OTF

Bloody Viduka. Should have been keeping fit and doing something as he'd still add a hell of a lot to the Australia squad. I reckon if the World Cup had've been somewhere more appealing to him he'd have done a lot more to stay in contention. It would have been a good swansong for him before heading back to the relatively amateur A-League.

At least this one was brief and to the point without any double speak. I wonder what the next statement will be. I'll take a stab...

Yep, unlucky for him as I think he was in better form than all of the other centre backs named prior to his injury.

Or that as a striker you're much more likely to score a lot of goals if you're playing in front of a midfield that is substancially better than the team you're playing.

Don't really want Harewood here again. Senderos's wages would be too high I would imagine. Even though his value has dropped the fact that he's available for free could drive up the price that clubs will be willing to pay for his wage. Plus I'm not convinced that he's any better than Williamson who is third choice here (or even Kadar who is coming along nicely). Seb Larsson I'd have here for sure. Right sided midfielder is an area where we lack, in fact wide midfield in general we lack any depth. Past Jonas and Routledge the next option is Ryan Taylor and then you're forcing central midfielders wide (Guthrie, Barton etc) which didn't work in the Championship so certainly won't in the premier league. I wouldn't expect that he's on particularly high wages at Birmingham, though again being on a free could mean a bit of a battle as I'd imagine he'd be quite well sought after. At 24 he fits with the previously noted youth policy at the club, and as such paying slightly higher wages with the payoff of no transfer fee presents a very low risk option. Gamst Pedersen I like, plus he adds an extra dimension and additional creativity to the side and fills an area where we're weak. Not sure on wages for him, doubt he was on anything particularly high at Blackburn, no doubt he'll be looking for more as he's not getting any younger (turns 29 in 4 months). Looking outside of England is a pretty big risk, and many of the other good players available within England are either too old, or will be looking for wages vastly in excess of what we'd be willing to pay. Bouma might be worth a gamble on a one year deal with an option to extend, but given the severity of his injury coupled with his age it's a pretty big risk. Alternately there's Steve Finnan - I didn't see Finnan play much this season, so can't comment on how he currently is, but he was a very handy and capable player for Liverpool for a long period. At 34 there's not much time left for him, but given our lack of options at right back he could be a decent shout for a single season. Likewise 33 year old right back Mario Melchiot who is a solid player who has a good record as far as injuries go (so far as I can tell). Up front Ivan Klasnic is a good player. Just turned 30 though. Did a solid job for Bolton, and is a different sort of player to our other options up front.

I agree that Carroll, Lovenkrands and Ameobi aren't good enough to be the number one striker in a premier league side, however I think they're all capable deputies in their own ways. Of the three Carroll is potentially still on the up. So whilst we basically need to get in a a new striker, those three will give us reasonably good depth up front. Best need not be mentioned. Hopefully he's sold. A midfield of Jonas, Barton, Guthrie, Routledge is semi decent; plus you have Nolan to add to the mix. I suspect we'll see him played in behind a lone striker a lot next season - probably Carroll when the striker that we need doesn't arrive. Alan Smith will provide cover for injuries in the middle, but we're really lacking in any sort of depth out wide. A move for available-on-a-free Morten Gamst Pederson would provide some much needed depth there. His wages wouldn't be particularly high at Blackburn. Alternately Martin Petrov on a 1 year deal wouldn't be a bad option. Seb Larsson also a free would be a good option down the right in addition to Routledge. Of course expecting us to get all, or any, of them is probably a pretty forlorn hope. NUFC - Daring to dream of signing uncontracted players . Defensively as a priority we need a new right back, dropping Simpson down to cover. It seems unbelievable that these simple and cost effective steps (or ones similar) are purported to being not even considered for next season. At their best they offer the opportunity to build the club and take them up the Premier League table, at their worst they provide additional cover and depth to lessen the likelihood of relegation. Realistic potential side without paying a single transfer fee (Beye is on loan ): GK - Harper RB - Beye CB - Taylor CB - Coloccini LB - Enrique RM - Routledge CM - Guthrie CM - Barton LM - Jonas SS - Nolan CF - Carroll Subs (from): Krul, Forster, Williamson, Simpson, R. Taylor, Pedersen, Petrov, Larsson, Smith, Kadar, Ameobi, Lovenkrands, Ranger, Vuckic, Tozer, Donaldson. It's not horrible, and there is some level of cover in all positions.. I hate that we have to think like this.

Mike & Derek's Master 10 Step Plan Step 1. Devise 5 year plan, based on casual observation of clubs that appear to be doing ok. Step 2. Implement said '5 year plan' by paying excessive amounts of money to bring in new management and director positions that severely undermine existing staff. Boy this is fun! Step 3. Pretend that everything is ok. Oh my, what's going on? Step 4. Try to escape. For Sale, check our web site for price Step 5. Claim that you're in if for the long haul and remind everyone of the five year plan, but this time base it off teams a little lower down the spectrum in an attempt to cover for lack of action in attempting to address the rot that has set in due to minmanagement (Refer to Steps 1-4) Shit! Noone bought it... Step 6. Panic. Try to do something that will make 'everyone' happy. Talk about it like it's a long term move that's part of your continuing committment to the club."Bringing Alan Shearer back to Newcastle United was the best decision I have made" Step 7. Sell off anyone that you can get money for. Pretend that anyone who wasn't sold was strictly retained because they wanted to play for the club, and because the club wanted them and NOT because no-one offered anything for them. Step 8. Close your eyes, cross your fingers and hope. Step 9. When all is doing well make some positive moves on the market helping to secure promotion to the Premier League and giving the illusion of light at the end of a long dark tunnel. Step 10. Devise 5 year plan, based on finger in the wind calculations about how to turn a profit by alienating players and fans through inactivity.

This is up there with putting the price of the club up on the web site. Pathetic that we're such an amateur operation. Top 5 in gates in the entire country and we're run by a bunch of hopeless clowns who continue to amaze and dazzle with the depth and diversity of their incompetence. It's absurd.

That's exactly what I mean.

Limited to matches I've seen live (radio doesn't have the same lasting effect).. it would have to be: (1) Enrique's goal and the subsequent celebration. (2) Celebrations on the pitch after Plymouth match. (3) Nolan chasing the ball down (against Reading), knocking it back to Ryan Taylor and having it whipped into the box for Shola to score. Others, (4) Andy Carroll's goal scoring form. (5) Lovenkrands playing well in his preferred position. (6) Guthrie playing well in his preferred position. (7) The signing of Routledge. (8) The signing of Williamson. (9) Coloccini getting his confidence back (10) The Fernando Pancake song

Keeping him would be foolish IMO. Way behind Carroll, Lovenkrands and Shola in the pecking order (and even Ranger IMO), plus I reckon next season away we're going to see a lot of Kevin Nolan in behind a lone striker, so he's even less likely to have a run. Going up to the premier league means less games and a less demanding schedule overall and we need to bring in a new leading striker which would render Best completely useless. Sell him off as a loss, because that amount would soon be realised in wages anyway. If he's on say 10k a week that's more than half a mill a season going down the gurgler. Timbuktu correspondant signing off...

I don't care for the club or the manager, but the players deserve to have qualified for champions league qualifications. Did the double over their nearest rivals on the table, have beaten the title winners and Arsenal amongst others. I didn't think they would do it, but now that they have they deserve it.

Well thats going to be useful then It could be... on his Michael Owen'esque Full-colour Brochure

This season was the first time ever that Shola has scored ten league goals for us. Took him 10 seasons. He is a European goal scoring machine though. 12 goals in 41 appearances. Completely different player TBH. Chopra would have scored f. all for us if played more extensively in his early years at the club.

Speaking of Reading, I wonder how many Premier League clubs will be running their eyes over Gylfi Sigurdsson. Has been carving it for them over the second half of the season. At this stage I'd be very surprised if he was with them next season. No doubt they'll do everything within reason to hang onto him, but the kid appeared to be destined to play at a much higher level.

Kadar couldn't even crack it for a bench spot? In fact other then the keeper there's no defenders on the bench

Leighton Baines then? Does SWP even have a look in, or hasn't played enough football? Just went on a great run down the left and setup Bellamy for Cities third goal.

Is Stephen Warnock really England's next choice for left fullback after Ashley Cole? He just gave away a horrible penalty against City. Villa were up 1-0 at the time and City were looking pretty toothless despite bossing posession (anything else expected with Villa being away?). Tevez slammed the penalty home, then a minute or two later Adam Johnson burst into the box in the area where Warnock should have been defnding, had enough time to stop, think about it, and play a calm pass into the path of Adebayor who knocked it in from all of 4 yards. Oh dear. Absolutely cracking goal from Huddlestone for Tottenham. Hammeded into the top corner from distance. Keeper had no chance.

Nolan will need to work on his fitness and mobility for next season. Despite playing in a great many games this season he's never looked particularly fit and doesn't seem to cover a lot of ground (hasn't really needed to).

They could at least show us what it looks like. If they were confident with their design they wouldn't have any qualms with doing so. Which means....

The delays must surely be because of the current relationship with Adidas. Not wanting to burn birdges and all that. The volcano ash was a handy little excuse for the initial postponement, but no for the continued secrecy shrouding this.

TBH I wouldn't pay that much for Keane. Not saying he's worth it, but he needs the ball delivered to him. If we spent 8 mill on him not much would be spent elsewhere and consequently he wouldn't score the amount of goals required. Plus his goal celebration is naff.

Was about to say the same. Sign 'im up to the academy or something... looks tall already.

Bloody hell.

Sho sho sho sho Goalaaaaaaa