OTF

Forgot Lovenkrands in the goal scoring stakes, but no doubt he's already been told.

...and he's Joeys mum

And even if he did it wouldn't be possible unless he was replacing highly paid dross with lower paid dross. Wait a minute... have I just stumbled across Ashley's 'master' plan...

Billy Davies was more than a little contradictory in what he said. On one hand he was saying how we're positioned much better than any other club to have been promoted, then on the other suggests we'll need to spend £60m (not clear whether he meant just to survive). To clear it up he said 40 in the summer and 20 in January. Perhaps he was just imagining himself in the same position and making a suggestion about how much he would want to spend.

His statistics for the current season don't exactly make pretty reading. 23 games 3 goals 0 assists Lists him as a midfielder, though I think he's a midfield/shadow striker. Don't see any reason to be excited about signing him, much less about some rumour about signing him down the track. The age and the fact that he will be available for nothing unfortunately fits. One thing that is more promising is his previous statistics: 07-08 -> 24 starts 16 subs 8 goals 3 assists 08-09 -> 24 starts 8 subs 7 goals 6 assists But lets not forget that we already have Xisco who by comparison has put out these numbers for Racing Santander who are lower on the table than Getafe. 13 starts 16 subs 5 goals 1 assist.

Yeah, I think if he doesn't go to Real Madrid he's in with a chance of going to Man City assuming they don't finish 4th (which will be the end of Mancini).

That's shit reporting more than anything. Leazes, are you going to answer my question from earlier in the thread?

WTF Jonas? Feeding the Bull?

Chris should be targeting 100 points.

I don't think it looked too bad*. I suspect though that he will be rested on the weekend and Gola will be played instead. * - Said with as much medical conviction as Dr Leo Spaceman

Is there a better picture of that stacks-on goal celebration? Absolute classic.

indeed. Without it, why bother ? Leazes, I've just appointed you Director Of Football & Chief Executive of Ambition. You're in charge of the direction of the club from here on, what do you do? Genuinely interested in your answer. Try to be specific.

Yeah, Guthrie didn't create a great deal but I though he did a very good job of breaking up their play in the midfield, as well as being solid in posession. Free-kicks and corners were nothing to write home about, though he did hit one sweetly. On the whole everyone in the side did their job.

When they cut to Mike Ashley celebrating in the stands I initially thought, good on him. That feeling quickly went when he turned towards Llambias and continued celebrating. Despisable bastard LLambias is. Infuriating just to look at. At once he looks like someone who would pinch money from your bank account and diddle kids, all with a smile on his face. Anyway. Not even he can rain on my parade today. :angry:

Bullard no thanks. Will do a job and will put in the effort when on the pitch, but will want too much in wages and is a aging sick-note. Leazes, I've just appointed you Director Of Football & Chief Executive of Ambition. You're in charge of the direction of the club from here on, what do you do?

That was truly a quality moment. Reward for the hard work the team has put in over the season. Only fitting that many people's player of the season was the one to score the goal. Surprisingly, take Ameobi out of the match and it's a 0-0 draw. He may oft look like a donkey, but if he's our donkey who can carry a load when required then give him a nice patch of grass to graze on. /worst simile/analogy ever

You couldn't have asked for anyone better to get the clinching goal. Well done Jose, as composed as you'll ever see from a player who has played 140 odd professional matches and never scored. Quality back-heel from Shola. Ameobi's goal was quite unbelievable really. A lesson to Carroll to take a chance when you've only got half of one. Stoked... on a high here.

Honestly speaking this should be a routine win for us on our pitch. Nottingham Forest have greatly overachieved this season, but their run has come to an end, and they're probably realising now that the chances of them catching either us or West Bromwich Albion are limited. They'll have to push for a win in this match as a draw gets them nothing. With Jonas and Routledge down our wings we actually have some pace in our side, pace that could well take advantage of the space from them pushing for a victory. Lovenkrands could not have returned to the side at a better time, and if started he'll act as a perfect foil to the physicality of Carroll. In football there's no such thing as a routine win, so I hope that Chris has drilled into the players the importance of the match ensuring that they go out there 100% committed to winning the match. Being a TV game I'm a little afraid of this one suffering the curse of many of other televised matches and being a dull, messy game, but deep down I have a feeling that it's going to highly entertaining regardless of the result. I hope they really try to take the game to us in the early stages as it will be interesting to see the reactions of our players.

Forgetting the whole debacle of being relegated I can hand on heart say that I'd rather us be in the position we are now with a manager who isn't Sam Allardyce than battling it out in our around the mid-lower part of the table with Allardyce employing his 'tactics' having never been relegated. Whether I feel the same after half a season with Hughton in charge remains to be seen. Certainly the benefit (or should that read liability) of being the Premier League is that I get to watch just about every match of the season live.

Why are the government even getting involved in this?

By virtue of their games in hand Man City are potentially above Liverpool. Of all the teams mentioned the one I'd be least worried about are Villa. Tottenham may have a history of bottling it, but I think their current side is far and away the best Tottenham side of recent times. What will test them is the patch where they play three top teams in a row. I guess Liverpool are relying on that to be the stumbling block that allows them to surge to the top. In the meantime though Man City if they play to their abilities should be able to glide effortlessly by Liverpool into either 4th or 5th depending on how Tottenham does against the big boys.

I made the same point earlier in the season after seeing another equally dire match. The top teams of the Premier League have gotten better (though they have dropped off a little in recent seasons) and there's more trying to fill the area just outside the top couple, but after that there is a steep drop off. So much so that I think the premier league nowadays is probably the easiest it has ever been to stay up.

This. Love how she made Hughton's playing of Carroll (despite not having any decent fit alternatives) into a sinister choice by Hughton to piss off Taylor. What it was, was good management and a decision that ultimately secured us 2 additional poi ts on the table and will no doubt help everyone to realise that the most important thing is the performance on the pitch.

Massive indoor air-conditioned stadiums sounds like a fan-fucking-tastic idea in the middle of a desert. Great for the environment and all that. better than 50,000 bodies dead in a stadium through sunstroke I'd have thought............... No shit. But why play football in a desert if you don't have to?