The Prophet

I must admit as much as I love a good browse on N-O, it's never crossed my mind to try it on the piss.

If I was a Barca fan I'd be wanting my fifty million to be invested in a player superior to Fabregas, Wilshire perhaps?

It's all fun and games until you can't get the newsprint off your arse cheek. Well it's better than using some poor bastards towel, I'd imagine the shower curtian could be quite painful too so it's worth the risk.

I'm not sure why people even open the Sunday rags, the only thing they're good for is wiping your arse with if you're short of bog roll.

I hope that was a dream team or a wishful thinking team If not, serious disappointment awaits you man Better? We'd rip sides apart.

Would this be like finishing seventh?

Obviously reputation and status are impossible to gauge, but surely it was as low as it has ever been in our recent history following the 08-09 season.

Absolute rubbish, while I'm as cynical as other regarding the new board, you can't blame the old baord for us becoming an unattractive club: (a) I wouldn't say we're a partiuclarly unattractive club, we've just fallen down the packing order. That's down to a lack of European football and a recent relegation, the relegation is largely attributed to Ashley and Co and some of the disaterous decisions they made during the 08-09 season. (b) Ashley has actually improved the financial well being of the club. While that's all well and good, it's been to our detrimiment on the pitch. His penny pinching means we're frequently short of the required quality, this implies a lack of ambition. It's no suprise a majority of quality football sides rack up big debts. The "unattraction" followed on from our poverty, that is fully the responsibility of the old board. We were beyond skint and heading nowehere other than minus 10 points. Circa £20 Million a year put in (interest free) is hardly penny pinching. Yes football sides rack up big debts, but not one of them (excluding the leveraged buy out one's - who also make profits btw) had debts like ours. No other owner, outside of Fayed, has put in anything like Ashley has without charging for it - Lerner takes circa 15% of Villa's turnover a year in "charges" for his benevolence. Ashley can be villified for many things, but financial commitment is not one of them. His financial investment is top draw, but he still hasn't spent enough on the first team squad. Also relegation had a lot to do with us falling behind other clubs in terms of status, that was the fault of Ashley et al.

Classic Arsenal-syndrome right there.

Absolute rubbish, while I'm as cynical as other regarding the new board, you can't blame the old baord for us becoming an unattractive club: (a) I wouldn't say we're a partiuclarly unattractive club, we've just fallen down the packing order. That's down to a lack of European football and a recent relegation, the relegation is largely attributed to Ashley and Co and some of the disaterous decisions they made during the 08-09 season. (b) Ashley has actually improved the financial well being of the club. While that's all well and good, it's been to our detrimiment on the pitch. His penny pinching means we're frequently short of the required quality, this implies a lack of ambition. It's no suprise a majority of quality football sides rack up big debts.

We acquired him for around six million if I remember correctly, there's no reason we can't go and find a decent replacement. Enrique was alright in his first season, he was outstanding in his second and third, what worries me is we sign someone who isn't quite up to scratch to begin with and people lose faith in him. Pure speculation, but I have a feeling we'll sign someone more attack minded with a weaker defensive game, whether it be Van Aanholt or M'Bengue or someone else of that ilk.

The thing is I can understand the sceptics. Everytime it has looked like the club is moving forward the higher ups have acted, usually out of incompetence, in a manner that has grounded expectations and stalled progress, if not taken it back a couple of notches. Frequently we've failed to invest sufficiently in the squad during the transfer market and it has left a bitter taste in the mouth. At the same time there's no point in sitting there moaning when it's very much going to be a wait and see deal. I'm as pissed as anyone at the prospect of selling Enrique but we'll just have to hope there's a suitable replacement lined up. Come the end of the summer and we're still short of the required quality, then i may consider lighting the torch and sharpening the pitch fork but for the time being patience is the order of the day.

The 'small man will struggle up front his own' is such a myth, it really depends on the players supporting him and the general style of the team he is playing in.

Williamson > Taylor At this moment in time anyway.

Liverpool have sold Torres, who was on the downward track, as well as losing Alonso and Mascherano to bigger and better clubs. Their net spend is irrelevant because they've wisely reinvested the money. It's exactly what we have to do with Carroll and now Jose. It's the way of football, clubs frequently lose players to clubs further up the pecking order. Spurs lost Keane and Berbatov but reinvested superbly and look where they are now. We have to do the same, that's why this is such a massive summer in terms of Ashley's intentions.

As I've said in other threads, it's the depth of the squad that worries me. I guess that comes with time and investment.

The top six (or seven if you include Everton) is a closed shop. It would take at least a couple of seasons of substantial investment to break it in my opinion.

Looks exiciting.

Got to love the anti-board agenda being spun here. Barely anyone is blaming Jose, it's obvious his head has been turned by a club/s further up the pecking order that will be able to offer European football sometime in the forseeable furture, that's the game. You can only do so much to convince a player to stay, Erique's mind was obviously made up some time ago, whether he knew others were interested or he was disheartened by the Carroll sale or a mixture of the two reamins to be seen. He's had two very, very good years here and I wish him all the best, he's been a joy to watch. Now, we need to focus on finding a top draw replacement.

more or less confirms we'll be going one up top next season.

You should work for a tabloid newspaper with insights like that. Nah man, he knew Taiwo wouldn't sign. Cutting insight.

Congratulations. I'll make you a hat.

Classy. Simple is better.