Ketsbaia

.....whereas Victor Wanyama is actually quite good on there.

May as well get Robert and Dyer while they're at it.

The quotes make this decision look final, but really its just the beginning. Only McKay wants him gone and thats where all the noise is coming from. At the end of the day, Barton wants to stay and is willing to reduce his wages to do so. It makes no sense to not even bother offering one of our key players a contract - McKay is a cretinous liar. If he wants 4 years and the club won't match that, isn't the obvious compromise to offer 3 years with the club's option for a 4th? We should probably ignore today and wait for Joey/the club to speak.

Can't we just offer 3 years with an option for a 4th? Then if he starts to Geremi the ball is in our court. We need to decide is if Barton has peaked this season....Wenger had a knack for this. What McKay is saying is concerning but I don't believe a single word that comes out of his mouth. Need to hear from Joey ASAP.

KD, Balague said on TV last night that he's not very good and doesn't meet the hype.

Twitchy tells some Di Canio stories:

SkyBet are taking bets on where Owen will end up: Brighton 5/4 Southampton 5/1 Derby 6/1 QPR 7/1 Leicester 7/1 Liverpool 8/1

Thats the important bit. There's still plenty of time for things to change and this seems like a negotiation tactic. If Joey is as desperate to stay as he says he is, the deal will happen.

Hope he ends up at a Premier League club so we can have another go at him next year. He is a complete prick.

Don't think Sunderland have under-achieved at all - especially with that midfield. Whilst they do need to replace the loanees, it sounds like it'll be with free transfers, which is quite sensible really. Don't they owe Spurs quite a bit of the Bent money?

Still think he'll sign the deal, like. But if he doesn't, we can cope. He's been vital this season and probably next, but after that? I like to think we'd have evolved into a top 8 side by then.

Mimi turns heel. Wow. Personally I think we'll get Gameiro but not Gervinho.

The next evening talk will be interesting. Hopefully this is all part of the neogitation process, but it all sounded so final there. Lets hope the club comes to their senses soon, because whilst the Carroll deal didn't break the team spirit, doing this to Barton will. Having said that, if we do sign a winger and this 'international central midfielder', unfortunately I'd struggle to find a place for Joey in the first XI.

Tim Krul = Time Rolling Up??

Bull-fucking-shit. I don't want to overreact yet, but I want to hear an explanation or a denial.

If he is on the bench, they're more likely to bring on Berbatov, Nani, Scholes, Anderson or Carrick/Park (whichever doesn't play). In no circumstance is he getting game time.

Unless it specifically names Newcastle, Tottenham and Everton, I don't take rumours seriously. Although that one does mention a €5m release fee.

ZonalMarking have an article on the myth of Bolton's attractive football. Now, if you consider keeping possession and playing short passes to be attractive, its interesting to see how 'long ball hoofers' Newcastle compare to 'Brazil 1970' Sunderland. http://www.zonalmarking.net/2011/05/24/bolton-owen-coyle-style-of-football/

If anyone bumps into him in Aspers, ask if he's met teeth girl.

Are Real putting a buy-back in that?

We don't really need him, but do a Guardado-Xisco swap, as suggested on the last page.

Release: Kuqi, Campbell Loan: Ranger, Lua Lua, Krul Sell: Xisco, Routledge, Smith (if we can) The like of Guthrie, Raylor, Lovenkrands and Perch are rubbish, but they're harmless so we may as well keep them.

Outside of the top 6, we were on telly the most. Nice.

Freebie: no harm done. Pardew has made it clear that we're after 2 strikers, so its not like he'll be a marquee signing. Will be better than Kuqi, Ranger and Xisco.

Yeh he's the big cheese for Spanish stuff. No mention of Man City though. In other news, it seems like Brad Friedel is going to Liverpool. EDIT: Yes there is. sidlowe Sid Lowe City: not sure, I'm trying to work that one out. I would say unlikely but that's an educated guess. My money's on Real Madrid. Lots of you saying "but what about the rivalry?" Sadly, the answer is obvious: what about it?