toon25

This. Will have been told he can leave on a free if an offer comes in. He will most likely say he loves it here and is staying on, refusing to speak to other clubs that have shown an interest. If he's as principled as he says he is, he will have told them he's going nowhere and will stay until the end of his contract. This could become like one of those situations of FM where, in order to get rid of Smith for fuck all you continually slag him off in the press and fine him until he finally relents and he goes.

Part of the reason Hughton was sacked/Pardew was brought in was that Hughton was supposedly too close to the players Exactly. Didn't Barton himself say he liked Pardew at a talk-in? There's no conspiracy here other than the fact Barton has continued to push his luck and has ended up picking a fight with someone that was bound to end in tears.

me too Can't see any other reason why he'd continue to mouth off about the owners on Twitter tbh.

Will end up at a club like Fulham I reckon. (If rumours are true of course) Will he be replaced is the question?

The only hassle I've witnessed is a few muppets on a messageboard crying into their keyboards. Right. Well if you could afford the occasional newspaper you'd see that his words create negativity far beyond the forums that we just don't need when trying to attract players and maintain a modicum of team spirit. Nail. Head. Once again. This club is plagued, and will continue to be plagued whilst Ashley is here, by a divide from top to bottom. All Barton does is add fuel to flames. It's hardly as though the fans are ignorant of the fact that Ashley is unpopular among staff and fans alike.

Agreed 100%. The League simply isn't what might be termed an 'open' competition any more. Money has changed that. I think it's a sad indictment of the game that finishing 4th is considered the panacea for many a club, even to the extent that finishing in a European spot, a la Spurs is either considered not good enough or a waste of fucking time. right, so what's the solution? bust ourselves trying to get somewhere we simply would not be able to sustain without massive investment (sounds familiar) or fuck about in mid table and hopefully sneak a cup or something? first ones not really an option tbh is it?...only thing that changes the parameters would be a great crop of youngsters coming through and/or stumbling on a genius as a manager who propels the club there himself EDIT: i'm taking ashley out of this train of thought by the way Unfortunately I think that for clubs aside from Shitty, Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs, Liverpool, and possibly Everton, fucking around in mid-table is the best we can hope for, especially in our predicament at moment (I'm not disappointment by this, btw, I'd prefer that than flirting with relegation). I'm not just talking about lack of investment, Everton have shown that lack of investment need not preclude an attempt at challenging for Europe, I'm talking about the degree of division within the club, from top to bottom, that will continue rear its head so long as Ashley is here and so long as people think something 'isn't right', either with transfers/team form/etc. There's a blame culture at NUFC that's not going to go away any time soon. It's not helpful and it's going to cast a shadow over this club time and time again. I'm not saying we ought not to discuss some of the issues, nor that some people are entirely blame-less in fermenting this culture, simply that until there is a sense of unity and togetherness, from the board to the fans, we'll not be going anywhere fast, irrespective of who we might buy/not buy.

Agreed 100%. The League simply isn't what might be termed an 'open' competition any more. Money has changed that. I think it's a sad indictment of the game that finishing 4th is considered the panacea for many a club, even to the extent that finishing in a European spot, a la Spurs is either considered not good enough or a waste of fucking time.

Absolutely. It's also completely unhelpful given the fans' frustration with lack of striker/lack of any contingency plan whatsoever for a new LB. Strange all of his rants seem to coincide with any sign of fan dissatisfaction too

Really like Joey, but it's exactly this nonsense that will keep the club divided - fans and players v the board.

We've had such a disjointed pre-season that i don't expect us to hit the ground running. But given the players we've brought in so far, and they're undoubtedly talented, HBA's return and the emergence of Vukic, I see no reason not to be optimistic for. The forthcoming season.

On what basis? The cunt.

Mancini on about needing another central mid and a winger. How many players do they want ffs? Any ideas as to who's likely to be shown the door at shitty?

Bloody hell Skirge. Absolutely genius.

[quote author=Skirge link=topic=68821.msg3097746#msg3097746 date Every time I see your sig, Skirge. Has me in stitches man. I aim to please.. but I think it takes to much attention away from my avatar. Not at all sir. That, also, gets me everytime. Would defo like to see a bigger version.

Its that much bullshit the picture of the player with be a cartoon. Every time I see your sig, Skirge. Has me in stitches man.

Rodallega?

Reading just turned down £5mil+ from West Ham for Long. Not sure if the club would go much beyond that, would depend on how highly they rated him I suppose.

Kidding, right? Number 1 looks fucking scary. Anyway, 312, but I'd have to think about putting a paper bag over 3's head first.

How the hell did Swindon manage to get such a decent shirt/make/sponsor? Wouldn't surprise me if they're paying adidas - thought about going to watch them next year since they're not too far from me until I saw that tickets cost 25 fucking pounds. For league 2 football and all!

230k according to Sky Sports. But I'm sure Kun's just going for the 'challenge'.

Probably been said before but it really does put the Carroll deal into perspective.

Agreed. But I'm also with the club on this one. Potential, Ranger may have, but there's only so many times you can give someone a second chance.

Because we want to keep or because we want to sell? Hmmmm........

Looking forward to seeing him here, but its fucking irksome that he's off to Shitty mind.

For a top 4 team maybe, Cole would be a regular in any team outside the top 4 bar Liverpool imo I wouldn't have him anywhere near out first Xl. He's had it. Agreed 100%. Completely lost his pace and movement.