Away Toon

Chelsea vs Real, good game so far 1-1 after 20 minutes, Marcelo and Ramires the scorers

Chelsea vs Real Madrid tonight in Miami, should be entertaining.

We do appear to have an increasingly difficult decision to make with where to play HBA. As a winger he has to put in a defensive shift especially as both of our fullbacks need all the help they can, yet it is such a waste to see him playing so much football in our own half. Floating in the number 10 role he seems to get lost in the traffic and disappears for long stretches of the game as does Marveaux when he plays in the same position. He needs to be our Messi, free to do what he wants and to play where he wants, but we aren't Barcelona and Pardew is never going to select him to play this role. A conundrum. He's our most talented player and yet for most of the time he is on the pitch we get virtually nothing out of him. Solutions?

To summarise (IMO); Presuming we buy Gomis and Bent which seems unlikely and unnecessary. Gomis and Cisse can't and shouldn't play together. They both prefer playing as solitary strikers through the middle. Bent and Cisse as above. Gomis and Bent as above. Fortunately Remy can play with anyone of them though Bent would be the least suitable of the three. I think we'll see Cisse and Remy in some of the easier (I know) games but possibly just one when Pardew is trying to keep it tight (always if last season is anything to go on). Remy is probably now our number 1 striker option.

Diego Capel, the original flying winger, available for €7 M, from Sporting. Still only 25. I don't know if there is much left of the promise he had when he broke through as a teenager at Sevilla, but on his day one of the most exciting players you could ever see.

They did cover their asses with the "according" to the Daily Mail, a wise move considering the garbage they come out with.

Saying on Friday in the french press that he was still interested in signing for OM and that along with Newcastle it was a possibility, is more on what I'm going on.

I doubt that L'Equipe steals stories from the Daily Star. They claim that Zubizarretta the sporting director of Barca when interviewed by Mundo Deportivo indicated that MU understand our position and have given up on trying to sign Fabregas. They then add that according to the Daily Mail the red devils will turn there intentions to signing Schweinsteiger.

L'Equipe are reporting (gossiping) that MU have given up on Cesc and are now after Schweini. Can't see that happening, but money does talk. Looks like Cabaye is well down their list of centre midfielders they are interested in.

Agents want their commissions, St. Etienne want their 5%, and Gomis wants to go to Marseille, that's why there are delays.

In all likelihood Gomis will sign, though I get the feeling he'd rather end up at OM. Modern football, wow it sucks.

The contract is complicated, loan, possible transfer later, fee to be agreed, wages are an issue. his reported salary at QPR is higher than anything we pay, his court case hanging over everything, and lastly he doesn't seem to have any interest at all in playing for us. If we really want a forward who can play wide, buy Ince or McManaman both would probably be around 6-7 Million and both would accept considerably less wages.

Does anybody really believe Remy is going to sign for us? I'm 99% sure he's not.

Now it would appear that we are signing Gomis, the club can get on with transferring Cisse to a Turkish or Russian club.

Liverpool have made a £21m offer for Atletico Madrid's Brazilian striker Diego Costa. The offer is understood to have triggered the 24-year-old's release clause and Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is hopeful of completing the deal swiftly. Costa who joined Atletico from Valladolid in 2010, scored 10 goals in the Primera Liga last season. The striker made his international debut in March this year. Liverpool have declined to comment on the bid, but sources at Anfield insist the move has no bearing on Luis Suarez's future, which has not changed since Arsenal made a £40,000,001 bid. The Uruguayan has not submitted a formal transfer request nor has he contacted the Premier League to dispute Liverpool's interpretation of a clause in his contract that the player disputes. Suarez claims he should be able to talk to Arsenal about a move after their bid, although the Reds disagree. The move for Costa is something of a surprise, but Atletico head coach Diego Simeone has hinted the striker could be allowed to move on following the arrival of David Villa from Barcelona. Earlier this week, Rodgers said he would only bring in new signings if they he believed they would improve the squad. "They have to be of the right quality, that's the bottom line," he said "We've got money to spend on getting that quality in, but if it's not available I won't waste it for the sake of bringing a player in."

323 pages and we are no nearer to signing him then when this thread was started #waste of space

Watching Bayern against Man City, Bayern have around 70 per cent possession and are all over them like a rash. Still 0-0 though.

"Hang in there" is more accurate and my girlfriend doesn't speak French, though her Spanish is very good as she's a Peruvian beauty.

Top level competitive football at the highest level throughout Europe and probably the World is non-existant because of money. There is no longer the opportunity for good coaching and a well run club to succeed at the highest level. Less than 20 years ago we nearly won the Premiership, now we have no chance at all and without massive investment are not capable of finishing in the top four. We have no players that are good enough to play for the top sides, and none of the top sides want any of them. Football is currently from a competitive point of view at club level a complete waste of time.

I think all professional football players are tremendous role models for the rest of society. There must be a few twats among them, but it's a very negligible percentage overall.

To completely change the subject, what exactly is the deal with players officially in writing asking for a transfer? In the good old days it was a regular occurrence, now it virtually never happens even when players are actively looking to change clubs (Suarez). Do they lose some kind of loyalty bonus (rumoured) or a percentage of the transfer fee? Does it depend on the players individual contract or is it the same rule for all? The fact that players virtually never do it must mean that there are financial penalties.

I've always thought the only logical reason Ashley didn't sack Pardew at the end of the season, is due to the idea (fact?) that because of the 8 year contract he has, there would be substantial compensation to be paid. There is no other logical reason. He certainly deserved to be sacked. Unfortunately it didn't happen , although I've no doubt it will if we get off to a bad start which unless we sign 2 or 3 players seems very likely. What comes next will no doubt not be very pretty, but the quicker we start with the cleansing the better.

I think he'd do a better job than Tiote in the same position.

Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay hopes to conclude "delicate" negotiations to sign midfielder Etienne Capoue after having a bid accepted by Toulouse. The Premier League new boys are thought to have offered close to £9m but must convince the 25-year-old France international his future lies in Wales. Now he would be a serious upgrade on our midfield options especially Tiote. Too much money for us though, just a poor club with no ambition from the North East.

Once the transfer window closes we can put up the poll to guess the end of season league position. Last season I guessed 7th, I won't be doing that again.