Village Idiot

His manager said last week that he is very interested on becoming a manager. That would be ace. He'd be more nailed on to manage Real than Shearer is to manage us. He comes across as pretty inarticulate in interviews, so here's hoping he'll be pants.

6-8 Van Persie weeks = 3 months regular time, though. Arsenal still look allright even with the injuries, but they probably are one injury in the defence away of being a bit f***ed.

I just read a bit on the Spanish press reporting the Tamudo links and I found a charming bit from the "Sport" journalist: "Newcastle is not playing in the Premier this year, they are in the Championship, but they are a classic side and they will go straight back up" Nothing on Tamudo coming from local sources, though.

His manager said last week that he is very interested on becoming a manager. That would be ace.

The Championship? Surely. He's one of those players that really don't have any quantifiable qualities (he isn't fast, he doesn't dribble, he isn't a lethal finisher) but has always performed during his career. So if he adapts he'd set this alight, but he'd be probably too old for the Premier. Mind, Tamudo was quality in his prime, Rangers' dropping his signing for spare change in 2000 because of some bollocks problems with his medical is something that always makes me laugh.

5 years too late. Stay away.

Pulis is a weird manager. Buys Tuncay for a good sum and then doesn't give him a sniff of playing time (last week's sub after 6 minutes was hillarious), and then loans out Kitson who had started well the season.

Touré Yayas agent (who's a bit mental) has said he'll try to get him out of Barcelona given the little play time he's had this season.

I think Diego Capel is massively overrated. Here, a photography of him from the Telegraph as he makes a run on the wing: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/00981/faceless-football_981128i.jpg

I was about to bring Bojan up on my above post (we had Haruna Babangida already, silly goalscoring record as a kid, nowt as an adult). I think Bojan has it for being a successful striker at top level though, he holds the record for most goals scored in La Liga in a debut season (10). The problem is that he will have a hard time capturing the 9 jersey for Barça (Eto'o had an injury-ridden season the year he achieved that 10 goal figure), and that can stagnate his career. Even Raúl started his career on the wing...

Had a staggering scoring record at all the levels leading up to the first team iirc. Just not strong enough for proper football? He had a wild scoring record at youth levels, yes, but he's never reproduced that form. He's only looked decent at best in his best seasons. There are lots of strikers that bag stupid amounts of goals at youth level and then struggle with the physicality of real football when they can't just grab the ball at run at a goal defended by 120 pound teenagers. I guess some players just don't have the drive. One of the things for example that amazes me from Torres, is how much stronger he is now compared to when he started to break through (he looked pretty puny then, and fell on his arse a lot).

Dyer is such a joke though, it might have been because of managerial decisions too, but I just checked wiki and he has managed 11 league appearances for West Ham in roughly 2 seasons and a half?

When I used to play Fantasie Footie, he always seemed to have that red "i" by his name when I checked for replacements.

Pfffft. They'll never reach the heights we used to. Having Dyer, Owen, Ramage and Duff at the same point in your books was probably like having Zidane, Ronaldo, Messi and Maldini in regards of this particular competition

He's pants, though. Kind of player who's supposed to be great "one day" until you look again and see he's 27 and has done sod all.

Just went to Olhanense wiki page, and I found they have a Cameroonese (or is it Cameroonian?) winger named "Messi", who's older than Leo Messi. That made me smile. Vaz Te has had a 'mare with injuries, plus he's never got a fair crack of the whip. Think both player and club should cut their losses and move on, if he wants to still get somewhere.

To be honest I think he's a very decent player at that level, but you probably need some more creative spark in the midfield. If his relationship with O'Neill is as bad as I have heard he would be very gettable, though, and still has the best years of his career on him.

And Ferguson would have got the boot at United.

Can you really call Guardiola a great manager? It was clear Barca needed a change, he is yet to come under pressure as a manager... I admit he has to pass the test of time and repeated success, but he just had the best season in the club's history, and this isn't the greatest squad in the club's history. He's also had success in the lower leagues so I don't think he fluked it. To be completely honest I dismissed his appointment as the club sucumbing again to the Messiah complex (don't think Newcastle are alone in that) that we seem to do every time we have bad seasons, and I was fortunately proved massively wrong. But yes, I guess I can't call him "great" but I'm really looking forward to his career (even if it takes him away from us).

DC and Baltimore have much scarier neighborhoods, but you don't have any reason to be in there (and before I sound to racist/classist, it's a tragedy what's happened in those cities and others, American Dream my arse).

Sweet. Didn't know that. I'm gonna be living in State College for a few months (and spending Christmas in the suburbs of Philly). Philadelphia Union is gonna be based in Chester though, this scares me. It's a very depressed area. Poverty, crime, etc... I guess the stadium is a way to prop up the neighborhood and the team got a good deal for building it there. Why does that scare you?

Haven't watched him much in Spain, but I always thought he was a top top player at Toulouse, and it always seemed like he was on the verge of moving on and accomplishing big things. I definitely thought he would have been a great buy for Newcastle as we've lacked a player like him for years. I guess it just never came together for him. I actually watched him yesterday for Cameroon and he didn't seem as good as before. Lost the ball a lot, and was generally sloppy. Maybe he's gone stagnant at Betis? By all accounts his first season was very good. He was the team's top scorer and main attack drive. He has had a very nasty transfer saga over the summer, and his situation at Betis is currently very bad with rumors that he feigns injuries and shows up late at trainings. He has a very strained relation with the manager and board, and he's gone from hero to foe for the fans... part of it it's his fault I think, since he didn't carry his transfer request very well and that has isolated him in the squad. I understand completely that all of it will be affecting his game. He really needs to move out of there in January. His father died this summer, too.

What do you think of Achille Emana, Minister? He wants out of Betis and his first season in La Liga was pretty good. He seems a bit of a tosser though.

I don't know, he wouldn't be free. You have to think of the wages he'd be taking and that could be invested in more useful players. Since he's strong and pacey he'd probably be fine for this level, though. But the same could be said of Harewood. Sometimes it's better to get players that have something to prove in order to further their careers than the 30 year old that only seeks a last payday.

I have only seen him play in the Spanish second flight. He was pretty canny there, but I admit he might not be up for a more physical game.