NJS

I have a feeling that they've gone back to get him after seeing a sense of frustration amongst the fans about the lack of quality signed. In a sense a Shepherd type "keep them happy" type signing As I said I know they wanted him earlier but I think if they had got Nugent and Baines for example then they wouldn't have upped their bid.

They had poor keepers last time but I think they had Sorenson the time before that who didn't make that much difference. I don't know how good Gordon is tbh.

Not directly but his general "a foreigner can't manage NUFC" always bugged me. Just thinking, despite being now fully behind Allardyce, that particular restriction is presumably now lifted with the demise of Shepherd. An honourable mention for "Geordie boy Lee Clark".

Yes - general air of competence. No - Pattison and Ramage etc too close to the bench for my liking - another couple in please Just a prevention of abysmal losses to Wigan, Fulham etc would see us top 7 imo 2/3 of players who would be in the tops 4s teams/ squads - though we have one "forgotten" one in Duff. A "flying" winger would be my priority.

I'm waiting for a "The captain should be a Geordie" article from Oliver with some shite about it being Shepherd's final wish. I'd be happy with Geremi - should always be a centre-half or CM imo.

Assuming this Serb bloke is another one that leaves one final target - perhaps the big one referred to here.

Not a horrible place for starters, and Leeds should be a prem team. I'd much rather have them than Wigan or Fulham or other equivalent no marks. Shame if you ask me, and could easily have happened to a few clubs, including us. I meant in terms of a football visit rather than the city - several visits there have been dodgy. I don't trust "shoulds" in football - we "should" have won more trophies than we have but it doesn't happen like that.

The problem is the premier league will sanction any deal that lets them off the hook. I'd relegate, West Ham, Man U and Liverpool (slight bias on the latter 2) for taking the piss. If I rented a car from Hertz would it be legal for me to rip up the hire agreement and sell the registration to someone else? No - thought not.

There seems to be a general sympathy wave for Leeds over this and their relegation - not from me - horrible place, horrible team and horrible fans - and thats without Bates, Wise and Poyet entering the equation. Long may they suffer.

Sweeping (and pissed) generalisation but I'd expect someone with bushy eyebrows, dodgy tash and a goatee to be a dirt cunt no? (Sorry Cath)

I think having a Smith to come in for injuries rather than a Pattison etc, etc is a large improvement but I still have a concern on numbers. I want Ramage and the rest to be so far from the first team they might as well not bother - this doesn't apply to "proper" youngsters which I don't count Ramage and Pattison as anymore.

Which then will get considered in a court case, I am pretty sure. Still better than Dabo just starting to hit Barton back imho... If someone I worked with punched me for any reason I wouldn't just stand there and say "ner ner, I'm going to get you done with assault" - I'd defend myself and then hit them back if they were continuing to attack me. It smacks to me of these shitbag papararzzi who hassle someone like Liam Gallacher and then whinge if he punches them - hit the manc twat back FFS.

As I've said before, I don't see why a fight between two men which doesn't involve serious injury should involve the law. If Dabo had got up and battered Barton who would they charge? - does it become like the playground and a question of "who started it"?

I think he has more of a football brain than Dyer and id definitely a better finisher, however as has been argued elsewhere I don't see this as "simply" a replacement situation. I'd look to Charlie to fulfill the Dyer role (though with more skill) and Smith to offer other qualities. I very much disagree tbh. Imho Dyer has a quite a good football brain with a good positional sense that too often was ridiculed as "just running around". And looking at Smith's goal record I don't know where the bit about his alleged finishing skills is coming from. Smith isn't a bad player but far too much a grafter for my liking. As I said one for the charvers who like their players being dumb, agressive and running around with flying into tackles. As a replacement for Dyer I'd hoped for someone with more football skills and a more creative type of player. Trying not to get into a contest between the two but I fely Dyer's decision making in the box/ when through was very poor - his choice of shooting or squaring a simple ball particularly drove me mad. I also think you've been blinded to some extent by his aggresive streak (which I like) and are underestimating his skill. I'm no fan of cloggers - we coined the phrase "mcCreeryitis" years ago to mock fans who you describe - Smith is not like that imo.

Harsh I know you could say the same about Dyer but I think when he first played for Leeds he showed he can score goals. On pace its not the be all and end all especially if it has little end product - we have Martins and possibly Charlie to provide that and maybe someone else yet to come. As is already apparent I don't think our set of strikers, though good on paper, are likely to be available every week. Martins' injury record isn't possibly as bad as the others but don't forget the African cup (presuming he changes hi mind on going).

Hooray, a grafter for the charver boys... Being a dirty C doesn't mean you can't be skilfull - see David Batty or Keane.

I always was when he was Leeds. I have doubts as I would on any player who comes back from a really bad injury but this is balanced by the Man U factor - I think Ferguson generally improves players who sign for him. I think he has more of a football brain than Dyer and id definitely a better finisher, however as has been argued elsewhere I don't see this as "simply" a replacement situation. I'd look to Charlie to fulfill the Dyer role (though with more skill) and Smith to offer other qualities.

One aspect that I've thought of is that Ashley and Mort may be suffering a bit from "Gullit syndrome" - by this I mean they have no real sense of how desperate a lot of fans are for daily news and moreover how "important" the club is to people. Sound bites about passionate fans are one thing but I think in the end Gullit was shocked by how deep this attitude and need for "news" was/is. Of course Shepherd at least did know this but went too far on too many occasions.

It's been bad enough when Alan Oliver has been Shepherd's orifice but now that he has to become a "proper" journalist the bullshit will get even worse.

That Taylor bitch writes for the Guardian and judging by the SMB theres another one in the sports section (Glendenning) so I always just take anything written in that paper as red and white shite. Apart from when they are having less than sly digs at us - oh look......

I know its a forlorn hope but I hope there's still some Tevez fallout from the possible court case and the twats get at least a points penalty.

I remember when we played Man U in 94 and Keegan mentioned that they had Keane on the bench and that was a measure of how good they were compared to us. Not saying Smith is as good as Keane but Gemmill is spot on here. I also think its daft to talk about "first 11s" and guaranteed bench-warmers. Given the 4/5 strikers we have and assuming they stay fit, there'll be a fair bit of rotation there and I don't see why that shouldn't apply to midfield.

As I've said before I've always liked Smith and would be happy if he signed. One thing I thought from Sunday was that imo we already have a player who can fill the Dyer role - N'Zogbia.

Call me naive but a bloke who earns 80k a week should be able to dictate where his family lives.

And probably more anti-Shepherd ammo in the long run.