oldtype

Martins + Dawson = Win + 3 goals

He'll by 31 if we decide we don't want him in two years' time and with what must have happened and his wages, there's no club that would take him without us paying a part of his wages etc.. If there's even a chance that we might not want him in two years' time, then don't sign him to a long-term deal but I'm afraid that's one thing we're going to have to do to convince him to stay because other clubs aren't as desperate as we are. About the whole 31 thing, I'm not sure which attributes he has right now are going to decline with age. His work rate is pretty unimpressive already and he's lost his pace anyway. It's not as if his footballing brain is suddenly going to atrophy once he hits 30. He's probably a good bet for 31. Maybe even a bit beyond that.

This horrendous manager who's taken points from 9 of his 11 games? He's made mistakes but considering the state we were in when he arrived I'd say he's done ok actually. 2 losses from 11. I'd have settled for that 3 months ago. 2 losses from 11 doesn't excuse some of the woeful decisions that have led to us dropping a lot of attainable points. You can swing it the other way aswell, and say 3 wins in 11. And that is far from good enough for me, given the teams we've played and the players we've got. Just my opinion like. Fair enough. We've dropped points I'd have expected us to win and we've also won points I'd not have expected. As I say, in comparison to freefall - I'd settle for what he's done so far. Each to their own though. I won't be surprised if we're in the relegation zone come the turn of the New Year. If we're four or five points clear of it, then i'll give him credit because i'd regard that as reasonably acceptable given the situation of the club. Nothing will convince me, however, that he is anything but a very poor manager. We're fortunate to have what is, imo, a quality collection of players. So Ashley put a good squad together then? We're a little light in a couple of areas, but his recruitment team certainly did, aye. I think the overall direction of the transfer window was a bit off, in that we didn't acquire for Milner and picked up Xisco instead, who it looks like we blatantly don't need. (As far as CMs go we did get Nacho, nobody could know that he'd go crock himself and take Barton along with him.) As far as the individual players that we got though? Every single one that's played has been spot on.

0 They got rid of it as for Europe in general, it's the holidays so I'll be hopeful and say 2

Contrast that with what we had under Roeder which was only a year and a half ago. The trouble with that is contrast Everton, Villa, Spurs, Pompey squads to a few years ago and they too have improved... beyond what we have. Our squad is still small, rather average and for me more significantly still unbalanced. Absolutely, 100% agree with you there but i dont want to get into why this is the case..... I wouldnt say the squad is average to be honest, we have some cracking players, we just need a spark or 2, like we were before SBR signed Bellamy and Robert. We've had 4 years in the footballing wilderness dont forget. Problem is that our squad at the moment isn't all that sustainable. Beye has a season or two left in him at most, Enrique will get sick of Kinnear giving him s*** sooner or later, Butt is pretty much done already, and Owen is leaving. I don't know what the Zog's situation is but we'll probably have to replace him with a RW and put Jonas on the left. Major question marks over some key components in the squad there. Short term I think we're solid as long as we fill up the CM position, long term, we might actually need two fullbacks, two cms, a right winger, and two strikers in the summer, which is a tall, tall order.

Yeah. I'm praying for a January bid for Wigan's Valencia. He'd give us some attacking threat on the right. Something we haven't had in a while. Plays through the middle too, doesn't he? Valencia would be perfect ...And also cost 15~20m

He's learning, but I still hate the fucking clown. Enrique deserves an apology for Kinnear's comments after his second-half performance today. If it was me I'd have told him to fuck off and started packing my bags for Spain.

We've finally gone above West Ham now, which is crucial. I think we can rely on them to start going to the Blackburn school of sinking without a trace.

No words, just delighted.

Still want him out, for the record We're above City now. Madness.

Why? So he can track back and provide some extra cover on Kranjcar. And why do we need that? Joe Kinnear school of thinking there. Trying to protect a 2 goal lead at home against Stoke with 45 minutes left is idiocy. Trying to protect a 2 goal lead away against Portsmouth with 10 minutes left is pragmatism.

Why? So he can track back and provide some extra cover on Kranjcar.

Wouldn't mind Duff on for Zog right now either.

Think Martins has pulled a stomach muscle. Maybe we'll get to see Shola starting again next week!

Martins giving Kinnear a really good reason to sub him

I get filled with unspeakable dread every time I see Campbell and Distain running up to the box for a corner.

Kanu on. I'm scared.

neither side doing anything of note really. ...Oooh Owen, almost

3 points please

Whoever thought we'd end up missing "Glen Roeder refuses to use injuries as an excuse."

That actually makes a lot of sense.

Zico's just signed on with FC Bunyodkor, the Uzbek equivalent of Chelsea.

He'd be a mammoth signing because he'd most likely improve one of the weakest areas in the team and could prevent Butt from starting every game - which ultimately could keep us in the Premiership. Decent passer of the ball, good free kick taker, proven in the Premiership, right age/experience level to come in and do an immediate job - sort of signing that could turn us into a decent side even though the player himself might not be top draw. Must be a good chance of that move happening too because 1) we'll be offering more wages than tiny Fulham can afford, 2) this might be his only chance to move to a club with the potential/facilities/resources to be in Europe in the next few years by which time his career will be over, 3) he'll be playing with better players than he's surrounded by at Fulham, and 4) if we do get relegated even with him in the side then chances are he'd easily get a move back to a lower mid table Premiership side. Fulham would defend him tooth and nail though. I imagine we'd have to pay them 8m or some other large amount that he's not worth to even have a sniff. Any player we bid for in January will most likely be at an inflated price if they're in the first team elsewhere. Bullard being in the England squad will also automatically add a few million onto his value. The only real saving grace is that at his age, Fulham might be tempted to cash in on a reasonable offer. Maybe we could offer Alan Smith in the other direction? That should add about 2m to his price.

but are they any better than joe.? if they were anygood they would have a few job offers all ready. Aidy Boothroyd. Alan Curbishley, Billy Davies, Avram Grant. Alan Pardew

He'd be a mammoth signing because he'd most likely improve one of the weakest areas in the team and could prevent Butt from starting every game - which ultimately could keep us in the Premiership. Decent passer of the ball, good free kick taker, proven in the Premiership, right age/experience level to come in and do an immediate job - sort of signing that could turn us into a decent side even though the player himself might not be top draw. Must be a good chance of that move happening too because 1) we'll be offering more wages than tiny Fulham can afford, 2) this might be his only chance to move to a club with the potential/facilities/resources to be in Europe in the next few years by which time his career will be over, 3) he'll be playing with better players than he's surrounded by at Fulham, and 4) if we do get relegated even with him in the side then chances are he'd easily get a move back to a lower mid table Premiership side. Fulham would defend him tooth and nail though. I imagine we'd have to pay them 8m or some other large amount that he's not worth to even have a sniff.