The Fish

It's a shame that Atsu is away at the AFCON as I think Murphy would benefit from that supply line down the left. Although, his absence may mean more game time for Lazaar and Yedlin?

I think the point is that it's a bit naughty when Sky News reports on odds, to drum up betting through SkyBet, which will cause a change in the odds, which will be reported on by Sky News, which will drum up betting through SkyBet, which will cause a change in the odds, which will be reported on by Sky News, which will drum up betting through SkyBet, which will cause a change in the odds, which will be reported on by Sky News, which will drum up betting through SkyBet, which will cause a change in the odds, which will be reported on by Sky News, which will drum up betting through SkyBet, which will cause a change in the odds, which will be reported on by Sky News, which will drum up betting through SkyBet, which will cause a change in the odds, which will be reported on by Sky News, which will drum up betting through SkyBet, which will cause a change in the odds, which will be reported on by Sky News, which willdrum up betting through SkyBet, which will cause a change in the odds, which will be reported on by Sky News, which will drum up betting through SkyBet, which will cause a change in the odds, which will be reported on by Sky News, which will drum up betting through SkyBet, which will cause a change in the odds, which will be reported on by Sky News, which willdrum up betting through SkyBet, which will cause a change in the odds, which will be reported on by Sky News, which will drum up betting through SkyBet, which will cause a change in the odds, which will be reported on by Sky News, which will drum up betting through SkyBet, which will cause a change in the odds, which will be reported on by Sky News, which will

Perhaps, and I'm not against re-signing him on loan with an option to buy. I think spending c£13m on him in January would be foolhardy though.

It did ok, but it's just a plain as the nose on your face what he's going to do. I think he's a very streaky player too, he was on fire for us, but hasn't hit those heights since. Cisse was briefly one of the most dangerous strikers in the Premier League...

I'd have him on a loan with an option to buy, but I think a substantial outlay on Townsend is a bit silly at the moment. He'd piss this league, for sure, but that one trick he's got doesn't fool many in the top flight.

Mbemba played the full 90 as Congo beat Morocco 1-0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKogrBaz5jQ He got through the match unscathed Mo Diame's Senegal beat Tunisia 2-0 but he didn't feature (Saivet did though) Ghana play Uganda today, no idea if Atsu will feature.

We don't have a second central midfielder. Only Colback.

I just think it'll be akin to when Russian teams went on a spending spree, teams like Anzhi buying Eto'o, Lassana Diarra, Roberto Carlos and Willian. Hods of cash being thrown about, but ultimately the league did nothing to dent the traditional big leagues.

If Colback or Shelvey get an injury in the Birmingham game we'll have 1 available centre mid for Rotherham.

Why wouldn't we start Shelvey? He's not being gingerly brought back from injury, he's just been suspended and a Cup game against Birmingham, then a league game against Rotherham are perfect fixtures to get him up to speed if you ask me.

How much of that was down to Robson rebuilding him? Doesn't Shearer talk about Robson almost re-educating him how to play? Something about showing the defenders his back?

And by extension how important a good manager can be.

I don't think there's as much malicious intent as all that. Way I see it, it's more "meh, fuck 'em", rather than "Right, lets fuck 'em". Explains the transfer policy being more about making money, rather than making a team. Explains Wonga and Sports Direct branding; he doesn't/didn't give a shit about the club or the fans, and cared only about Sports Direct. Tearing control of the football side of things from Rafa Benitez strikes me as too much like giving a shit for Ashley to put up with. Especially as it's going so swimmingly.

Twidiots, newspaper article commenters, etc. Yet you agree with Trooper that it's more likely than not that this story about Ashley reverting to the previous transfer policy is true.

Bit early to write him off like.

Zing

If you can get the timeframe in writing I'd do the shifts. You can still go out with your mates after work on Saturday. I used to work all kinds of fucked up patterns and it was fine, plus the extra cash meant I could afford to do loads more interesting stuff than a few pints down the pub on a Friday. The killer was when I had 3 night shifts 19:00-07:00 Thurs-Sat, followed by days Mon-Wed 07:00-19:00. That Sunday was mental, waking up around 13:00 and needing to force yourself asleep 10 hours later. You make a bit for unsocial hours, plus you save money by missing out on Fri & Sat. Meant that the next time you went out, you could go mental without really denting your bank account.

The same people demanding we spend £20m+ on a striker now would be bemoaning the same player not being up to snuff in the top flight. I trust in Rafa to buy the right players for what we need for the next 18 months or so. Even if what he thinks we end up signing is another Murphy/Hanley type for c£5m.

Absolutely, if we're sitting pretty in 12th at the end of the 1st season and Ashley thinks that's good enough for him I'd not be remotely surprised if he tries to manipulate the transfer policy towards hunting for Cabayes and Sissokos in cheap leagues, in the hope that Rafa is capable of improving whatever squad he's got. But the risk of fucking about with a policy that's working towards the sole aim of this season is beyond stupid. Just because we've not announced signings doesn't mean that we've changed policy, that we haven't tried, or that there hasn't been any movement.

It's horeshit written by a liar to get people clicking links and buying papers. As said in the other thread, a bit of a wobble and he rolls out this because he knows fine well the huge and voracious fanbase will gobble it up. To be honest, I don't believe any scoops, or rumours, or the like from the Print Media. Opinion pieces, reports, interviews, are all fine, but a story with no sources, no evidence and suspiciously timed... nah, not for me like. Guarantee if Villa were up chasing for the title, there'd be some piece in the Mirror or the Sun, saying that Xia is looking to sell the club, that Bruce is tempted to return to Sunderland or that their leading striker is off to China. It's bullshit, the sole function of it is selling advertising space and it should be dismissed as quickly as a "Check out these footballer's pets, you'll never believe #7".

And he played under Dalglish and Gullit who hardly got the best out of him. Imagine Robson taking the reigns directly from Keegan. Might be rose-tinted, but I'm convinced we'd have won the league and Shearer would have further added to his tally.

Leeds might be more of a threat than you think. Their new money man is apparently looking to spend a bit in January to bolster their promotion push.

Yeah, you're not allowed in match threads any more. Sounds like Perez was winning the ball as often as he was losing it, which while an improvement isn't great. If he could work out how he can keep possession in this league, despite his build, he'll blossom, I'm sure. I think a lot of the problems we saw/heard yesterday were down to the injuries. Shelvey missing is obviously going to put more pressure on the defence as we're not controlling the play, Gayle going off means that their defence/midfield isn't as wary of our attack, 3 injury forced subs means that the 11 on the pitch won't be settled, may be less clear on and less drilled in their roles. And as we found out Gouffran wasn't, isn't and will never be a central midfielder. A good, if fortunate win against a team that many had written off but who are comfortably midtable, who've perhaps played above themselves as individuals but deserve to be where they are on merit. They've beaten title chasing teams, play off teams, the teams around them and those worrying about relegation. I think it's a little disrespectful to judge them on anything other than the table to be honest. A fortunate win in difficult circumstances, but a win nonetheless.

Did Ashley ever reclaim the loan he provided the last time we were down?