Hughesy

It's the reality, unfortunately. And each year of the CL the divide will get greater. The best thing for football in this country would be for the top clubs to leave to play in a European super league. Hopefully it might happen someday. Still, on the positive side we do have a great club to support, and even under the current ownership we can compete within the top ten and occasionally turn over one of the bigger boys. Maybe that's all we can realistically hope for at the moment....and perhaps a cup! What would be the point in the best teams leaving? I never quite understand that argument - all that would mean is that we might compete for a completely undervalued and pointless league - knowing that there are 4-6 teams in England that are better than us?

Exactly - the only outspoken players currently seem to be those who are on their way and aren't getting what they want.

Everyone knows what came out at that tribunal, everyone knows what sort of an owner we have, everyone knows Llambias is a slimy c*nt. But the reality is that this is an industry full of despicable people and yet people still seem surprised that we aren't owned and run by angels. Look at Spurs hanging a decent manager/person like Martin Jol out to dry, and lying about Berbatov. Look properly at what the Glazers are doing at Man United. Look at Abramovich controlling transfer policy at Chelsea, sacking assistant managers and completely undermining Ancelotti (another decent man/manager). Anyone like the idea of Al Fayed, Carson Yeung or Sullivan and Gold? And does anyone really think those chicken boys at Blackburn know what they are doing? Check out great ex owners like Hicks and Gillet, Thaksin Shinawatra. Then you have the perennially unpopular owners past and present - Doug Ellis and the Everton lot spring to mind. Oh yes and there's good old Steve Gibson at Middlesbrough, an absolute gent by all accounts, I can't remember what happened to his football club though. I could go on but that will do. And I hate to bring it up but our previous owners weren't perfect. Ashley bought the club at a critical time when no one else would, he stuck his own money in and has funded his own cock ups. I can handle the venom you can get on here for posting anything that doesn't completely rubbish anything and everything the club does. But anyone who won't even entertain the idea that we could end up with someone worse is deluded imo. Summed up in one post.

Still waiting until end of transfer window to judge, but it is pretty ridiculous that our striker search since January came up with the following names: Gameiro Gervinho Erdinc Sturridge Crouch Defoe Beckford It's taken 7 months to come up with that list.

Speed+Lee Nah, Lee was just about on his last legs when Speed arrived. Speed - Dyer was a better CM. Not when Speed first arrived. And they were brilliant together in the first half of 2001/02 before Lee left.

Mentioned it earlier, but I am sure I read that Arnautovic was available. Can't say I've seen much of him - is he just not worth the trouble? I know he was being talked up as a great prospect.

I always loved Lee and Speed together in the middle. Thought they were brilliant together.

Because no player has: a) made a statement to the media that turns out to not be true? and b) ever changed their mind over a potential move?

Chronicle indicated they would accept 4 million.

Both, or do they not know which? Meant to say 'and'. Bassong would have been decent. Certainly would have helped cover LB issue as well. A player like Bassong is just what we need Indeed - would certainly be pushing for a slot alongside Colo if he could recapture his form, if not a definite starter. And could cover Enrique. No doubt Spurs would want about £10 million for him or something equally astronomical.

yeah - why should fans think about the expenses involved in running a club or the financial situation in which the club might be? Just spend money and it'll work itself out I say.

Both, or do they not know which? Meant to say 'and'. Bassong would have been decent. Certainly would have helped cover LB issue as well.

Chronicle reporting we turned down the chance to sign Bassong or Beye. Not sure if on loan or as permanent.

And how many times do we have to remind you that Tiote was unknown? Even the other names have some question mark of sort over them..... but i won't go there. Unknown to who? You? The football world at large? All scouts? European scouts? What a stupid thing to say. relatively unknown, then. Judging by your pedantic question, no player in the world is unknown since someone would know him. BTW, it was no more stupid than your question about Golfmag's claims about Pardew. Yeah, he clearly guessed it all, didn't he? Why try and claim he is unknown? He was an Ivory Coast international who played in the World Cup and was part of a team that won the Dutch league. I am not suggesting the average fan would know who he was, but he was clearly a fairly well known player in football circles. Have a read of the discussion re golfmag. Take it slowly if you like and then get back to me. If you think that was ambition, then you’re easily pleased. I don’t need to go back and read your nonsense in the other thread. Idiotic comment from the off. Hmmm - despite most people with a modicum of sense and grasp of logic agreeing with me? I think you do need to read it again.

And how many times do we have to remind you that Tiote was unknown? Even the other names have some question mark of sort over them..... but i won't go there. Unknown to who? You? The football world at large? All scouts? European scouts? What a stupid thing to say. relatively unknown, then. Judging by your pedantic question, no player in the world is unknown since someone would know him. BTW, it was no more stupid than your question about Golfmag's claims about Pardew. Yeah, he clearly guessed it all, didn't he? Why try and claim he is unknown? He was an Ivory Coast international who played in the World Cup and was part of a team that won the Dutch league. I am not suggesting the average fan would know who he was, but he was clearly a fairly well known player in football circles. Have a read of the discussion re golfmag. Take it slowly if you like and then get back to me.

I think it's reasonable to accept that a large part of Pardew's salary is performance based, it's Ashley's MO and that's what the rumours were at the time (and also the rumours as to why Hughton was reluctant to sign the contract he was offered in the Summer) - relatively low basic pay with big bonuses for achieving performance targets. Now of course for a manager of a football club, the performance he can most directly affect is the team's progress in the league and cups. Given an agreed budget, and control of the incomings & outgoings, that's fine and acceptable, however if the management above you is going to, for example, constantly try to cut costs, and get rid of your biggest resources in achieving your targets for the year (and the bonuses associated with that), you're going to get rightly p*ssed off that the targets you thought were achievable are being sabotaged. So if that were the only way of achieving the bonuses you were relying on to make your wage competitive, you'd quit. The management at Ashley's companies are incentivised by the company's profit margins. If they can perform their jobs at an adequate level with lower costs (ie in our case the target is to stay in the Premier League), then they are contributing to the profit margins. They may get a slap on the wrist for too many complaints, but they probably don't get bonuses for customer satisfaction. It's not really a stretch to think that it would be part of Pardew's contract to get a bonus if the club makes a profit rather than finish higher in the table. That doesn't make any sense. If he doesn't have any influence on transfers there's nothing he can do directly to influence the club's profit margin at the end of the season... ...other than finishing higher in the league In any case, would make absolutely no sense for him to have a bonus based on profit margin. Most of his SD employees that recently got a bonus probably had very little directly to do with how the company made it's profit (they didn't buy the products or set the prices or the staff salaries), but if they kept their shop going at low cost, then they were part of the success of it. In comparison, keeping us in the Premier League with whatever squad he's given has probably the largest effect on our profit margin you can get. But that is purely a performance related bonus. If Pardew does well while costs are being cut, he gets a larger bonus than if he does badly. The cost cutting is merely an incidental factor that he has to work with.

then why would golfmag say it was a specific part of his remit? Did golfmag actually see the contract itself and read it or was he told by someone what was in it? It still doesn't make any sense though - it isn't within Pardew's power to perform what is supposedly within his remit.

Not decided on Defoe either way personally - but who are we actually comparing him to? His record at West Ham was 1 goal in 3. His record in his 1st spell at Spurs was 1 in 3. Portsmouth was 1 in 2. His second spell at Spurs it's hovering between 1 in 2 and 1 in 3. it's hardly an abysmal record.

Sports Direct signs surely?

Agreed, Golfmag just made a lucky guess and it's a fluke that everything he predicted long before Pardew arrived has come true. Biting. Doesn't really answer my point though. Witty though your response was.

And how many times do we have to remind you that Tiote was unknown? Even the other names have some question mark of sort over them..... but i won't go there. Unknown to who? You? The football world at large? All scouts? European scouts? What a stupid thing to say.

Don't read if easily depressed Was just thinking about this post and I don't think that these supposed 'terms' of Pardew's contract make any sense whatsoever. Ultimately Pardew has no say over who comes and goes from the club - he can't stop someone being sold and he can't insist somebody is bought. So quite why Pardew would be remunerated according to a reduction in the wage bill is beyond me. Logically it doesn't follow.

I swear Ryder has no idea what he's talking about. Spirit in and around the club is not good. Source? Scout at the club. Can you elaborate on what he told you? Any details?

I swear Ryder has no idea what he's talking about. Spirit in and around the club is not good. Source?

2 week fine - absolutely the right move.