José Enrique

[Zero]

Liverpool fans on RAWK seem to be more interested in Coentrao (never heard of him, cant even pronounce his name) than Enrique. Not sure Liverpool will be his destination. Some are convinced they have a couple of youngsters good enough to step up. You never know if Enrique cant get his "dream move"to Liverpool perhaps he will stay after all.

 

Never heard of Coentrao? Are you kidding? Check it out in google/FM man.

[wormy]

Aye, fair dos if he goes off to Milan, I can take that. Liverpool would just be beyond awful though.

 

The Fat Cockney Bastard will happily turn United into Liverpool's feeder club if the money is right.

 

 

The same as 95% of clubs.

 

I don't like Ashley or Lambyarse but not many clubs would have turned down that sort of money (8th most expensive player in history) for a young lad with half a seasons experience in the premiership.

 

I could understand the derision directed at the board if we sold the lad for £10m just to make a quick buck but all players at all clubs (apart from maybe Chelsea and City) have a price. Especially if the player has indicated he wants to leave. Look at the ludicrous things Man City and Man Utd had to do to keep hold of their star players, we as with most clubs aren't in a position to do that. We tried it before and despite it working at first we started going backwards and the over spending wasn't helping buck the trend.

 

If Liverpool came in with the reported £15m bid for our left back in the last year of his contract and not looking to extend then I couldn't really blame the board for accepting it.

 

Good Post, totally agree with what your saying.

 

Good thing Ashley's ass is so big so you can both simultaneously fit your cocks up it, like.

[Dr Venkman]

Aye, fair dos if he goes off to Milan, I can take that. Liverpool would just be beyond awful though.

 

The Fat Cockney Bastard will happily turn United into Liverpool's feeder club if the money is right.

 

 

The same as 95% of clubs.

 

I don't like Ashley or Lambyarse but not many clubs would have turned down that sort of money (8th most expensive player in history) for a young lad with half a seasons experience in the premiership.

 

I could understand the derision directed at the board if we sold the lad for £10m just to make a quick buck but all players at all clubs (apart from maybe Chelsea and City) have a price. Especially if the player has indicated he wants to leave. Look at the ludicrous things Man City and Man Utd had to do to keep hold of their star players, we as with most clubs aren't in a position to do that. We tried it before and despite it working at first we started going backwards and the over spending wasn't helping buck the trend.

 

If Liverpool came in with the reported £15m bid for our left back in the last year of his contract and not looking to extend then I couldn't really blame the board for accepting it.

 

Good Post, totally agree with what your saying.

 

exactly. why try and keep our best players when we can improve the bank balance and replace them with cheaper ones that MIGHT be just as good

[Cajun]

Aye, fair dos if he goes off to Milan, I can take that. Liverpool would just be beyond awful though.

 

The Fat Cockney Bastard will happily turn United into Liverpool's feeder club if the money is right.

 

 

The same as 95% of clubs.

 

I don't like Ashley or Lambyarse but not many clubs would have turned down that sort of money (8th most expensive player in history) for a young lad with half a seasons experience in the premiership.

 

I could understand the derision directed at the board if we sold the lad for £10m just to make a quick buck but all players at all clubs (apart from maybe Chelsea and City) have a price. Especially if the player has indicated he wants to leave. Look at the ludicrous things Man City and Man Utd had to do to keep hold of their star players, we as with most clubs aren't in a position to do that. We tried it before and despite it working at first we started going backwards and the over spending wasn't helping buck the trend.

 

If Liverpool came in with the reported £15m bid for our left back in the last year of his contract and not looking to extend then I couldn't really blame the board for accepting it.

 

Good Post, totally agree with what your saying.

 

exactly. why try and keep our best players when we can improve the bank balance and replace them with cheaper ones that MIGHT be just as good

 

But ALL clubs do it apart from those bankrolled by these billionaires who don't give a fuck.

 

Liverpool sold their star player to afford Carroll don't forget.

 

Manchester United sold Cronaldo.

 

Why are we any different?

 

The thing that is wrong is if (and I fully expect this) we don't put the Carroll money back into the squad. Very, very few clubs would have turned down that offer, especially after the player himself has expressed a wish to go.

 

It's not just big, bad Mike Ashley's Newcastle that sell their star players in these circumstances.

[Dr Venkman]

Aye, fair dos if he goes off to Milan, I can take that. Liverpool would just be beyond awful though.

 

The Fat Cockney Bastard will happily turn United into Liverpool's feeder club if the money is right.

 

 

The same as 95% of clubs.

 

I don't like Ashley or Lambyarse but not many clubs would have turned down that sort of money (8th most expensive player in history) for a young lad with half a seasons experience in the premiership.

 

I could understand the derision directed at the board if we sold the lad for £10m just to make a quick buck but all players at all clubs (apart from maybe Chelsea and City) have a price. Especially if the player has indicated he wants to leave. Look at the ludicrous things Man City and Man Utd had to do to keep hold of their star players, we as with most clubs aren't in a position to do that. We tried it before and despite it working at first we started going backwards and the over spending wasn't helping buck the trend.

 

If Liverpool came in with the reported £15m bid for our left back in the last year of his contract and not looking to extend then I couldn't really blame the board for accepting it.

 

Good Post, totally agree with what your saying.

 

exactly. why try and keep our best players when we can improve the bank balance and replace them with cheaper ones that MIGHT be just as good

 

But ALL clubs do it apart from those bankrolled by these billionaires who don't give a fuck.

 

Liverpool sold their star player to afford Carroll don't forget.

 

Manchester United sold Cronaldo.

 

Why are we any different?

 

The thing that is wrong is if (and I fully expect this) we don't put the Carroll money back into the squad. Very, very few clubs would have turned down that offer, especially after the player himself has expressed a wish to go.

 

It's not just big, bad Mike Ashley's Newcastle that sell their star players in these circumstances.

 

liverpool sold their star player and bought carroll and suarez, we got shefki kuqi

 

i guess the summer will tell us a lot, not holding out much hope though, are you?

[Cajun]

Aye, fair dos if he goes off to Milan, I can take that. Liverpool would just be beyond awful though.

 

The Fat Cockney Bastard will happily turn United into Liverpool's feeder club if the money is right.

 

 

The same as 95% of clubs.

 

I don't like Ashley or Lambyarse but not many clubs would have turned down that sort of money (8th most expensive player in history) for a young lad with half a seasons experience in the premiership.

 

I could understand the derision directed at the board if we sold the lad for £10m just to make a quick buck but all players at all clubs (apart from maybe Chelsea and City) have a price. Especially if the player has indicated he wants to leave. Look at the ludicrous things Man City and Man Utd had to do to keep hold of their star players, we as with most clubs aren't in a position to do that. We tried it before and despite it working at first we started going backwards and the over spending wasn't helping buck the trend.

 

If Liverpool came in with the reported £15m bid for our left back in the last year of his contract and not looking to extend then I couldn't really blame the board for accepting it.

 

Good Post, totally agree with what your saying.

 

exactly. why try and keep our best players when we can improve the bank balance and replace them with cheaper ones that MIGHT be just as good

 

But ALL clubs do it apart from those bankrolled by these billionaires who don't give a fuck.

 

Liverpool sold their star player to afford Carroll don't forget.

 

Manchester United sold Cronaldo.

 

Why are we any different?

 

The thing that is wrong is if (and I fully expect this) we don't put the Carroll money back into the squad. Very, very few clubs would have turned down that offer, especially after the player himself has expressed a wish to go.

 

It's not just big, bad Mike Ashley's Newcastle that sell their star players in these circumstances.

 

liverpool sold their star player and bought carroll and suarez, we got shefki kuqi

 

i guess the summer will tell us a lot, not holding out much hope though, are you?

 

Nope, that's what I said though. The failure isn't selling the player for a stupid fee, it's if we don't replace him.

 

Although we should have made plans to replace Carroll because we would have known before the very last minute we would sell him I can kind of forgive not replacing him properly at the end of the window because we would have paid well over the odds.

 

I will judge this summer, however as with you, I don't hold much hope that it's going to be good.

[Guest neesy111]

Aye, fair dos if he goes off to Milan, I can take that. Liverpool would just be beyond awful though.

 

The Fat Cockney Bastard will happily turn United into Liverpool's feeder club if the money is right.

 

 

The same as 95% of clubs.

 

I don't like Ashley or Lambyarse but not many clubs would have turned down that sort of money (8th most expensive player in history) for a young lad with half a seasons experience in the premiership.

 

I could understand the derision directed at the board if we sold the lad for £10m just to make a quick buck but all players at all clubs (apart from maybe Chelsea and City) have a price. Especially if the player has indicated he wants to leave. Look at the ludicrous things Man City and Man Utd had to do to keep hold of their star players, we as with most clubs aren't in a position to do that. We tried it before and despite it working at first we started going backwards and the over spending wasn't helping buck the trend.

 

If Liverpool came in with the reported £15m bid for our left back in the last year of his contract and not looking to extend then I couldn't really blame the board for accepting it.

 

Good Post, totally agree with what your saying.

 

exactly. why try and keep our best players when we can improve the bank balance and replace them with cheaper ones that MIGHT be just as good

 

But ALL clubs do it apart from those bankrolled by these billionaires who don't give a fuck.

 

Liverpool sold their star player to afford Carroll don't forget.

 

Manchester United sold Cronaldo.

 

Why are we any different?

 

The thing that is wrong is if (and I fully expect this) we don't put the Carroll money back into the squad. Very, very few clubs would have turned down that offer, especially after the player himself has expressed a wish to go.

 

It's not just big, bad Mike Ashley's Newcastle that sell their star players in these circumstances.

 

liverpool sold their star player and bought carroll and suarez, we got shefki kuqi

 

i guess the summer will tell us a lot, not holding out much hope though, are you?

 

They had time to buy players we didn't because of the corner which Carroll and Liverpool put us under.

[alpal78]

Aye, fair dos if he goes off to Milan, I can take that. Liverpool would just be beyond awful though.

 

The Fat Cockney b****** will happily turn United into Liverpool's feeder club if the money is right.

 

 

The same as 95% of clubs.

 

I don't like Ashley or Lambyarse but not many clubs would have turned down that sort of money (8th most expensive player in history) for a young lad with half a seasons experience in the premiership.

 

I could understand the derision directed at the board if we sold the lad for £10m just to make a quick buck but all players at all clubs (apart from maybe Chelsea and City) have a price. Especially if the player has indicated he wants to leave. Look at the ludicrous things Man City and Man Utd had to do to keep hold of their star players, we as with most clubs aren't in a position to do that. We tried it before and despite it working at first we started going backwards and the over spending wasn't helping buck the trend.

 

If Liverpool came in with the reported £15m bid for our left back in the last year of his contract and not looking to extend then I couldn't really blame the board for accepting it.

 

Good Post, totally agree with what your saying.

 

Good thing Ashley's ass is so big so you can both simultaneously fit your cocks up it, like.

 

This is so typical, personal attacks are used instead of having a logical debate whenever someone post something not along the lines that Ashley is the devil incarnate. Alterantively you get one liners cliche on bank balance that does not engage the points made.

 

Cajun makes a good point (one that I've been making as well). The club's error is if they didn't replace Carrol with a good striker of similiar or higher standards (that might be difficult for some though, coz they think that Carroll is one of the best strikers in the world! )

 

On the other hand, although Cajun has a point when he said that we would have paid over the odds had we got Carrol's replacement on the last day of the Jan transfer, I am still p*ssed off that we did not attempt to get Sturridge given the leverage that we had over Chelsea (though I suspect the deal with Bolton might have been done earlier).

 

I will wait to see what happens in the summer and am cautiously optimistic that we will get a good number 9 and hopefully one more striker. The last few games hopefully are driving home the point that our current strikers are an awful bunch.

[Darth Crooks]

'corner we were under' 

[Dr Venkman]

Aye, fair dos if he goes off to Milan, I can take that. Liverpool would just be beyond awful though.

 

The Fat Cockney b****** will happily turn United into Liverpool's feeder club if the money is right.

 

 

The same as 95% of clubs.

 

I don't like Ashley or Lambyarse but not many clubs would have turned down that sort of money (8th most expensive player in history) for a young lad with half a seasons experience in the premiership.

 

I could understand the derision directed at the board if we sold the lad for £10m just to make a quick buck but all players at all clubs (apart from maybe Chelsea and City) have a price. Especially if the player has indicated he wants to leave. Look at the ludicrous things Man City and Man Utd had to do to keep hold of their star players, we as with most clubs aren't in a position to do that. We tried it before and despite it working at first we started going backwards and the over spending wasn't helping buck the trend.

 

If Liverpool came in with the reported £15m bid for our left back in the last year of his contract and not looking to extend then I couldn't really blame the board for accepting it.

 

Good Post, totally agree with what your saying.

 

Good thing Ashley's ass is so big so you can both simultaneously fit your cocks up it, like.

 

This is so typical, personal attacks are used instead of having a logical debate whenever someone post something not along the lines that Ashley is the devil incarnate. Alterantively you get one liners cliche on bank balance that does not engage the points made.

 

Cajun makes a good point (one that I've been making as well). The club's error is if they don't replace Carrol with a good striker of similiar or higher standards (that might be difficult for some though, coz they think that Carroll is one of the best strikers in the world! )

 

On the other hand, although Cajun has a point when he said that we would have paid over the odds had we got Carrol's replacement on the last day of the Jan transfer, I am still p*ssed off that we did not attempt to get Sturridge given the leverage that we had over Chelsea (though I suspect the deal with Bolton might have been done earlier).

 

I will wait to see what happens in the summer and am cautiously optimistic that we will get a good number 9 and hopefully one more striker. The last few games hopefully are driving home the point that our current strikers are an awful bunch.

 

and what if the summer's been and gone and the transfer activity hasnt been good enough? we've spent about 10 million on a two young prospects, signed a couple of free transfers and lost enrique, who we've replaced with kadar (and put a last minute 'bid' in for adam johnson).

 

you'll be on here saying that we should wait and see what happens in january and that those of us saying we've seen it all before and ashley is true to form are just impatient and launching personal attacks.

 

depends on your point of view, personally if someone's taking the piss i've usually noticed after 5 years

[quayside]

Aye, fair dos if he goes off to Milan, I can take that. Liverpool would just be beyond awful though.

 

The Fat Cockney b****** will happily turn United into Liverpool's feeder club if the money is right.

 

 

The same as 95% of clubs.

 

I don't like Ashley or Lambyarse but not many clubs would have turned down that sort of money (8th most expensive player in history) for a young lad with half a seasons experience in the premiership.

 

I could understand the derision directed at the board if we sold the lad for £10m just to make a quick buck but all players at all clubs (apart from maybe Chelsea and City) have a price. Especially if the player has indicated he wants to leave. Look at the ludicrous things Man City and Man Utd had to do to keep hold of their star players, we as with most clubs aren't in a position to do that. We tried it before and despite it working at first we started going backwards and the over spending wasn't helping buck the trend.

 

If Liverpool came in with the reported £15m bid for our left back in the last year of his contract and not looking to extend then I couldn't really blame the board for accepting it.

 

Good Post, totally agree with what your saying.

 

Good thing Ashley's ass is so big so you can both simultaneously fit your cocks up it, like.

 

This is so typical, personal attacks are used instead of having a logical debate whenever someone post something not along the lines that Ashley is the devil incarnate. Alterantively you get one liners cliche on bank balance that does not engage the points made.

 

Cajun makes a good point (one that I've been making as well). The club's error is if they don't replace Carrol with a good striker of similiar or higher standards (that might be difficult for some though, coz they think that Carroll is one of the best strikers in the world! )

 

On the other hand, although Cajun has a point when he said that we would have paid over the odds had we got Carrol's replacement on the last day of the Jan transfer, I am still p*ssed off that we did not attempt to get Sturridge given the leverage that we had over Chelsea (though I suspect the deal with Bolton might have been done earlier).

 

I will wait to see what happens in the summer and am cautiously optimistic that we will get a good number 9 and hopefully one more striker. The last few games hopefully are driving home the point that our current strikers are an awful bunch.

 

and what if the summer's been and gone and the transfer activity hasnt been good enough? we've spent about 10 million on a two young prospects, signed a couple of free transfers and lost enrique, who we've replaced with kadar (and put a last minute 'bid' in for adam johnson).

 

you'll be on here saying that we should wait and see what happens in january and that those of us saying we've seen it all before and ashley is true to form are just impatient and launching personal attacks.

 

depends on your point of view, personally if someone's taking the p*ss i've usually noticed after 5 years

 

I really don't think there will be much tolerance from anyone if the summer transfer window passes without the club dealing with the void left by Carroll and Enrique leaves and is not adequately replaced.

 

There will of course be massive discussions on the merits of any players who do come in. Some will decide they are crap from the off and others will prefer to wait and see. Ashley's standing will continue to be a subject of heated debate and there is little likelihood that those who are certain that he has no interest in developing the football side of the club will see anything that changes their mind.

[alpal78]

Aye, fair dos if he goes off to Milan, I can take that. Liverpool would just be beyond awful though.

 

The Fat Cockney b****** will happily turn United into Liverpool's feeder club if the money is right.

 

 

The same as 95% of clubs.

 

I don't like Ashley or Lambyarse but not many clubs would have turned down that sort of money (8th most expensive player in history) for a young lad with half a seasons experience in the premiership.

 

I could understand the derision directed at the board if we sold the lad for £10m just to make a quick buck but all players at all clubs (apart from maybe Chelsea and City) have a price. Especially if the player has indicated he wants to leave. Look at the ludicrous things Man City and Man Utd had to do to keep hold of their star players, we as with most clubs aren't in a position to do that. We tried it before and despite it working at first we started going backwards and the over spending wasn't helping buck the trend.

 

If Liverpool came in with the reported £15m bid for our left back in the last year of his contract and not looking to extend then I couldn't really blame the board for accepting it.

 

Good Post, totally agree with what your saying.

 

Good thing Ashley's ass is so big so you can both simultaneously fit your cocks up it, like.

 

This is so typical, personal attacks are used instead of having a logical debate whenever someone post something not along the lines that Ashley is the devil incarnate. Alterantively you get one liners cliche on bank balance that does not engage the points made.

 

Cajun makes a good point (one that I've been making as well). The club's error is if they don't replace Carrol with a good striker of similiar or higher standards (that might be difficult for some though, coz they think that Carroll is one of the best strikers in the world! )

 

On the other hand, although Cajun has a point when he said that we would have paid over the odds had we got Carrol's replacement on the last day of the Jan transfer, I am still p*ssed off that we did not attempt to get Sturridge given the leverage that we had over Chelsea (though I suspect the deal with Bolton might have been done earlier).

 

I will wait to see what happens in the summer and am cautiously optimistic that we will get a good number 9 and hopefully one more striker. The last few games hopefully are driving home the point that our current strikers are an awful bunch.

 

and what if the summer's been and gone and the transfer activity hasnt been good enough? we've spent about 10 million on a two young prospects, signed a couple of free transfers and lost enrique, who we've replaced with kadar (and put a last minute 'bid' in for adam johnson).

 

you'll be on here saying that we should wait and see what happens in january and that those of us saying we've seen it all before and ashley is true to form are just impatient and launching personal attacks.

 

depends on your point of view, personally if someone's taking the p*ss i've usually noticed after 5 years

 

If having had the whole summer to plan the transfer window and we end up losing and not replacing Enrique, and not getting quality striker(s) to replace Carroll, then why would I say let's see what happens in January? You're completly missing the point, those who are saying let's see what happens in the summer are not saying that because they just want to procrastinate strengthening team, the fact is most decent and reasonable transfers are done in the summer, whereas the Jan transfer window are stop gap buys which comes with over inflated prices. That's why our transfers in the summer will be more indicative of Ashley's vision for the club and people are right to say that we should wait till then before passing a judgement. You can of course disagree but debate the points instead of making idiotic statements like bumming Ashley or spouting cliche irrelevant points about bank balance.   

 

 

[Guest magpie99]

Too many people on here who dislike Ashley are setting their arguments based on what happened pre relegation.

 

Since then, not a great deal has been negative for the club. We had a wonderful season in the championship, got rid of a lot of non performing high earners but still kept the nucleus of a premiership squad. Team spirit has been first class and the move back into the premiership has been better than many's expectations.

 

Granted, we have sold one of ur better players for an absolute fortune which I doubt many others would turn down, Keegan and Shepherd included and the likes of some of our players who have been ridiculed on herein the past such as Barton and Niolan, have turned out to be decent performers.

 

We have signed a couple of exciting talents in Tiote and Ben Arfa as well as Gosling, all for less than 10 million pounds and it is such a shame that we hav e seen very little of the latter two due to injury. They will be like new signings next season. We have given long tern contracts to a number of our better players whilst negotiating contracts with others soon.

 

Lets be honest here. 4 years ago when Ashley bought the club without conducting due diligence, he dug himself intoa financial hole. The Halls and Shepherd left the club with a huge debt and few assets and I might like to remind people that we were still paying off the previous regimes transfer fees last season.

 

Ashley hasnt taken a penny out of the club and has saved the club huge amounts in interest payments by poaying off much of the debt, using his own money to prop up the club last season in salaries and transfer fees, got the Academy up and going again with real prospectrs coming through and currently has almost got the club on a sound financial footing. With the new EUFA rules coming in soon, we could be one of the clubs in a position of strength, not only in England, but possibly in Europe.

 

He has made mistakes and admitted tothem. He has been constantly vilified on here and throughout other forums for his treatment of managers but as far as I am concerned, Keegan coming back was one of his mistakes. It was never going to work under the european concept he wanted to adopt. Getting rid of Hughton was shabby but necessary because results were starting to drop off and our performances at the time (Bolton and WBA) in particular, were disgraceful. I only wished he brought in a more experienced manager than Pardew.

 

Anyway, I am prepared to give the bloke a chance because I dont see an awful lot wrong with how the club has performed this season. In fact, if we were all truthful, the season has gone beyond all our expectations.

 

Who would have though after the Villa game two years ago, we would be in the top 10 at present!  It could be worse, we could be in Middlesbroufgh position.

[Hanshithispantz]

'corner we were under' 

[colinmk]

Too many people on here who dislike Ashley are setting their arguments based on what happened pre relegation.

 

Since then, not a great deal has been negative for the club. We had a wonderful season in the championship, got rid of a lot of non performing high earners but still kept the nucleus of a premiership squad. Team spirit has been first class and the move back into the premiership has been better than many's expectations.

 

Granted, we have sold one of ur better players for an absolute fortune which I doubt many others would turn down, Keegan and Shepherd included and the likes of some of our players who have been ridiculed on herein the past such as Barton and Niolan, have turned out to be decent performers.

 

We have signed a couple of exciting talents in Tiote and Ben Arfa as well as Gosling, all for less than 10 million pounds and it is such a shame that we hav e seen very little of the latter two due to injury. They will be like new signings next season. We have given long tern contracts to a number of our better players whilst negotiating contracts with others soon.

 

Lets be honest here. 4 years ago when Ashley bought the club without conducting due diligence, he dug himself intoa financial hole. The Halls and Shepherd left the club with a huge debt and few assets and I might like to remind people that we were still paying off the previous regimes transfer fees last season.

 

Ashley hasnt taken a penny out of the club and has saved the club huge amounts in interest payments by poaying off much of the debt, using his own money to prop up the club last season in salaries and transfer fees, got the Academy up and going again with real prospectrs coming through and currently has almost got the club on a sound financial footing. With the new EUFA rules coming in soon, we could be one of the clubs in a position of strength, not only in England, but possibly in Europe.

 

He has made mistakes and admitted tothem. He has been constantly vilified on here and throughout other forums for his treatment of managers but as far as I am concerned, Keegan coming back was one of his mistakes. It was never going to work under the european concept he wanted to adopt. Getting rid of Hughton was shabby but necessary because results were starting to drop off and our performances at the time (Bolton and WBA) in particular, were disgraceful. I only wished he brought in a more experienced manager than Pardew.

 

Anyway, I am prepared to give the bloke a chance because I dont see an awful lot wrong with how the club has performed this season. In fact, if we were all truthful, the season has gone beyond all our expectations.

 

Who would have though after the Villa game two years ago, we would be in the top 10 at present!  It could be worse, we could be in Middlesbroufgh position.

 

I like your optimism Derek.

[buzza]

Far too eloquent to be Derek!

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Good post magpie, I genuinely think if it wasn't for the Carroll sale Ashley would be well on the way to getting back on the good side of the fans.

 

This season, as you say, has been much better than expected.

[TRon]

Too many people on here who dislike Ashley are setting their arguments based on what happened pre relegation.

 

Since then, not a great deal has been negative for the club. We had a wonderful season in the championship, got rid of a lot of non performing high earners but still kept the nucleus of a premiership squad. Team spirit has been first class and the move back into the premiership has been better than many's expectations.

 

Granted, we have sold one of ur better players for an absolute fortune which I doubt many others would turn down, Keegan and Shepherd included and the likes of some of our players who have been ridiculed on herein the past such as Barton and Niolan, have turned out to be decent performers.

 

We have signed a couple of exciting talents in Tiote and Ben Arfa as well as Gosling, all for less than 10 million pounds and it is such a shame that we hav e seen very little of the latter two due to injury. They will be like new signings next season. We have given long tern contracts to a number of our better players whilst negotiating contracts with others soon.

 

Lets be honest here. 4 years ago when Ashley bought the club without conducting due diligence, he dug himself intoa financial hole. The Halls and Shepherd left the club with a huge debt and few assets and I might like to remind people that we were still paying off the previous regimes transfer fees last season.

 

Ashley hasnt taken a penny out of the club and has saved the club huge amounts in interest payments by poaying off much of the debt, using his own money to prop up the club last season in salaries and transfer fees, got the Academy up and going again with real prospectrs coming through and currently has almost got the club on a sound financial footing. With the new EUFA rules coming in soon, we could be one of the clubs in a position of strength, not only in England, but possibly in Europe.

 

He has made mistakes and admitted tothem. He has been constantly vilified on here and throughout other forums for his treatment of managers but as far as I am concerned, Keegan coming back was one of his mistakes. It was never going to work under the european concept he wanted to adopt. Getting rid of Hughton was shabby but necessary because results were starting to drop off and our performances at the time (Bolton and WBA) in particular, were disgraceful. I only wished he brought in a more experienced manager than Pardew.

 

Anyway, I am prepared to give the bloke a chance because I dont see an awful lot wrong with how the club has performed this season. In fact, if we were all truthful, the season has gone beyond all our expectations.

 

Who would have though after the Villa game two years ago, we would be in the top 10 at present!  It could be worse, we could be in Middlesbroufgh position.

 

Unless that position of strength translates into us being able to buy better players than most other teams it won't mean much really...except to the clubs bank.

[oldtype]

Too many people on here who dislike Ashley are setting their arguments based on what happened pre relegation.

 

Since then, not a great deal has been negative for the club. We had a wonderful season in the championship, got rid of a lot of non performing high earners but still kept the nucleus of a premiership squad. Team spirit has been first class and the move back into the premiership has been better than many's expectations.

 

Granted, we have sold one of ur better players for an absolute fortune which I doubt many others would turn down, Keegan and Shepherd included and the likes of some of our players who have been ridiculed on herein the past such as Barton and Niolan, have turned out to be decent performers.

 

We have signed a couple of exciting talents in Tiote and Ben Arfa as well as Gosling, all for less than 10 million pounds and it is such a shame that we hav e seen very little of the latter two due to injury. They will be like new signings next season. We have given long tern contracts to a number of our better players whilst negotiating contracts with others soon.

 

Lets be honest here. 4 years ago when Ashley bought the club without conducting due diligence, he dug himself intoa financial hole. The Halls and Shepherd left the club with a huge debt and few assets and I might like to remind people that we were still paying off the previous regimes transfer fees last season.

 

Ashley hasnt taken a penny out of the club and has saved the club huge amounts in interest payments by poaying off much of the debt, using his own money to prop up the club last season in salaries and transfer fees, got the Academy up and going again with real prospectrs coming through and currently has almost got the club on a sound financial footing. With the new EUFA rules coming in soon, we could be one of the clubs in a position of strength, not only in England, but possibly in Europe.

 

He has made mistakes and admitted tothem. He has been constantly vilified on here and throughout other forums for his treatment of managers but as far as I am concerned, Keegan coming back was one of his mistakes. It was never going to work under the european concept he wanted to adopt. Getting rid of Hughton was shabby but necessary because results were starting to drop off and our performances at the time (Bolton and WBA) in particular, were disgraceful. I only wished he brought in a more experienced manager than Pardew.

 

Anyway, I am prepared to give the bloke a chance because I dont see an awful lot wrong with how the club has performed this season. In fact, if we were all truthful, the season has gone beyond all our expectations.

 

Who would have though after the Villa game two years ago, we would be in the top 10 at present!  It could be worse, we could be in Middlesbroufgh position.

 

Unless that position of strength translates into us being able to buy better players than most other teams it won't mean much really...except to the clubs bank.

 

Theoretically if we're financially sound and have a better bank balance relative to other clubs we would be allowed to spend more.

[ToonTastic]

Too many people on here who dislike Ashley are setting their arguments based on what happened pre relegation.

 

Since then, not a great deal has been negative for the club. We had a wonderful season in the championship, got rid of a lot of non performing high earners but still kept the nucleus of a premiership squad. Team spirit has been first class and the move back into the premiership has been better than many's expectations.

 

Granted, we have sold one of ur better players for an absolute fortune which I doubt many others would turn down, Keegan and Shepherd included and the likes of some of our players who have been ridiculed on herein the past such as Barton and Niolan, have turned out to be decent performers.

 

We have signed a couple of exciting talents in Tiote and Ben Arfa as well as Gosling, all for less than 10 million pounds and it is such a shame that we hav e seen very little of the latter two due to injury. They will be like new signings next season. We have given long tern contracts to a number of our better players whilst negotiating contracts with others soon.

 

Lets be honest here. 4 years ago when Ashley bought the club without conducting due diligence, he dug himself intoa financial hole. The Halls and Shepherd left the club with a huge debt and few assets and I might like to remind people that we were still paying off the previous regimes transfer fees last season.

 

Ashley hasnt taken a penny out of the club and has saved the club huge amounts in interest payments by poaying off much of the debt, using his own money to prop up the club last season in salaries and transfer fees, got the Academy up and going again with real prospectrs coming through and currently has almost got the club on a sound financial footing. With the new EUFA rules coming in soon, we could be one of the clubs in a position of strength, not only in England, but possibly in Europe.

 

He has made mistakes and admitted tothem. He has been constantly vilified on here and throughout other forums for his treatment of managers but as far as I am concerned, Keegan coming back was one of his mistakes. It was never going to work under the european concept he wanted to adopt. Getting rid of Hughton was shabby but necessary because results were starting to drop off and our performances at the time (Bolton and WBA) in particular, were disgraceful. I only wished he brought in a more experienced manager than Pardew.

 

Anyway, I am prepared to give the bloke a chance because I dont see an awful lot wrong with how the club has performed this season. In fact, if we were all truthful, the season has gone beyond all our expectations.

 

Who would have though after the Villa game two years ago, we would be in the top 10 at present!  It could be worse, we could be in Middlesbroufgh position.

 

Unless that position of strength translates into us being able to buy better players than most other teams it won't mean much really...except to the clubs bank.

 

Theoretically if we're financially sound and have a better bank balance relative to other clubs we would be allowed to spend more.

Unless we're in a European spot in the league we can spend what we want and have whatever debt or backers throwing billions at us that we want.

Theoretically if we're financially sound and have a better bank balance relative to other clubs we would be allowed to spend more.

[oldtype]

Too many people on here who dislike Ashley are setting their arguments based on what happened pre relegation.

 

Since then, not a great deal has been negative for the club. We had a wonderful season in the championship, got rid of a lot of non performing high earners but still kept the nucleus of a premiership squad. Team spirit has been first class and the move back into the premiership has been better than many's expectations.

 

Granted, we have sold one of ur better players for an absolute fortune which I doubt many others would turn down, Keegan and Shepherd included and the likes of some of our players who have been ridiculed on herein the past such as Barton and Niolan, have turned out to be decent performers.

 

We have signed a couple of exciting talents in Tiote and Ben Arfa as well as Gosling, all for less than 10 million pounds and it is such a shame that we hav e seen very little of the latter two due to injury. They will be like new signings next season. We have given long tern contracts to a number of our better players whilst negotiating contracts with others soon.

 

Lets be honest here. 4 years ago when Ashley bought the club without conducting due diligence, he dug himself intoa financial hole. The Halls and Shepherd left the club with a huge debt and few assets and I might like to remind people that we were still paying off the previous regimes transfer fees last season.

 

Ashley hasnt taken a penny out of the club and has saved the club huge amounts in interest payments by poaying off much of the debt, using his own money to prop up the club last season in salaries and transfer fees, got the Academy up and going again with real prospectrs coming through and currently has almost got the club on a sound financial footing. With the new EUFA rules coming in soon, we could be one of the clubs in a position of strength, not only in England, but possibly in Europe.

 

He has made mistakes and admitted tothem. He has been constantly vilified on here and throughout other forums for his treatment of managers but as far as I am concerned, Keegan coming back was one of his mistakes. It was never going to work under the european concept he wanted to adopt. Getting rid of Hughton was shabby but necessary because results were starting to drop off and our performances at the time (Bolton and WBA) in particular, were disgraceful. I only wished he brought in a more experienced manager than Pardew.

 

Anyway, I am prepared to give the bloke a chance because I dont see an awful lot wrong with how the club has performed this season. In fact, if we were all truthful, the season has gone beyond all our expectations.

 

Who would have though after the Villa game two years ago, we would be in the top 10 at present!  It could be worse, we could be in Middlesbroufgh position.

 

Unless that position of strength translates into us being able to buy better players than most other teams it won't mean much really...except to the clubs bank.

 

Theoretically if we're financially sound and have a better bank balance relative to other clubs we would be allowed to spend more.

 

Unless we're in a European spot in the league we can spend what we want and have whatever debt or backers throwing billions at us that we want.

 

I'd assume they'd (in theory) penalize clubs that broke the rules the next season if they made it into Europe, so that wouldn't be correct unless some club hatched a devious plan to stay out of Europe every year to evade UEFA regulations.

 

Plus, if the clubs in Europe were adhering to this I'd assume there'd be some form of domestic pressure for all other clubs to as well.

[Dr Venkman]

Aye, fair dos if he goes off to Milan, I can take that. Liverpool would just be beyond awful though.

 

The Fat Cockney b****** will happily turn United into Liverpool's feeder club if the money is right.

 

 

The same as 95% of clubs.

 

I don't like Ashley or Lambyarse but not many clubs would have turned down that sort of money (8th most expensive player in history) for a young lad with half a seasons experience in the premiership.

 

I could understand the derision directed at the board if we sold the lad for £10m just to make a quick buck but all players at all clubs (apart from maybe Chelsea and City) have a price. Especially if the player has indicated he wants to leave. Look at the ludicrous things Man City and Man Utd had to do to keep hold of their star players, we as with most clubs aren't in a position to do that. We tried it before and despite it working at first we started going backwards and the over spending wasn't helping buck the trend.

 

If Liverpool came in with the reported £15m bid for our left back in the last year of his contract and not looking to extend then I couldn't really blame the board for accepting it.

 

Good Post, totally agree with what your saying.

 

Good thing Ashley's ass is so big so you can both simultaneously fit your cocks up it, like.

 

This is so typical, personal attacks are used instead of having a logical debate whenever someone post something not along the lines that Ashley is the devil incarnate. Alterantively you get one liners cliche on bank balance that does not engage the points made.

 

Cajun makes a good point (one that I've been making as well). The club's error is if they don't replace Carrol with a good striker of similiar or higher standards (that might be difficult for some though, coz they think that Carroll is one of the best strikers in the world! )

 

On the other hand, although Cajun has a point when he said that we would have paid over the odds had we got Carrol's replacement on the last day of the Jan transfer, I am still p*ssed off that we did not attempt to get Sturridge given the leverage that we had over Chelsea (though I suspect the deal with Bolton might have been done earlier).

 

I will wait to see what happens in the summer and am cautiously optimistic that we will get a good number 9 and hopefully one more striker. The last few games hopefully are driving home the point that our current strikers are an awful bunch.

 

and what if the summer's been and gone and the transfer activity hasnt been good enough? we've spent about 10 million on a two young prospects, signed a couple of free transfers and lost enrique, who we've replaced with kadar (and put a last minute 'bid' in for adam johnson).

 

you'll be on here saying that we should wait and see what happens in january and that those of us saying we've seen it all before and ashley is true to form are just impatient and launching personal attacks.

 

depends on your point of view, personally if someone's taking the p*ss i've usually noticed after 5 years

 

If having had the whole summer to plan the transfer window and we end up losing and not replacing Enrique, and not getting quality striker(s) to replace Carroll, then why would I say let's see what happens in January? You're completly missing the point, those who are saying let's see what happens in the summer are not saying that because they just want to procrastinate strengthening team, the fact is most decent and reasonable transfers are done in the summer, whereas the Jan transfer window are stop gap buys which comes with over inflated prices. That's why our transfers in the summer will be more indicative of Ashley's vision for the club and people are right to say that we should wait till then before passing a judgement. You can of course disagree but debate the points instead of making idiotic statements like bumming Ashley or spouting cliche irrelevant points about bank balance.   

 

 

cliche irrelevant points about bank balance, don't be so sensitive. i fully reserve the right to make sarcastic remarks about anything i want, i'm insulted by your refusal to write in paragraphs but i'm not gonna pick you up on it because i don't agree with you on some things.

 

fwiw, people who are saying lets wait and see what happens in the summer either haven't been paying attention for the last 5 years or are expecting quite a radical transformation in ashley imo

 

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Haven't Ashley's signings generally been pretty good? Cheap yes, but we have to accept that as the way the club is run now.

[Dr Venkman]

Good post magpie, I genuinely think if it wasn't for the Carroll sale Ashley would be well on the way to getting back on the good side of the fans.

 

This season, as you say, has been much better than expected.

 

it is a good post, but it glosses over the issue which strikes at the absolute heart of what the club is about now. that is, that we replaced a very well performing manager who was popular with players and fans, with a man who had very little reason to be hired other than he didn't deserve the position and therefore was more likely to agree to demands placed upon him on transfer policy.

 

and my oh my, weren't we all shocked when carroll went in january. yes the money was massive, yes its a great deal if you put the money back into the team PLUS the money that should have been due to be invested anyway. but the chain of events is as plain as day imo, would anyone be surprised if the big debate in the winter is whether we were right to accept a massive bid for tiote on deadline day?

[Conjo]

Good post magpie, I genuinely think if it wasn't for the Carroll sale Ashley would be well on the way to getting back on the good side of the fans.

 

This season, as you say, has been much better than expected.

 

it is a good post, but it glosses over the issue which strikes at the absolute heart of what the club is about now. that is, that we replaced a very well performing manager who was popular with players and fans, with a man who had very little reason to be hired other than he didn't deserve the position and therefore was more likely to agree to demands placed upon him on transfer policy.

 

and my oh my, weren't we all shocked when carroll went in january. yes the money was massive, yes its a great deal if you put the money back into the team PLUS the money that should have been due to be invested anyway. but the chain of events is as plain as day imo, would anyone be surprised if the big debate in the winter is whether we were right to accept a massive bid for tiote on deadline day?

 

I would understand it if we received a ridiculous bid (£30m+) for Tiote a few hours before deadline and we took the money without being able to find a replacement. I wouldn't like it though, but it's too good to turn down from a business point of view, and we can't buy a replacement just in case someone makes a last minute mega bid for our players.