ShearMagic

That argument isn't even relevant. They weren't ready to make an impact last season, they are this season. They're squad players = the squad has improved. I know what you're trying to say, but your argument is wrong.

Midfield and striker (we added a striker to the same strike-force that finished last season) Okay, I'll give you the striker (pitiful as that argument is considering Ameobi and Lovenkrands are still starting games) but how are we stronger in midfield? Every player that came in replaced another going out. Cabaye replaced Nolan, Marveaux replaced Routledge, Obertan replaced Barton. Going further, Santon replaced Enrique, and even Elliot has replaced Forster. We can argue the toss about who are the better individuals, but how we have a stronger squad is beyond me. Vuckic and Sammy Ameobi have matured enough to make an impact. Cabaye is a miles better footballer than Nolan could ever dream of being, Obertan is better than Routledge. I'm yet to see enough of Marveaux to determine if he's better or worse than Barton, so it's 2/2 so far. Or if we go your way, Marveaux is better than Routledge and Barton is better than Obertan. 2/3.

Midfield and striker (we added a striker to the same strike-force that finished last season)

Who is "hoping that he fails at Liverpool?" I think what some are saying is that he is not as good as others make him out to be and he did well for us because we played in a way that magnified his strengths and hid his weaknesses. Since Liverpool is unlikely to play in similar fashion, he will likely fail there and won't live up to his 35M tag. I'll go out on a limb and say that he won't score more than 12 premier league goals for Liverpool and if he does, then I'll put my hands up and admit that I was wrong. How many goals do you think he will score? I said 10-15 at the start of the season so I'll stick with that.

What exactly is this based on? 6 decent months? Not arguing with what you've said, but you've said it as if it's going to be fact. He has a lot of work to do.

Pretty ironic saying people need to let it go when you sound pretty bitter there. That wasn't how it was meant to come across, so apologies if that's how you read it. Simply saying he's not in Liverpool's best 11, can see why they signed him but I think they'd be regretting it now.

People are only disappointed that we didn't sign him because we failed to sign anybody else (and I'm in that boat). Bendtner wouldn't have been my first choice, but he's certainly better than Leon Best and Shola Ameobi. Definitely not worth the wages that we would have had to pay him, but neither is Alan Smith, and unlike Smith, Bendtner would have actually improved the team.

People need to let it go. He's gone, we got an extremely good price for the type of footballer that he is, and he'll never live up to his price tag. His obvious strength is his ability to bully defenders and obviously in the air, he's never been particularly good at holding the ball up (about the only thing that Ameobi was consistently better than him at), and with the system that Liverpool are playing (which is a very good one), he will never fit in, simply because he doesn't have the capability to play a quick pass and then move into an attacking position quickly. I hope he likes the bench, because he's going to have to get very used to being an impact sub to come on and change games when Liverpool's style isn't working. With his attitude and his drinking habits (which I can't see changing), unfortunately he's never going to reach his potential - especially at Liverpool.

Answers are pointless. Nobody will believe them.

http://www.thenational.ae/sport/football/asamoah-gyan-on-brink-of-leaving-sunderland-for-turkey

my problem with this is we "bid" around the 10m euro mark at the start of the window for 2 strikers, then when that all fell apart none, NONE of our other options were worth paying a similar amount of money for?' the "bids" themselves denote the club realise it was a priority (to the fans) position to sign a player in, so they bid early and go public after that, with 8 months of research behind them, you're telling me seriously they couldn't find and sign a striker for around 10m euros that's really what you think you need help man We could have signed Crouch for £10m. If the correct targets weren't available, they weren't available. If we'd wasted 10m on somebody who turned out to be no good, in 2 months time this entire forum would be having a go at the board for signing a load of shite

I expect that he will lie, I don't accept it. ......

Ian, you're the perfect fan. He's right though. It's far better to be a realist.

He already set the trap for himself going public with his promises to get a striker over the line, 100%. I cant see anything wrong with having to own up to it. Apart from the fact that it wasn't his fault and he couldn't say anything else.

Why are people asking the press to ask Pardew questions? We all know what the answer is going to be. 'I'm not in charge of transfers, we tried hard, etc etc'. Pointless exercise.

really? who's gonna play centre half if colo or taylor gets injured? who's gonna score enough goals to keep us in the top 8? We'll win 25 games 1-0, sorted

How will the squad get good? Ashley never spends anything so it's a wonder that we have any good players that other teams might be interested in. I mean getting good players, the likes of Tiote and Cabaye, i was trying to say we simply buy them to sell them on. So we do buy good players then? Not what I've heard from most people on here. we make speculative small purchases and acquire players on free transfers, if a player proves their worth on the pitch and asks to be paid what they're worth, we move them on. we dont pay the going rate in fees or wages. Who decides this 'going rate'?

How will the squad get good? Ashley never spends anything so it's a wonder that we have any good players that other teams might be interested in. I mean getting good players, the likes of Tiote and Cabaye, i was trying to say we simply buy them to sell them on. So we do buy good players then? Not what I've heard from most people on here. Don't think you can argue with the quality of most of our transfers, the reason they have been bought in however are so we can sell them for a profit, not build a squad around them and push on. Same can be said for the majority of clubs in our position tbh. Most of the better players don't want to stay for longer than they have to, we're a stepping stone.

How will the squad get good? Ashley never spends anything so it's a wonder that we have any good players that other teams might be interested in. I mean getting good players, the likes of Tiote and Cabaye, i was trying to say we simply buy them to sell them on. So we do buy good players then? Not what I've heard from most people on here.

I know everyone's trying to whip up some hysteria about us currently, but we will not be finishing outside the top 10 mate. Below Sunderland, aye righto. Even with a very weak squad, Everton will still comfortably finish above both North East clubs and will be no lower than 8th. We have big problems in terms of the club as a whole, don't get me wrong, but our squad is still good and it's quite amusing to see media outlets make out like Arteta leaving will plunge us into the bottom half or something. The start to your season hasn't exactly been good. Flukey win against Blackburn (relegation candidates) and a home loss against QPR (relegation candidates)

How will the squad get good? Ashley never spends anything so it's a wonder that we have any good players that other teams might be interested in.

that's because they play for us

His opinion is a valid one. You may not like what he has to say but he's been closer to the regime than anyone on this board which gives his views some gravitas. I know his opinion is a valid one, I just don't agree with it. And whether he's close to the regime or not is irrelevant to my criticism, Barton should keep his mouth shut whether he's right or wrong. Where has keeping your mouth shut ever got you? I proudly participated in chants of SOUNESS OUT repeatedly at SJP and I'd like to think that helped to get him sacked. You're a fan of NUFC, that's fine. Barton is a professional footballer who plays for QPR. There's a lot of distance between those two. I'd disagree, I think Barton is a fan of NUFC too. Firstly, I still believe that players, while loyalty is dead, feel some sentiment for clubs they play for and probably want them to succeed if they aren't f***ed over by them. Secondly, I believe him when he says that he felt an affinity for the place, not least as he has become less of a volatile, crime-happy vagabond at NUFC, and likely (or so I would hope) appreciates our patience with him. Keep believing that, but IMO you're 100% wrong. Footballers are all twats that do what is best for themselves. So you believe no footballer ever has sentimental attachment to clubs they've played for? See the line up on soccer saturday for proof of why you're wrong. These days, no. When football used to be football, absolutely.

His opinion is a valid one. You may not like what he has to say but he's been closer to the regime than anyone on this board which gives his views some gravitas. I know his opinion is a valid one, I just don't agree with it. And whether he's close to the regime or not is irrelevant to my criticism, Barton should keep his mouth shut whether he's right or wrong. Where has keeping your mouth shut ever got you? I proudly participated in chants of SOUNESS OUT repeatedly at SJP and I'd like to think that helped to get him sacked. You're a fan of NUFC, that's fine. Barton is a professional footballer who plays for QPR. There's a lot of distance between those two. I'd disagree, I think Barton is a fan of NUFC too. Firstly, I still believe that players, while loyalty is dead, feel some sentiment for clubs they play for and probably want them to succeed if they aren't fucked over by them. Secondly, I believe him when he says that he felt an affinity for the place, not least as he has become less of a volatile, crime-happy vagabond at NUFC, and likely (or so I would hope) appreciates our patience with him. Keep believing that, but IMO you're 100% wrong. Footballers are all twats that do what is best for themselves.

I think it goes a bit deeper than that Ian, doesn't it? The fact he was lined up for yonks beforehand and has a history with the two stooges doesn't aid your point. Nor does it help that if it was a Manager with no links or an ounce of integrity they would have f***ed off by now. The best we can hope for? Perhaps. Sad none the less, don't you think? Well bearing in mind that he's working under conditions that some managers couldn't, I think he's a good option for us. I genuinely like him as a guy and think he always goes out to win and tries his best. The fact he was lined up for ages reflects badly on most of the people involved, seems worse because Hughton was a nice guy who didn't deserve that treatment. But from Pardews point of view I can see that he couldn't turn down such a good opportunity. But I don't agree he should walk away, and I f***ing hope he doesn't for our sake. If he did (which he won't because he's too strong a character to walk away) he'd suddenly become a champion to many of those who'd previously criticised him. A bit like it was with Hughton. Ludicrous really. Quit SJP and become a hero No wonder Barton and Nolan left, maybe they were onto something.