Dr Gloom

i think he's better when he's the underdog too. no one expected him to beat kostya tszyu. he'll go down as a legend if he beats mayweather. he's up there with roy jones junior and mike tyson as the best fighters of the last 10-20 years.

i'm not sure we're that strong in midfield tbh

You know you've reached rock bottom when you crave links in the BBC gossip column. i'm craving them as much as the bagel with cream cheese i'm about to chalk up

smith is not a replacement for dyer like.

where's all the links with full backs? howay sam, please tell me you aren't entertaining the idea of starting the season with carr and babayaro???

gudjohnsen by a country mile

gudjohnsen would be class like, and would cushion the blow a bit if dyer or martins goes. plus he can do a job in midfield too.

True like. i reckon we need a squad of at least 50 players.

fucking same old shite with injuries every bastard season.

Aye, but aren't their rumours created in the same way as Family Guy storylines? Selected by manatees? i thought they were just a round up of the red tops so it's probably rubbish, but for once we're being linked with the kind of player we actually need which is encouraging.

i hope you're right. a few shrewd investments and we could look forward to the new season for once.

the guardian rumour mill has us making a bid for lillian thuram. he's exactly the sort of experienced old pro that sam would probably get at least another 4 years out of. hope it's true.

Because he's a fucking businessman and despite the fact that he's got more cash than there is water at Kielder, he'll still want to make sure things are done right - it's all part and parcel of being a successful businessman. Dan, your comment about consolidating since Bobby left is right - but that's totally indicative of the shit way we were being run! Actually I'd go so far as to say we were declining, not consolidating. It's not like flicking a switch, the whole bloody mess needs sorting!! So presumably, Abramovich ISN’T a “fucking” businessman? :icon_lol: He just waded in there and started buying players…showing his intentions. The team starts succeeding, revenue goes up and now they have a squad that is capable of winning things for years to come. Chelsea aren't a business though. They are making ENORMOUS losses and are just a plaything to Abramovich. I don't think we're going to see that sort of spending at NUFC. I understand that they aren't expecting to show a profit for a few years..but that's my point. Why should we all be delighted if Ashley's first goal is to be overly cautious rather than splashing the cash Abramovich style and getting us back up the league? We've splashed plenty cash over the years and it's got us nowhere. I trust Allardyce to make careful considered signings on a budget this window, and I trust Ashley to come up with the goods once he has a better idea of the business he's in. I don't blame him too much for not splashing daft money straight away. me too but going on sam's recent comments, it doesn't sound like he is happy with the budget he has been given.

he looked a good player to me. should have been given more opportunities

Your first quote here contradicts what I've said and the second one supports what I've said - so which is to be? no it doesn't. i accept that we might not improve on last season, but we have to at least try to give ourselves a fighting chance. if we don't spend in the right areas then we will have to accept that the new season will be nothing more than another year of consolidation, yet again.

Spot on! The transfer window isn't closed yet, BS has said we'll get one maybe two defenders on top of the four players the club has brought in already. This season is about consolidation. I agree 100%. There are no European fixtures to contend with so the squad can fully focus on the league as well as the cups. We shouldn't have to worry too much about a quagmire of fixtures. The players will be better rested and better prepared for games. If injuries are kind to us we can challenge for 6th spot. It's a big if though. The club also has a massive debt, so I presume the majority of the TV money will go to wiping some of it off. We are in a much better position this time now, than this time last year imo. The club still has a bit of deadwood in it, but not nearly as much as a year ago. Hopefully this time next year, they will be gone and we are in a position to attract higher quality players to the club and aim for a top four position. no it fucking isn't! we've been consolidating ever since sir bobby was sacked. if we invest in the right areas we could get back among the top 6.

exactly. the time to really panic is after the transfer window closes but if the new owners don't get their arses into gear we might end up having no option but to bring in more players like sibierski and bernard.

thank fuck for that. hopefully a couple of decent full backs are incoming

nah, i don't buy that like. there's no excuse for accepting another season of consolidation. i accept that we may well end up struggling to improve on last season (especially with many of the teams around us spending big), but the new owners have to at least try and give us a fighting chance. strategic review or not, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that we're in desparate need of new players. i don't think anyone's demanding that they break the bank while conducting a review into the club's finances but we should at least be outspending the likes of derby. this is the year that every club receives a record lump sum from the tv money - the likes of spurs, liverpool, pompey, west ham and even fulham ffs have invested in their playing side. as far as i can tell we're down on numbers on last year's squad which itself was short in numbers. allardyce isn't happy with our lack of progress so far in the transfer market and if we start the new season with a squad similar to what we have at the moment i won't be either.

...and no major signings either. if the new board start backing sam (and going on his recent comments it doesn't sound like they're going to) then i'll stop worrying. if we go into the new season without any serious investment in the transfer market then i'll be inclined to believe the hype and get on the bandwagon alongside matt scott. even men with (and i quote big sam here) with "no experience of the football side of things" should realise that we are in desperate need of a bunch of quality signings sharpish. Just to be clear, you believe this story? And those are your reasons? i'm not sure if i believe everything in the story but i wouldn't rule out there being any truth in it, especially the points about the new board not realising exactly how high our debt levels were before aquiring the club - this would seem plausible if they didn't undertake due diligence. it certainly would go some way in explaining our lack of movement in the transfer market. whether ashley is going to look for a quick exit strategy remains to be seen but it's the lack of tranfer activity from a club under new owenership and in desperate need of new players that makes me think there might be a few worrying things going on behind the scenes. of course, two or three good transfers and we wouldn't even be speculating... ;-)

...and no major signings either. if the new board start backing sam (and going on his recent comments it doesn't sound like they're going to) then i'll stop worrying. if we go into the new season without any serious investment in the transfer market then i'll be inclined to believe the hype and get on the bandwagon alongside matt scott. even men with (and i quote big sam here) with "no experience of the football side of things" should realise that we are in desperate need of a bunch of quality signings sharpish.

would ya really want zoggy to go after his performance on saturday no; not at all. if we lose him as well as dyer we're going struggle for pace on the flanks next season. but if he does go, boupa dioup would probable be the best of fulham's players to part exchange with.

i wouldn't be thrilled if we lost n'zogbia as well as dyer. papa boupa dioup would probably be the best of fulham's players to part exchange with though...

that nigerian full back is apprantly on the verge of signing for sochaux (who iirc are the micky mouse french side we hammered in the uefa cup a couple of years back)

There must have been some degree of it went on? I didn't realise that was the case though. No official due diligence as far as I'm aware, unless SJH gave him unauthorised access, it was apparently part of his plan to push the deal through as quickly as possible to give Freddy no time to mount a rival bid, or so the papers say. You haven't got a clue whether it was undertaken or not in fact, have you? As far as I'm aware when due diligence is being undertaken it must be announced to the stock market, I don't remember any such announcement being made. If you know otherwise then please correct me. I don't know otherwise in all honesty. I don't even know if it has to be announced to the SE. I wouldn't have a clue about such matters. I just think people are jumping to negative conclusions based on little or no evidence. i wouldn't say it's little or no evidence. the guardian aren't renowned for making up shite to fill their pages with copy like some tabloids. there's nothing positive in that article. i hope it's all bollocks like but if there's plenty to be concerned about if any of it is true.