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Bassong was the best player on the pitch today and it was plain for everyone to see. No way Taylor gets back in after this.

One positive to his "Fat Aussie" playing style is that he probably won't decline that much with age. As he was never very fast/fit to begin with, there isn't much speed/stamina for him to lose, and his skill set is tailor-made to his physical strengths and limitations. I think he'll be very important for us this year. let's sit back and wait a bit before we start talking about a new contract though.

Don't know about a North East XI, but I would be more than happy to have any of Downing, Digard and Tuncay in our first team.

All this means is that there won't be any magical takeover+new manager+megabucks to save us from relegation. We just have to do it the hard way now. Relegation is possible, yes but still not probable.

As far as I can tell something like half his players are middle-aged, yet they're running around like spring chickens. Could he make Nicky Butt do that too? EDIT: FUCKFUCKFUCK

come on inter, put your shit together.

If they do qualify, and probably even if they don't, I'd consider him one of the top candidates for the job here. Just looking at them their organization is extremely impressive, and they play with so much spirit and energy, he's obviously a very good motivator. Ketsbaia making the knockout stage with Anorthosis would be a bigger achievement than Mourinho winning it all with Porto.

Damn, Bremen get one back.

Holy shit... 2-0. At a loss for words now.

Ketsbaia's boys 1-0 up!!!!

Doing excellently against a very good Werder Bremen side. I think I'd have Ketsbaia here now, they look extremely well organized.

Do you think Ronaldo would be the same player he is now if Fergie had binned him and replaced him with Damien Duff after his first season (where he showed little more than Charlie did bursting onto the scene here)? Why do you think he didn't? Why hasn't Wenger replaced Fabregas with Nicky Butt? Ronaldo had competition for places from players a million times better than Damien Duff. Fergie didn't just let him waltz into the first team every weekend on account of his "potential." Are you implying that the Zog had his development stunted because he had to compete with one other recognized left winger in the squad? Dear me Fact is the Zog was given plenty of time in 2006/2007. If he had proven himself to have anywhere near Ronaldo or Fabregas' potential by delivering performances significantly better than those of Duff (which isn't even that hard,) he'd have gotten the place. Four managers, one of them Kevin Keegan, thought that he didn't. In response, instead of meeting the challenge head-on and bringing up his performance levels, He threw a fit and stagnated. Which is why his career is now going nowhere. If Ronaldo flipped and asked for a transfer when Park was picked ahead of him for a while in 2005/2006, where would he be now?

this club is infamous for kicking up a shitstorm exactly when the supporters start expecting some stability. Would be refreshing if we actually did some good business exactly when everyone's expecting a complete disaster.

The Zog is gone. Owen will see out his contract. I think he's an honorable man, or at least likes to think that he is one, and will want to do the "honorable" thing. We're never getting him to sign a new one though.

Can't be bothered to do the quote box thing. Zog was mediocre~shit every time he came on the pitch in 06/07, look through old match threads and see some of the comments. If I recall correctly, he got plenty of time in the first half of the season until he fell out with roeder and barely played again for the rest of it. Zog had exactly three good games in 07/08, the ones you mentioned: Bolton(H), Boro(A), and West Ham (H). I don't know what went on after that, whether he fell out with Allardyce, or went into "I don't want to be here anymore" mode, but he disappeared after that, going completely anonymous along with the rest of the useless fuckers. LB is his secondary position. He plays it for the French U21 team. He should at least be moderately competent there. Seriously, "Ronaldo in goal?" have a word. As incompetent as we may like to think Roeder/Allardyce/Kinnear are, they are professional football managers. They know far more about football than keyboard warriors like us ever will, and have access to training sessions, something we don't. I'm willing to concede that one manager may get something wrong that the forum gets right, but all three of them PLUS Kevin Keegan? Seriously?

still yes for me.

either one of you are free to tell me how any one bit of that is factually wrong.

He played extensive minutes in 06/07 because of Duff's (and our entire squad's) injury woes. Roeder played him on the left, the right, and the center. He was utter, utter, unmitigated shit. He played plenty of games again in 07/08. Allardyce played him at left back which is not admittedly his best position, but he was stunted going forward and useless defensively. He contributed nothing. Keegan played him briefly, but he had no part in our end of the season resurgence. This season he's been even worse at left back than he was in 07/08. He has contributed absolutely nothing to the club since his spell in 05/06. All of this has been accompanied by whining to the tabloids and asking for a transfer every single transfer window and falling out in some form with every manager that's been here. Is it really realistic to think that Roeder, Allardyce, Keegan, and Kinnear, who all see him in training, see him playing close-up, know him personally, and know far more about football than we ever will are all simply deluded idiots, and that the fans are the only ones who see his talent? I think he's simply of a case of potential going to waste because of bad attitude. I won't shed a tear when he leaves.

I admire the fact he doesn't bitch and moan like Jose, he just accepts ref's in charge and that's it. Quick thought would anyone on here take Geovanni? He's only on a one year at Hull. Ummm... Yes?

Will we be releasing a DVD for this when we win then?

Isn't it only Spanish and French? Or were you counting Given in that.

Dear me I can't believe I'm saying this, but Oba needs to come off for Ameobi.

I honestly have no idea how or why that offside was given. But... who cares.

looks like we're going to make this last till the 80th minute again so I can't stop watching.

Change of thread title to "will JFK be permanent after Chelsea?"