Coxaux

Keegan basically said no changes will happen over the summer and it was nothing to do with him, he said Ashley was keeping the funds tight and a maximum of two to three players will be bought...

Seriously, what's going on here? We could put the money towards a self sufficient striker, a forward who doesn't require half a dozen chances before he eventually takes one... Like? You seem to be under the impression we can go out and buy another world class striker? We aren't even in the top half of the table ffs. Out of our 3 strikers we should look to replace Viduka and a young backup striker. Owen? World class? Seriously? Your pulling my leg right? Don't see why we should be building an entire system on him, stick two up top and go back to four-four-two...

Seriously, what's going on here? We could put the money towards a self sufficient striker, a forward who doesn't require half a dozen chances before he eventually takes one...

Was never a free-kick for the first, however can't excuse the marking. Lost interest since then really... Oh, and it's about time we sold Owen and bought a decent striker.

Kris Commons off to Derby

Just checked out sky to see what fixtures are televised on the final day of the season but all I could find was a couple of play off games, Whats the crack? Are Setanta attempting some kind of epic Soccer Special with the likes of Steve and Les?

Ronaldo goes missing in yet another big game but the commentators were having none of it his performance was "measured"...

Realistic targets I'd be looking at: Goran Gavrančić Currently out on loan from Dinamo Kiev, would provide a real physical presence in the back four. Was famously part of the back four that concded one goal in the build up to the 2004 European cup. Christian Obodo A powerful midfielder that would add real steel to the midfield. However question marks remain over his fitness. Paulo Assunção Very classy defensive Midfielder available for a reasonable fee. His ball retention and experience make him a regular for Porto but the lure of the Premier League would surely be too much for the Brazilian. Rio Mavuba A younger alternative to Assunção, loaned to Lille and although he isn't a regular he looks a class act when ever he appears. Would add solidarity to the center of midfield, although a question mark would remain over his fee. Roberto Soldado Placed on the transfer by real madrid, Soldado would provide a direct replacement for Mark Viduka. His physical presence and ball control make him a handful for defenders and this mold makes him perfect for the Premier League.

Lisandro Lopez would be a fantastic signing, one of a rare breed of natural finishers. However Porto would want big bucks considering he's been their top scorer for the last couple of seasons.

Ronaldo is a star who will crash and burn when his arrogance gets the better of him. You see flashes of it now shooting from impossible angles, gobbing off to ref's, etc. I'm actually convinced he may even think he is bigger than Manchester United. Obviously I'm speculating here in the above paragraph based on observations of him. However when you watch his play in general he's like a top goal scorer. He floats in and out of games, needlessly showboats, constantly dives when marked out of the game you know you've seen it. However he has the nack of arriving right on cue when a gaol is required, the amazing thing is he isn't a striker but a wide man, or is he? Is it just me or does Ronaldo rightfully or wrongfully spend more time in and around the opposition box than Rooney? What I'm trying to say is as a player he is an impressive goal scorer, but he doesn't control football matches (if that makes any sense). For me for £100m both Real and the Mancs would be better off investing an such funds in a top class forward and focus spending the rest on other position, before Ronaldo's arrogance gets the better of him and the goals dry up.

For me Man United by a fair distance. You can credit their style of play and their success over the years, but there is so much to hate about them... For a start, the fans. I'd say a fair portion of their fan base comes from middle aged men who began glory supporting in the 90's and passed the torch down to their kids. They're everywhere but Manchester, they sit in bars and spout shit about their superiority in an arrogant fashion, but when it comes to the crunch they've never actually been up to watch a match pathetic. The media's constant spotlight and praise of the team is fairly irritating. I don't want to know when Rooney got a hair cut, I don't care when Ronaldo took a shit and OH MY GOD STOP GETTING EXCITED WHEN THEY CROSS THE HALF WAY LINE! The general arrogance of the players and manager can be felt when watching a game their playing in. Yes, I know Ferguson does a lot for charity, blah, blah, blah but he's as arrogant as they comes, as are half the playing staff, could swing for Ronaldo when he does that stupid fucking celebration, simply oozes arrogance. The amount of decision they get away with and their general on the pitch conduct, I mean how many penalty's are given up at their ground? Not to mention the amount of generous free kick decision they get around the box. Add this to their over the top diving, constant whining and treatment of the ref and other officials and their general nigglieness makes them a pretty annoying outfit. As for the rest of them, although not on the list Boro come a close second obviously for different reasons. Liverpool and Spurs are up their, where as Arsenal and Chelsea have their moments.

We'd probably be hovering around the bottom of mid-table, under big Sam we were playing badly but we'd still pick up the odd result, he couldn't of been sacked at a worse time really...

Being a referee has to be one of the most difficult jobs on the planet, but current standard is simply unacceptable. The current governing bodies don't help the matter with unclear guidelines and little support but the current crop need the chop it's getting beyond a joke. The Problems Is it just me or you sometimes convinced referees and the FA are determined to keep "the big four" as the top four. They generate the most revenue and bring fans in from far and wide but why should it be one rule for them and another rule for the rest of the premier league. Far too many games have been balanced towards them for it to be a coincidence, sometimes it makes you wonder why we bother. They receive far too many favorable penalty and free kick decisions, generous amounts of added time and rarely have to deal with "bad" decisions, its a disgrace. In fairness dealing with what appears to be a "two footed challenge" is difficult in real time, but officials can't seem to differentiate between a fair challenge and a reckless/ dangerous challenge. It is without doubt a cowardly tackle but sometimes it needs to be used to take the ball away safely. (Note: I DO NOT condone high potentially career ending tackles). In fact I remember Ipswich-Portsmouth not too long ago where a lad went in with his studs showing, his foot bounced off the ball and he made contact with the opposition player, subsequently he was sent off, this is the sort of challenge that is not a red card offense. Ball to hand? Or hand to ball? Who cares frankly far too many refs are now giving soft penalties for what is deemed to be a hand ball in the box. I can understand the likes of Jenas's hand ball at Arsenal a few years back but if your not already watching take a look at the decision just given against reading. How the hell is the lad supposed to get his arm out the way, sometimes common sense could take over and influence these decisions. Again like the two footed challenge diving is difficult to spot in real time, but Gerrard, Ronaldo, Nani, Fabregas, Torres and Cole are just some of the names that spring to mind when discussing diving. You think this would be considered when viewing a challenge. When a player dives the officials shouldn't feel the need to give the free kick, the player who went down should be booked. It has got to the stage now where you have to go down in the box to win a penalty, football is becoming a non-contact sport by the week. Swearing t the ref seems to be pretty common these days, but to emphasize my point earlier the ref may notice Alan Smith swearing at him, but seems to conviniently notice Wayne Rooney doing the same thing moments later. I hear something is being done about it, but if it is consistancy must be applied. I real sympathies with officials when it comes to the offside rule but there are dimply no excuses for some of the rulings given. Examples that spring to mind include Kalou's late goal against ourselves and AJ's disallowed goal for Everton when there were a minimum of four players keeping him onside, oh dear. They say a good ref is one you never notice. Why is it so many referees insist on being the celebrity. They have to make the big controversial decision to get their name in the paper. Ex-officials Jeff Winter and Graham Poll spring to mind as well as Rob Styles, which brings me to my last point, the fitness levels of officials, how are these guys supposed to keep up with play when they're so unfit. Some guidelines really need to be laid down regarding this problem. The Solutions There are some ideas which I will discuss at a later date...

It's a very real possibility, we're probably lucky that they're is three or four teams that will play worse than us for the remainder of the season, well here's for hoping...

Fucking disgrace, clear as day that he took a swing at the lad, ban him...

Keep: Given, Krul, Enrique, N'Zogbia(if possible), the young crop we recently signed and at a push Milner/ Taylor. Out: The rest...

Oh dear the hypocrisy hurts my head. The fans who didn't have the time of day for their previous manager suddenly preform a somewhat impressive U-turn despite the team continuing to preform as badly.

Good post, but at times like these do you ever get the feeling this "change" will never come, you've got to look at the flip side...

To be fair Barton has been as bad as Butt whenever he's played, would stick Faye in the center of the park...

Most of that was true before Keegan took over, otherwise Allardyce wouldn't have been sacked. Liverpool, Portsmouth and so on...remember? Only a clueless, media-led t*** would judge Keegan on a team he has inherited. If anybody needs reminding, it started going downhill AFTER Keegan left 11 years ago. It's hardly fair he gets the blame for the shambles left behind by his predecessors, the honorable SBR excluded. ...and only a clueless media-led t*** would have had Allerdyce sacked in the first place. Tottenham, West Ham and so on...remember? Keegan had a chance to make changes (all be it small changes) in January, but he failed to do so. Only a man who's letting his heart rule his head would suggest Keegan has done anything but a poor job so far... he's had 5 games mate. 2 of which were against a team we were never going to beat away from home in our current state. one was against a team who sat back for 90 mins and came to spoil the party. to judge keegan after 5 games is simply moronic, and is THE main reason we are the laughing stock of the country FFS read the God damn post. I haven't made a snap judgment, I've simply summed up the job he's done so far, he may improve on the other hand he may not, its impossible to say, sacking him so soon would be ludicrous. Shame Allerdyce wasn't given the time Keegan will be... Thank f*** he wasnt. Ironic how the man who claimed Keegan had a big job on his hand, doesn't mention the task big Sam faced. The fact is we don't need football at this moment in time we need to be difficult to beat and although we produced some stinkers under his reign he was still getting somewhere, like you say it takes years to build a football team...

In terms of play agreed. Tough to call on the scales though...

Most of that was true before Keegan took over, otherwise Allardyce wouldn't have been sacked. Liverpool, Portsmouth and so on...remember? Only a clueless, media-led t*** would judge Keegan on a team he has inherited. If anybody needs reminding, it started going downhill AFTER Keegan left 11 years ago. It's hardly fair he gets the blame for the shambles left behind by his predecessors, the honorable SBR excluded. ...and only a clueless media-led t*** would have had Allerdyce sacked in the first place. Tottenham, West Ham and so on...remember? Keegan had a chance to make changes (all be it small changes) in January, but he failed to do so. Only a man who's letting his heart rule his head would suggest Keegan has done anything but a poor job so far... he's had 5 games mate. 2 of which were against a team we were never going to beat away from home in our current state. one was against a team who sat back for 90 mins and came to spoil the party. to judge keegan after 5 games is simply moronic, and is THE main reason we are the laughing stock of the country FFS read the God damn post. I haven't made a snap judgment, I've simply summed up the job he's done so far, he may improve on the other hand he may not, its impossible to say, sacking him so soon would be ludicrous. Shame Allerdyce wasn't given the time Keegan will be...

Given Beye Taylor Cacapa Enrique Milner Faye Emre N'Zogbia Viduka Owen

Most of that was true before Keegan took over, otherwise Allardyce wouldn't have been sacked. Liverpool, Portsmouth and so on...remember? Only a clueless, media-led t*** would judge Keegan on a team he has inherited. If anybody needs reminding, it started going downhill AFTER Keegan left 11 years ago. It's hardly fair he gets the blame for the shambles left behind by his predecessors, the honorable SBR excluded. ...and only a clueless media-led twat would have had Allerdyce sacked in the first place. Tottenham, West Ham and so on...remember? Keegan had a chance to make changes (all be it small changes) in January, but he failed to do so. Only a man who's letting his heart rule his head would suggest Keegan has done anything but a poor job so far...

Owen is a goal machine and will storm to the golden boot. Keegan is a genius and we will start climbing the table, taking a European spot by the end of the season. Ashley is a millionaire and we will attract the best, launching a title challenge next season.