Village Idiot

And yet in the same time Argentina have won just as little as we have. You just made me check, didn't realize they hadn't won the Copa América since the early 90s! They've got as big a chance this year as they'll ever have. Brazil in transition & on home soil. You can never trust their defence though. Promises to be a bloody good tournament if Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay turn up & play to their full potential too. They never seem to get a reliable defence. Lately they have been calling Gaby Milito who has turned to shambles overnight (guess injuries finally taking its toll). They need to settle a proper midfield to fuel all that dynamite upfront too.

And yet in the same time Argentina have won just as little as we have. You just made me check, didn't realize they hadn't won the Copa América since the early 90s!

£35k That's €2m-ish a year, isn't it? If those are net wages (always get confused if PL wages are net or gross) Real Madrid's and Barça's starting left backs aren't on much more. (Marcelo's reportedly on €2m net/year, Abidal reportedly on €2,5m net/year).

How much is José Enrique (supposedly) on?

Ninis? Would love that! And he can leave for €10mill, but there will probably be a lot of interest in him. "On September 23, 2008, Ninis extended his contract with Panathiniakos for an additional four years to 2012, with a €10m buy-out clause into the agreement for any foreign team wanting to buy him, rising to €17m for a Greek side." Hopefully it's him we're after. A perfect buy. It's likely that MA would go after players with a buyout clause. Ninis is (potentially) class, but don't you have 2000000000000 attacking mids already?

From Enrique? Don't think I've ever seen those on here. There are mostly quotes taken out of context from a radio interview he gave. They are pretty harsh but he looks indeed pissed off by all the stuff going around your club at the time. http://www.marca.com/2009/07/13/futbol/futbol_internacional/espanoles_mundo/1247478783.html "I don't even know what's happening in Newcastle, we have spent two weeks of preseason and everything it's still the same. Club's for sale, there's no owners and we don't even have a manager when we're just a month away from starting the season. It looked like Shearer was staying but truth is nobody knows what's going to happen" "Things here are not going well. I'm f***ed (sic) sporting-wise and I'm angry for the fans too, they are always supporting us and don't stop cheering in any game we play" "I'm very excited to return to Spain, there's been talk in the press that teams like Atlético are interested in me. If there was an offer from Spain I'd prioritize it above offers from other places." "In England I have a good contract, but sporting-wise I'm not well here and I'd give up money to play on a different team. I want to succeed and and there are more important things than money." That was 18 months ago, bear in mind.

How many Champions League clubs showed an interest then? Club Atlético de Madrid.

I could show you some other Spanish interviews during your relegation preseason that look worse than this, yet he stayed and fought on.

Liverpool's stock in Spain is still very big too, harking from Benítez' days.

Still has a great rep in Spain, to be honest haven't watched him much since he left Liverpool.

Marca linking Real Madrid with a €7m move for Juventus' Sissoko. They wouldn't sell so cheap surely?

Rivaldo on the left, Kluivert on top, Figo on the right. What a trident that was.

Something I was wondering today. At what age do you usually put kids in a full football pitch in England? In Spain we play 5-a-side/7-a-side until the kids are 12-13 years old.

Yeah, I have a great memory of that, actually had some great banter with your lot and got smashed with some guy who said that his two heroes in life were Shay Given and Josif Stalin. Priceless.

I actually thought that boy would spearhead your attack in the future. Guess what...

I was at that game too, although for some reason I had totally forgotten about the rain. Shola looked quite the player that night.

The Camp Nou... when's that photo from? 2002?

British, apparently. Was a nice chat with La Marca apparently, so it would seem he approves of what they published. And they published something not a fantastic amount different to what the British press took out. How do you know what was published in La Marca? You understand Spanish? Why do you try to put a negative spin instead of just taking Jose's words as published on the website?

Meh, pretty sure I read an interview a few weeks ago where he said he found it amusing. He should have realized that account was actually improving his image, not tarnishing it.

Kluivert was just 5 goals per season away of being one of the best strikers of the last 25 years. Great on the floor, great on the air... he had amazing technique and the body of a tall striker. He created a lot of play but always was this little bit wasteful in front of goal...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! I guess the stories were too graphic? I know the real Big Sam was aware of the account and didn't mind it.

Sure I read that he was keeping Capel out of the team last year, looks as though his form hasn't continued though Capel plays in the left too. And yes Perotti's form hasn't continued and Rakitic's purchase might open up the door for him to leave.

On similar "Spanish football is fucked" news, Rayo Vallecano have entered administration. They are part of the industrial holding of their owner, whose businesses have been sinking due to the recession (and the fact he's a grade A crook).

Atlético opposition group "Señales de Humo" (Smoke signals) claims that the club's debt is €786m, according to an independent study by a financial firm that also casts doubts over the club's viability as a going concern. That would make Atlético the most indebted club in La Liga. Ouch.

Happy birthday Sir Bobby Robson, wish I could get you a birthday present like the one you last gave to me.