Dr Gloom

i thougth ashley is chairman/owner/call it what you like while dekka is ceo/md/puppet/etc

i'm genuinely excited by this news. my complete apathy towards this transfer window is dissipating as we speak. if this goes through, you could almost claim that ashley has proved to be a competent chairman at championship level, or perhaps he just realises that we're fortunate to be top of the pile having played mostly crap all season, that if we don't invest, we could still easily fail to go up and that splashing a little cash now will get him a lot more money in the summer if it results in promotion.

guthrie might take up that role if wayne r plays wide right. sounds like we're in for some chelsea reserve left back on loan for a month too. good to see that houghton realises we're going to need cover for enrique.

enrique is going to be an even bigger miss than taylor. you don't many overlapping natural left-footed full backs at this level as good as him. jonas will miss linking up with him too

enrique is going to be an even bigger miss than taylor. you don't many overlapping natural left-footed full backs at this level as good as him. jonas will miss linking up with him too

to be fair, probably no different from most high street retailers. you've got to wonder how bad the conditions the kids in the thrid world work in to produce clothes for primark with their prices

sweet, another match on the telly. i think we've been on a much as man u this year

Hughton spoke very well of him in this mornings presser so I'd be surprised if we didn't go back with an improved bid. It's also nice to hear that he'd prefer a first team start to a being a reserve at a huge club. with ashley holding the purse strings? i would be pleasantly surprised if we did tbh

i imagine palace are holding out for a proper bid from a top flight club - there are a few days left until the window shuts, they'll probably get close to what they want. we probably made the usual derisory offer

at this level he bring goals. in the premier league he brings little, as we saw last season

my palace-supprting work mate says he's a decent championship-level defender, nothing more. he also reckons routledge is also nothing more than a championship-level winger.

mark hughes would be a good appointment if we were to go up. a proven manager at permier league level and better than most we could hope to attract. in fact i think we'd do well to get him - or anyone decent - with the current owner still on board.

Well I'd suggest you're using the wrong criteria. i'm trying to play devil's advocate a little bit. it would be very harsh on him to sack him if he took us up I'd move him back into a coaching role and get somebody better in ideally. Agree it would be harsh but I couldn't give a fuck tbh. All the most sucessful clubs are mercenary about that type of thing. Obviously I don't envisage us moving on the manager front anyway so it's all a bit moot really. if we go up and ashley manages to sell up in the summer, i wouldn't be surprised if a new owner comes in, has a look says 'thanks chris but see you later' and gets a better manager with more experience in. a more likely scenerio if we go up is ashley fucking around taking the club on and off the market, not signing anyone of note, keeping hughton, then sacking him when it all goes tits up a few months into the season.

Well I'd suggest you're using the wrong criteria. i'm trying to play devil's advocate a little bit. it would be very harsh on him to sack him if he took us up

if we sack him before we go up, it will fuel the media scorn about us not giving our managers enough time. doesn't he deserve a chance if we go up? i'm saying this based on the achievement (if it happens) of getting us promoted at the first time of asking combined with how low our expectations were pre-season, not on the performances that have got us to where we are.

hughton has done a better job than any of us would have expected at the start of the season. but how many of you think he has a long term future at the club? he deserves a lot of credit for guiding us to the top of the table. no one expected that. if he takes us up, surely he deserves a chance to manage in the top flight? i think if he takes us up, he would deserves a crack at it. but i'm torn. i can't get rid of nagging doubts at the back of my mind. we've been playing horrible football all season, we're lucky to be where we are in the table; the standard of football in this division is so awful - is he good enough to manage in the top flight? and if we go up, will he simply be so happy to be in charge of a premier league club that he turns into another ashley puppet? like i said, i'm torn. what do you lot reckon?

houghton put the right side given the circumstances we'd all like to see us compete for the cup but this season, more than any in recent memory, the league has to take priority. i'd be pissed off we put a reserve side in the cup if we were in the top flight but let's be honest, we were never going to have a shout with our current squad and it's absolutely vital that we regain top flight status this year.

the level 7 lot might have shit songs, but they at least try get a bit of atmosphere going, unlike the east stand and the posh seats in the milburn

yup. they won't want to accept less than the £5m for him they need to stay afloat until the end of the season. although they might be tempted to sell for slightly less towards the end of the window, i still can't see a championship side coming up with the kind of money required. even real madrid have been linked with him!

They turn those scans around pretty quickly these days.

what is the back line going to look like with s taylor and enrique injured and r taylor suspended? pancrate-----williamson----collocini-----kadar i can't believe we'll win the title with that back 4

jonas off, presumably with an injury

ambrose hits the post. warning shot. doesn't sound like we're creating anything. how the fuck are we still top of this division?

37k crowd.

goes to show that a couple of injuries and we look pretty weak. decent first team at this level but fuck all in reserve