good there.

Hopefully he won't find a way to fuck up this sudden windfall of players Ashley has thrown at him.

Ashley: "Hi Graham, I think we need some more players. Can I have your shortlists?" Carr: "Sure boss, which positions." Ashley; "All of them."

Laughed out loud just seeing this back on page 1

After five years, Mike Ashley has finally learned how to panic buy

My worry is that we'll get relegated despite buying all the players we ever wanted. I'm not even at the stage where I'm beginning to worry about the summer.

I am a bit worried about this too. It will eventually become a weakness if only French players will join us. Clique-forming at some level is inevitable once you go beyond a certain number. If we end up signing all of Gouffran, Mbiwa, and Sissoko, it is even reasonable to expect that English be the primary language on the training ground anymore? Pardew has said they all have to speak in English whilst at training. That will obviously be the cast policy-wise, but once the French players start outnumbering the non-French ones you have to wonder how easy that would be to enforce. Yeah I totally see where you are coming from with that. Just wanted to point out that Pardew has already addressed it as it has been pointed out as a concern by the media. Yeah, I understand that. Time will tell I suppose.

Now that you put it that way, it's actually a significant concern.

I am a bit worried about this too. It will eventually become a weakness if only French players will join us. Clique-forming at some level is inevitable once you go beyond a certain number. If we end up signing all of Gouffran, Mbiwa, and Sissoko, it is even reasonable to expect that English be the primary language on the training ground anymore? Pardew has said they all have to speak in English whilst at training. That will obviously be the cast policy-wise, but once the French players start outnumbering the non-French ones you have to wonder how easy that would be to enforce.

I am a bit worried about this too. It will eventually become a weakness if only French players will join us. Clique-forming at some level is inevitable once you go beyond a certain number. If we end up signing all of Gouffran, Mbiwa, and Sissoko, it is even reasonable to expect that English be the primary language on the training ground anymore?

I won't complain about signing players for good prices, but it is a bit disappointing if the scope of our successful scouting system is limited to just France.

Such a decent human being this lad. Would be nice if he actually made it.

Not really relevant at this point, but personally I think the results at Old Trafford and the Emirates were what broke him.

My immediate fury from Saturday having subsided a bit I do pity the man a little. He had the chance to achieve so much here, totally change his legacy as a football manager, but all of that's gone down the drain in an alarmingly rapid fashion. It's also not untrue that he's had a lot of bad fortune. When unfortunate things start happening one after another, it's very easy to start thinking that the whole world is against you and that affects you a lot mentally. That "woe is me" feeling is probably why he's turned into an excuse machine lately. That said, it's his own fault that he's adapted to a bad situation in the worst way humanly imaginable. No one would even be talking about sacking him if we were something like 13th or 14th with a comfortable 9 point buffer off the drop zone, which would be deeply disappointing but still vaguely forgivable given our injuries and bad form. As it is, no amount of bad luck can explain away the embarrassing situation we find ourselves in right now and as much as I wish things had been different with him, ultimately the buck has to stop with Pardew.

True, like. I know I'd come pretty close

It's pointless believing anything, it's just blind guesswork when dealing with Ashley. Think it's pretty apparent that he's feeling the heat this window. I think this is about as close as we'll ever get to "total panic buy anything that moves" with Ashley.

Nonsense, that would make it a delicacy.

I've had the misfortune of watching nearly every QPR game this season because Park captains them so hey're always on TV. They're horrific. Team full of selfish individuals with no understanding, movement, or teamwork whatsoever. Redknapp has got a few decent results but fundamentally he hasn't changed that. Would be a massive effort for them to stay u.

Honestly don't know. Part of me wants us to go for a creative appointment that can take us places in the long term, but realistically we need to go for the first available unemployed Englishman to come in and bring some stability fast. Coyle, Hughes, Adkins.... Really, what difference does it make. They're probably all average but I'll take whoever we can get.

He can be as suave and well presented as he likes. He is incompetent. (A general comment; not contradicting your viewpoint btw) We know that now, but I struggle to believe that anyone could have thought that he was incompetent back then,

Remember him at the unveiling of the Sir Bobby statue at St James when I was over there last Spring. Looked confident and suave, shaking hands with fans, telling them to enjoy the match... Startling to think how far he's fallen in less than a year

Pretty harsh putting those two in the same sentence Unfair on Kinnear? Hughes is an average manager who did badly at his last job. Kinnear is a certified grade A lunatic.

Pretty harsh putting those two in the same sentence