Away Toon

We do look like we are trying to keep the ball and pass a little better

I'm thinking that Debuchy is really not very good. Bring back Simpson !!

This forum does make me laugh from time to time, a good distraction from the misery of supporting NUFC.

I think we'll sell him for around 15M (if he doesn't play tonight he's 100% gone), and won't pay the money Wigan want for McCarthy.

I was hoping that I was the oldest living fossil on here, but maybe not. Bummer.

Should have been a penalty, horrible decision.

Chadli is better than our LW. He looks good to me, fast and two footed.

This is by far the worst match so far today.

World class save by Guzman

Nolan to score more than the whole of a midfield combined?

Villa looking very fit, and quick as hell on the counter.

I don't think that Santon has raw pace which MYM definitely does have. He glides when going forward and looks reasonably quick, but that's it. His speed or lack of it certainly couldn't make up for his godawful tendency to be caught out of position last season and for us to concede goals coming down his side of the defence, something that was ad nauseum pointed out on Match of the Day, FSC and by TV critics repeatedly.

Unless Arsenal strengthen and buy a top class striker like Suarez I don't believe they can finish above Chelsea or City. Likewise MU need a much better centre midfield, and possibly a strengthened defence to challenge again. I think Man Utd will finish 3rd as the position stands today and maybe Arsenal might get 4th though Spurs have invested in some good players and so far have held on to Bale.

And that brother is the truth, we're fucked, no foreplay, no lube, nothing. And it hurts.

If MYM is not starting instead of Taylor which he should be , then he should start at LB. He's quicker than Santon and a better defender.

Well if he's fit he will be on Monday whether we like it or not, and Santon is going to need all the help he can.

I think that Jonas could play the Tiote role, it would be worth trying anyhow, or should have been tried in pre season. As a defensive wideman he also serves a purpose, doubling up with the fullback against someone like Navas for example.

Actually Arsenal, Man Utd and us are the standout clubs that have so far not invested in new players. Our need is far greater than there's though. Arsenal have a squad capable of finishing 4th without any additions, MU to finish in the top three, and we have the same bunch of players minus a few and plus not very many that nearly got us relegated last year.

Ashley has allowed the club to buy players as long as we sell players for at least as much money, in fact as everyone can see we've profited by 25M. As I said unless the players you but turn out to be exceptional and the players you've sold shit, the team doesn't get any stronger. I don't think anybody can honestly say that any of the players we have bought recently have been unqualified successes, in fact most of them have flattered to deceive, Cabaye, Debuchy, Sissoko, Gouffran, MYM, Santon, Tiote, HBA and Marveaux. The proof barring possibly Cabaye is that nobody wants to buy them.

True but what it does show is that we have an owner who rightly or wrongly has no intention of subsidising the club in any way and wants the money back out of the club that he feels is his. The rumoured debt he inherited of 125 M he's paying himself back. Hopefully once he's done so he'll sell the club.

It's a bit messy after the copy and paste but basically we just don't spend any money on players in fact as you can see we've spent nearly 25M less than the value of the players we have bought. It might be good for Ashley who continues to take money out of the club and put it in his pockets, but it's no recipe for any level of success on the pitch. For this policy to work you either have to have the most amazing scouting network, which we don't, or a genius of a coach/manager which we definitely don't.

# Net Spend last 5 Years Purchased Gross Sold Nett Per Season 1 Manchester City £637,150,000 £162,700,000 £474,450,000 £94,890,000 2 Chelsea £354,500,000 £100,100,000 £254,400,000 £50,880,000 3 Stoke City £97,825,000 £8,650,000 £89,175,000 £17,835,000 4 Aston Villa £174,600,000 £91,600,000 £83,000,000 £16,600,000 5 Manchester United £202,250,000 £127,800,000 £74,450,000 £14,890,000 6 Liverpool £284,450,000 £220,550,000 £63,900,000 £12,780,000 7 Tottenham £257,000,000 £207,550,000 £49,450,000 £9,890,000 8 Sunderland £151,130,000 £103,700,000 £47,430,000 £9,486,000 9 Southampton £60,350,000 £14,600,000 £45,750,000 £9,150,000 10 Hull City £36,275,000 £8,250,000 £28,025,000 £5,605,000 11 Norwich City £22,750,000 £1,100,000 £21,650,000 £4,330,000 12 West Ham £81,850,000 £54,800,000 £27,050,000 £5,410,000 15 Swansea £48,455,000 £29,860,000 £18,595,000 £3,719,000 14 West Bromwich Albion £38,745,000 £26,310,000 £12,435,000 £2,487,000 15 Cardiff City £25,095,000 £12,925,000 £12,170,000 £2,434,000 16 Fulham £48,580,000 £39,700,000 £8,880,000 £1,776,000 17 Crystal Palace £11,050,000 £9,750,000 £1,300,000 £260,000 18 Everton £63,500,500 £75,816,000 -£12,315,500 -£2,463,100 19 Newcastle £93,150,000 £118,050,000 -£24,900,000 -£4,980,000 20 Arsenal £145,700,000 £192,400,000 -£46,700,000 -£9,340,000

Virtually all football clubs lose money because of the ridiculous wages the players are paid. When the ratio of wages to income is as high as it is in most clubs there is no way the club can make a profit. The new TV deal brings in a significant increase in income but if it just ends up in the grubby hands of the players the problem remains the same. We as a club have now a lower ratio than most others hence we made a small profit last year. The price of this is that the lower wages on offer restrict the players we can buy. Many clubs have historically been willing to go into debt to try and buy success and it has definitely worked for Chelsea, City, PSG etc, and it nearly worked for us in the 90's. This owner won't do that which makes us uncompetitive. We as fans have to suffer the limitations of this policy until either 1. Ashley sells us 2. We greatly increase our revenue and keep our costs down allowing for real investment in the club 3. We find a top class Manager/Coach who can improve the players we have and get them playing in a coherent successful style, Swansea being a good example of this. In the meanwhile under the holy trio of Ashley, JFK and Pardew things are not going to be a lot of fun.

I think it's pretty clear that JFK wasn't brought in by Ashley to oversee the buying of players. He was brought in to piss off Pardew who Ashley wants to sack, but doesn't want to pay the compensation. JFK is there to keep an eye on him, undermine him whenever possible, and see if he can get him to walk.

Jozy gets 3 got the US. If he turns out to be a success for the mackems ill be well pissed off.