manorpark

Football is all about opinions. But there are still some "opinions" that defy belief!!!!!!!! Smith is a banker to be one of the bext buys of any club in this close season.

We need more than Enrique (no matter how good he is). Another two, perhaps three, very good quality defenders, if we are to be serious about making an impact in the coming season.

Agreed, but it is a "big if" at the moment isn't it!

I know, don't know why. Been one of them days actually. Would have been better staying in bed. Enough of my problems!!

Indeed . . . who gives a s*** !!!

The title of the track is 'Going Home: Theme Of The Local Hero'. It's an abbreviation that everyone knows. Yeah, I know! In later albums (subsequent to its use in the film) the extra part of the name was added. The actual original name was, and is, "Going Home". It is widely called (around here particularly) by the name of the film and nothing will change that, I expect!!

Reading all these posts on here, many of them are talking about something that doesn't exist. There was a film made in the 1980s, called "Local Hero". The theme music from that film was called "Going Home" and it was played by the band, Dire Straits. I am not aware of any song or piece of music ever being called Local Hero. The music the players come out to (whether you like that particular music, or not!) is called "Going Home" , it isn't called Local Hero. I suppose, if enough people say something enough times . . . . . . ?

Ashley is a tough cookie - don't rule out his putting pressure on the City Council by threatening to move to Gateshead & build a new stadium if they block any expansion plans... It isn't just the City Council - it is people like "English Heritage" and there are other Government Departments involved. It would be fantastic to see the stadium up to Level 7, all the way round, but it is unlikely. We can still expect the Gallowgate End to be built up that high from the corner with the Milburn, completing the 'level-bowl' all the way around (approx) 70% of the stadium. That was part of the recent Shepherd-led expansion plans, taking our capacity to 60,000/61,000. I expect that will still happen. Even bigger capacity, if we also have some standing areas within each of the ends! What do you think?

Ashley is a tough cookie - don't rule out his putting pressure on the City Council by threatening to move to Gateshead & build a new stadium if they block any expansion plans... It isn't just the City Council - it is people like "English Heritage" and there are other Government Departments involved. It would be fantastic to see the stadium up to Level 7, all the way round, but it is unlikely. We can still expect the Gallowgate End to be built up that high from the corner with the Milburn, completing the 'level-bowl' all the way around (approx) 70% of the stadium. That was part of the recent Shepherd-led expansion plans, taking our capacity to 60,000/61,000. I expect that will still happen.

what!? annoyed. If thats the case - can i choose to just have it on one of my multiroom sky boxes and not the regular one? Cheapest way to do this, is to get Setanta just on one of your Sky boxes (in the room you prefer to see it most) then get one of those "magic eye" things that mean you can watch both boxes in another room. For example, I have Sky+ in one room and with 'Sky Multiroom' I have my 'old' box in another room. Also in the Sky+ room I can watch the 'old' box on another channel, via the Magic Eye (wire link from one box in one room to a tele in another room) that I got put in. That would save on the £10 connection fee and on the extra £5 a month.

I thought he scored it? Arf! Took me 15 bl*ody minutes to search through old programmes to find Todd's name, then I come back here and you've got it!!! Found some other interesting stuff though, which I will now look at! Cheers.

Could well have agreed with that, shortly ater the Ashley takeover and when Sam had 'started' the player purchases early and quickly with four good squad players (some, perhaps, actually better than 'squad' level). However, since then (for the last three weeks or so) we have STOPPED. We have just . . . . STOPPED! I do not understand why, but after this longish period of 'nothing' - we still need four or five 'top-quality' defenders, and probably (now) also a replacement for Dyer. We are falling and falling behind - though I appreciate the transfer window is open for another five weeks. The signs though (players wanting to come here? / players running to get here?) - are not good. If it stays like this (we have such a small paper-thin squad) instead of "4th" - I would say "somewhere between 8th and 12th" with the names of the clubs finishing above us being "many". Poor. (PS - Just feeling a bit 'down' about the whole thing today . . . . hopefully back to optimism tomorrow!!)

What a load of bollocks? Everyone on here was chuffed to bits when he let those players go. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but none of those players would improve our current starting 11. Sam was right to let those players go - they were not good enough for us, we are better off without them, even if we can only replace them by bringing our own young kids in from the reserves or juniors (which will not happen). Sam is also aware that there is no point buying "identikit" replacements of the same low quality, only with different names!! That is why it is taking him a while to get good/top quality players in. He is not going to waste his time and our time and the clubs money, by replacing Bramble with Bramble-Jones, or whoever.

you really believe that there were 4 top clubs then US, historically? Wow. Financially (and that, I think most will agree, is a major aspect of football these days) we have been part of a well-clear-from-all-the-rest "Big Five" for a very long time, probably ten years or more. So yes. over the last four years or so, Wallace is right, we were "fifth" behind the current top four, with no real competition. Prior to that (since a time not long after the Premiership replaced the 1st Division) we were higher than fifth, both financially and performance-wise, as we were always ahead of Chelsea in the league and often ahead of Liverpool and Arsenal. Good post Wallace - perhaps not a 'fashionable' post in these days where it is more fashionable to downsize our club, in the words of many posters on here! Eh? He's saying what the rest of us are saying - i.e. we've fallen away and there are other clubs that have caught up or are ahead of us. . . . er . . . exactly what we are both saying, why are you repeating it? The 'new money' clubs this season, are spending big in the transfer market, some more easily attracting players than we are now. The quality of the players being bought by them, has not really attracted me too much though, to be honest. Wallaces point that I was confirming (that was being seemingly challenged) was where we were historically (recently, historically) within the Premier League in terms of buying/attracting good players. It has become much more difficult recently (over recent months, particularly).

you really believe that there were 4 top clubs then US, historically? Wow. Financially (and that, I think most will agree, is a major aspect of football these days) we have been part of a well-clear-from-all-the-rest "Big Five" for a very long time, probably ten years or more. So yes. over the last four years or so, Wallace is right, we were "fifth" behind the current top four, with no real competition. Prior to that (since a time not long after the Premiership replaced the 1st Division) we were higher than fifth, both financially and performance-wise, as we were usually ahead of Chelsea in the league and quite often ahead of Liverpool and Arsenal. Good post Wallace - perhaps not a 'fashionable' post in these days where it is more fashionable to automatically downsize our club in words, on here!!

Hope you are wrong!! We need five more defenders and they need to be of a certain (far better than Ramage/Bramble) level, if we are to make any significant first steps toward improvement in the coming season. The situation defensively, including goalkeeper (in my opinion, as I wrote on another thread some time ago) is: GOALKEEPER - 2 (Given/Harper - so NONE needed) CENTRE BACK (A) - 1 (Taylor - so ONE needed) CENTRE BACK (B) - 1 (Rozehnal - so ONE needed) RIGHT BACK - 1 (Geremi - so ONE needed) LEFT BACK - 0 (so TWO needed) So - we still need to acquire a total of FIVE new, top quality, defenders (in my view) if we are to make a bit of real progress. "One, hopefully two defenders before Bolton" is pretty much a waste of time. It will not achieve what we want and the club needs.

Exactly. There could never be any advantage whatsoever, in advertising how much you are prepared to spend, up front. These guys (Mort/Ashley) are good 'poker players' methinks!.

Chris Mort is working his bollocks off for the club, that's good enough for me at this time. The club has been run unprofessionally for years, the sooner we start moving forwards the better but I'd prefer the club to move forwards while knowing where we stand and not on guess work. If the review is holding us up for now then so be it, that will not always be the case, I see today’s developments as another sign of progress and also a sign of confidence that those running the club feel they can start to make decisions without the help of anybody. Very true, as I have just said to Parky, the length of time Ashley (via Mort and his review) is taking to prepare and build up for whatever it is he intends to do, is very professional - in my view. Maybe if we're lucky the review will be so professional it will never end. A bit like the closing down sales in Ashley's shops. I don't think that would be too 'lucky' for us, actually. However, I have read quotes (I think from Mort) saying the Review is nearing conclusion - so I would imagine funds will soon be released to acquire the new players we need over the next couple of weeks.

Very much agree with your last sentence. Some really average players are just 'shifting around'. Hopefully though, by the time the transfer window closes, our position will be MUCH stronger that right now, and we will in the coming season be scrapping with Arsenal/Spurs/Villa, for 4th spot. The season after, I hope that Ashley/Allardyce will have overseen, managed and financed enough improvement to start (start) a challenge on the current three at the very top. If not then, then the season after. All a bit vague, but it depends so much on Ashley's intentions - as yet still not clear!

Same was said of Bramble when we bought him. At the actual time we bought Bramble, not so much was made of the "odd howlers" thing, as he hadn't shown so much of that tendency (as he grew to here!) and he was young and developing. The difference this time is though (and I am clinging to this) is that it is ALLARDYCE making the judgement call (and in charge of the training when/if he comes here). You talking about an ex England manager, who also managed teams like Barca and PSV, making the call on Bramble and doing the training. Yeah, I know, I was (am) a big big fan of Bobby - but what I see in Allardyce (and I hope I am right) is a genuine affinity with 'defenders' and the defensive side of the game. I am not saying he does not like attacking players, he just seems to have more of an affinity than most, with the "art" of defending. That makes him better than Bobby for this, I think.

Things are about to start really moving on this now. er . . . er . . . I think !!!!!

Same was said of Bramble when we bought him. At the actual time we bought Bramble, not so much was made of the "odd howlers" thing, as he hadn't shown so much of that tendency (as he grew to here!) and he was young and developing. The difference this time is though (and I am clinging to this) is that it is ALLARDYCE making the judgement call (and in charge of the training when/if he comes here).

An interesting visual representation!!!

You are correct, I wasn't just alluding to the hometown club. At that point we all thought that we were going to if not win the league, KK was going to again have us up there and challenging for the title and cup and if Shearer didn't think we were he was going to Man U no if's no but's. Ok, I agree with the sentiment, yes we should be trying to sign the upper echelon of players but I also think we as supporters need to understand that the Rooneys, Lampards and Gerrards aren't obtainable to the club at this moment and therefore the signing of the Vidukas, Geremis and Rozehnals are what we should expect, welcome. That being said we should also hope that this is the minimum level of players we have in our whole squad, no Bernards, Damages or old bomb Carrs to make up the numbers. Just 'someone' would be good !!!! (I'm joking!) I do share the frustrations of many of us though, in this current "lull" in activity! Things will start moving very soon though, as the conclusion of the Review points Ashley in the obvious direction!

Babayaro? Carr? they have to go yes, but thats just because they are bad players, Dyer and McDermott are the remaining bad apples in the squad,club. Yeah, I know what you are saying - you feel that those you mention are part of the "corporate smell" of the old regime, that is nearly all gone now. I undertand that.