Punk77

Exactly Stop being a party pooper. We're trying to build some expectations here..

Depends on your definition of success but I don't think that's true at all. I think the club would like you to think it though. Well yeah, by success I was thinking European qualification and then pushing up into the top 4. If by success you mean getting promoted and potentially finishing in the top half, then pushing on from there... we're already doing that. Do you think Spurs are taking massive financial risks? Or even the mackems, who will probably still either bottle it or simply be caught by Liverpool, but are still very much in contention for Europe? Do you think Arsenal are taking massive financial risks? Spurs and Arsenal are both very well run clubs and are not taking massive financial risks. That's the reason why I have nothing against Spurs. . Unlike City and Chelsea, their success can be ascribed to the fact that they have a salary cap on players' salary and they have made some smart buys and sold them with huge profits. And they have picked up talents and honed them. Chelsea and City would have been nowhere if it wasn't for their owners' generosity.

He said this years CL, they played Auxerre. Thank you. And I mentioned that match to prove that even Ronaldo is not able to feint in the way HBA does and Zidane did.

Oh christ.. His goal scoring statistics is gruesome. If I remember correctly he got good work ethic and decent technique. But so few goals point towards one thing: He's not football intelligent enough, and as a consequence he's not able to position himself in good scoring positions. But nothing would have been better than he proving us wrong..

I'll have a pint of what you're drinking. He he. But seriously, HBA can be that good. His feinting is very similar to Zidane: He's able to to correct his movements if he sees that the opponent is not falling for the trick he's performing. In other words: He watches the opponent while simultaneously feinting and goes in the opposite direction if the defender is not falling for his faint. Very few players are able to do this. That's why HBA can pass a player using only one or two touches (like Zidane). That's why he can stand completely still, and still mange to surpass his player. He does the opposite of what the opponent RESPONDS to all the time. Ronaldo (that c***) on the other hand is not able to do this. That's why he uses a ton of feints without being able to pass his opponent. He looks too much on the ball: A very good example of this was Real Madrid's away game in this years CL against a French team, where they were very lucky to vin.

Totally agree. No way todays spending can be upheld without having serious consequences. And when the bubble burst, NUFC will be one of the few clubs with a sound economical base, and then we will shine..But until then, we must have patience.

The problem with Robert was his stability. On his day he alone could win the game for us. But when he had a day off, nobody was worse either. All around I prefer players that delivers more consistently.. Ginola was absolutely fantastic, and I will never forgive Daglish for selling him. But Ben Arfa has something magical. His touch is just so fantastic, ditto his acceleration. Unlike Bale who has problems when the defense is organized, HBA has no problems taking on one or two players. It's when he goes after the third and the fourth that he runs into problems. From what I've seen on youtube his fondness for the ball is his main problem. If he learns when he should pass and when to dribble I honestly believe that he got the potential of Messi.

Exactly! And it is a huge problem that the football is heading in that direction imo. When you have all the money in the world, like City, the feeling of accomplishment must disappear significantly when they win a silverware. The success is not achieved through hard work, sensible strategies and supporter relations but through using huge amounts of money, and nothing else. In the same way, I feel such a pride when Tiote is having one of his usual displays, because we only bought him for £3.5 and his success can partly be attributed to the club's scouting. If we on the other hand had purchased him for £20 mill, Tiote's current display is seen only as mandatory for a player with such a price tag.

The only club in for him and we offered to double his wages. I guess this was Shepherd's fault too? Remind me again, which one of Luque's or Coloccini's wages affects our current finances? Colo's wages was of course sanctioned by Ashley. But obviously, the man had not much experience in running a football club. My point is that Ashley has turned the ship around, economically. If Colo signs a new contract, he will of course not be given the same luxurious terms. Fat Fred on the other hand, never learned. And he had intimate knowledge about the club's finances. Still he managed on a consistent basis to hire and fire managers (£5 mill buyout on Big Sam alone) and in same style repeatedly paying way too much for mediocre players that were rewarded with insanely good contracts. Ashley took over a club with a debt of £100 mill that had already used sponsor money in advance.

Have read a couple of articles and nobody has mentioned a buyout clause. We're injury plagued so we need him regardless, but I hope of course that we have reached such an agreement..However, I have found no information about it. Anybody else who knows? That said, Ireland would probably be available for a decent price as they're probably desperate to get rid of him. Are you sure? If Ireland rediscovers his form, they have a very good midfielder. Why would Villa then sell him to us, unless they are handsomely rewarded?

Have read a couple of articles and nobody has mentioned a buyout clause. We're injury plagued so we need him regardless, but I hope of course that we have reached such an agreement..However, I have found no information about it. Anybody else who knows?

This interview with Luque is a very good example of how disastrously Fat Fred managed the club. The worst thing is that he continued to put money in his own pocket, despite the fact that it went with record losses. Please notice the writing in bold. No doubt about it, Ashley has made his share of mistakes. But everything was set in motion by Fred. Economically I think NUFC is one of the few clubs that is going in the right direction: Cutting down on wages and focusing on talent. The next step should be to lower the ticket prices. The German League has followed this strategy.: lowering wages, renewing stadiums and lowering wages, which has led to the possibility to reduce the ticket prices. One match ticket may now be available for 8 EUR. The result: highest average attendance in Europe. It's a great concern that the average supporter attending a game at Old Trafford is male and well into his forties.

Absolutely agree. But if he finds his form, he will be pretty expensive because we didn't manage to negotiate a clause enabling us to buy him at the end of the period at a fixed sum..

Sorry about that one. Misunderstood the rules, thought it it was only Pl-clips and not old ones for other leagues...Won't happen again..Promise.

My reaction too..I almost got a bulge in my pants

This free kick is f***** unbelievable. And the best thing is: he does it on purpose. Discussion settled now? < the next one gets a week off. >

I wish I'd saved that Everton video when it was knocking about, can't find it now (NOT THAT I'M REQUESTING A LINK!). His acceleration and control in that game was unreal. I got it on my computer

I recommend that you search on HBA skills on youtube..The boy is insane.. Can't believe that we got him..

Just stop it. Are you seriously defending Best? He's w***, I'm sorry I missed the West Ham match, but I have never seen such a bad striker at this club. Mind I started watching matched regularly 12 years ago but still. He's an awful footballer and we should've considered selling him after his hattrick. I perform better than him, and I'm not joking. I would do a better job than him on the football field, and I don't even earn money playing football. Come on. Best got some inherent quality such as good finishing skills, decent technique and pace. But he seems very remote when he's on the pitch: his body is there, but not his mind. And in the world's fastest football league, that's not good enough. As Mame Biram Diouf pointed out when took the step from the Norwegian Tippeligaen to PL: the league is so fast, that he has to think two/three steps ahead all the time. This does not apply for Best..But it should, the man is 24 years old.

Valid point, but I think both attackers should have had much more movement. To dismantle a good defense, you must have move continually. But Best and Ranger seemed uninterested in that department. Because the attackers did not move, they created no room for the midfield and the midfield had few passing alternatives because Best and Rangers did not create space between themselves and the defense. Both did not move at all unless the ball was heading towards their direction. An attacker must make a run, regardless, because when he moves, he stretches the defense and makes room for others. And that requires football intelligence, which Best and Ranger do not have, for now.

Got to disagree with you. Ranger is first and foremost an impact-player. He got a physical awareness that scares the opponent. But he got few other abilities to the games right now. The game against Fulham showed that he got a lot to learn, especially when it comes to making the right choices on the pitch. He made the wrong initiatives and only taking runs when the ball was passed in his direction. He got no technique (yet) and his finishing skills are just horrendous. Lovenkrants on the other hand is very good in beating the offside trap. He will have a clean breakthrough during the game. The problem is that our midfield is not able to play on this particular strength of his. He never or seldom gets any breakthrough ball. I've seen some good runs from his side that would have taken him straight to the goal, but the pass never arrives. However, Loven needs to play in a 4-4-2 system, preferably with Sholadinhio, but he's now injured. Best on the other hand got technique, but he obviously suffers from some mental problem: His body is on the pitch, but not his mind, his not focused enough, which I think has hindered his development. However, I agree that Ranger got potential. But he needs to play day in and out on a lower level to hone is skills. Carroll was rubbish before he got one whole season in Wankership, and this is also the solution for Ranger. We have no attacker with possession skills to play with Loven in 4-4-2, and when Ben Arfa, Gosling and Ireland is back, we have no attacker to play in a 4-5-1 role, because that formation also requires an attacker that is able keeping the ball so the rest of the midfield (and Nolan in particular) can move upwards. In other words, we to strike gold on the free transfer market asap

Ginola had skills that was unheard of in his day. But HBA got greater potential. If he sorts his heads out, the sky is the limit for him. Robert was too inconsistent. On his day the most entertaining winger in PL, and vice versa..

This is good news imo. Yong, low risk and probably sees nufc as a career enhancement. A text book signing.