accadacca

If true, not good news. Taylor is vital to survival next season as whatever anyone thinks about him on a personal level, he IS premiership standard. And what can you get with £5m these days ?

Real betis and Celta Vigo on Segunda b ??? Unbelievable.

You should never post after a bad day at work !! There are 2 ways it could go next season - disaster or beyond expectation. Let's face it, Cardiff/Blackpool are going to cannon fodder next season - so thats one place sorted. WBA are not going to mortgage their future - chairman reiterated that recently and the fact they are going for the limited Phil Bardsley tells you that they will be down among the 'dead men'' as well. So much depends on what CH does in the close season - 2/4 whatever signings may prove to be enough, we just don't know. Birmingham finished 9th and they did not have that great a team on paper so it could be ok. The other main factor is injuries. Smith, Enrique, Ameobi, and Barton are important players whose last 2 seasons have seen plenty of games missed. IF Barton can get back to his best, it will be huge boost - loathe him or like him, he CAN be a very good player. Another factor is how Andy Carroll will fare in the PL. He has as many detractors as he has 'fans', but if used correctly, he can be a really dangerous weapon as Niall Quinn was for them down the road. Fair enough, the central defenders in the PL are way above those in the CCC, but without any doubt, AC is great in the air - a little limited on the deck, but he will give ANYONE a game if decent crosses are put in. Not lumped balls from the back, but decent crosses from wide positions. It's going to be fascinating, and you never know Ashley might even sell up yet

Daft thing to say - you can be sure IF he was put up for sale there would be PLENTY of takers. He is not a world beater - granted, but he has a grat deal of promise and PACE - and with the woefully light existing strikeforce inc' one who should not be there - Best, it is ridiculous to think of loaning him out UNLESS of course CH has a loan signing or permanent signing in mind. Also bear in mind what the late SBR said of Lovenkrands - not good enough for the PL - and tbf - SBR knew his stuff.

if report is true - sheer lunacy. Lovenkrands - lightweight Best - totally out of his depth Ameobi - injury prone and regualary fails to deliver Carroll - set for a jail term perhaps Ranger is not some young bairn who needs protecting - get him on the bench at least. Getting bad vibes about next season already.

that depressing a picture ? IT IS NOT GREAT, that is for sure, but loan signings are available, as well as free transfers although many of those posted about may be beyond the budget. I do not share the view that the Premiership is as weak as it has ever been - I actually take the opposite view. Teams are actually starting to catch up with the so called big 4 {big 3 now that Liverpool are goosed}, and the likes of Wigan, Wolves, Bolton, Birmingham, Blackburn, Sunderland, West Ham, Stoke, and Fulham are a lot stronger and better quality than many on here and other message boards are saying. With the release of the 3 players recently, the squad is again wafer thin, but it will be boosted and there will be some quality players out there available on loan to add to those that are good enough currently at SJP. A spine of Harper - S. Taylor - Smith - Carroll is not a bad start - ok, not anything special, but something to work around. Enrique may prove to be good enough {I personally think he will be}, as possibly will Colo but I am far from convinced about him. Williamson is a good CCC defender but he wasn't started at Pompey - why ?? Simpson or Ryan Taylor are definitely not good enough to play regular right back, so that position is a definite priority. Routledge is light weight and has failed previously - he will produce some good moments, but I dont think he will deliver consistently against PL fullbacks, many of whom are internationals. Barton was quality at Man City and can come good again as I think he will. Nolan's experience may get him through games, but he won't be anywhere near as prolific. Gutierrez is another on whom the jury is out at PL level - his delivery in to the box is mediocre at best most of the time, but maybe he will come good. It's a decent bet he will. Guthrie will be a decent squad player as he is versatile and mobile. A top notch partner for Carroll is vital - Danny Webber is getting lots of mentions, and would be preferable to Ameobi who should be sold to raise funds as should Best who is not PL standard, whilst Lovenkrands is another lightweight who will struggle on a regular basis. Ranger is going to come good and is definitely worth keeping as a sub - no loaning out to get him experience ! Having had 24 hours to digest and sleep on the news, it as not as bleak as it seemed. Hughton is well liked and respected in the game and will have little trouble in bringing in good loan signings in my opinion. No doubt I will be slaughtered for my optimism as I was last season, but look what happened. Life is so much brighter when viewed with a bit of optimism as long as it is not blind optimism and I don't think this is.

whats happened since then ffs - surely they knew how bad the financial results were going to be for 08-09 and 09-10 ??

alot of this is common sense but to seriously think not spending money is not going to undermine the already poor financial position is feckin madness.

Imagine what the next set of accounts are going to be like - drop in turnover will be at least £25m tho' some high earners were ditched - its going to be a bloodbath ! The wage bill is still huge, and MA could be looking at a huge loss despite winning the CCC with average gates of 42,000. The fact is that there are still too many players on ludicrous wages of between £40m and £65m - Enrique,Nolan, Smith, Barton, Colocinni, Gutierrez - they alone take around £18m out of whatever the turnover figure is !! Butt's £40k plus wages are soon to be off the books, but then there are lads on £20k/£30k per week like Saylor, Harper, Ameobi and Lovenkrands. Absolutely mental.

is that a fact ? the share from domestic and overseas tv rights is something like £35/40m next season. £1.3 billion over 3 years overseas and £1.8 for domestic so there's plenty going to be sloshing about esp with capacity 52,000's every week, merchandising back to normal, corporate back to normal. FFS the negativity on here is unreal - MA will give CH enough to ensure survival at least - does anyone think he wants to continue losing £500k per week like he has been doing in the coca cola ?? Does anyone think he wants a repeat of the previous season leaving his reputation in tatters ??? He will not repeat the same mistakes again - he is a multi millionaire businessman - they dont repeat their mistakes - that is why they are multimillionaires. Thanks for the clarification Derek. you are a feckin hoot mate

is that a fact ? the share from domestic and overseas tv rights is something like £35/40m next season. £1.3 billion over 3 years overseas and £1.8 for domestic so there's plenty going to be sloshing about esp with capacity 52,000's every week, merchandising back to normal, corporate back to normal. FFS the negativity on here is unreal - MA will give CH enough to ensure survival at least - does anyone think he wants to continue losing £500k per week like he has been doing in the coca cola ?? Does anyone think he wants a repeat of the previous season leaving his reputation in tatters ??? He will not repeat the same mistakes again - he is a multi millionaire businessman - they dont repeat their mistakes - that is why they are multimillionaires.

''not many'' could mean as many as 4 or 5 which is what is required - it's a non story ffs - depends what each individual's interpretation of not many is, and yet all the pessimists react as if it means 1 or 2 WHY ???? Players who look as tho they could be ok or defo ok for the prem are - Harper, Enrique, Colo, Taylor, Guti, Barton, Nolan,Smith, Carroll Players who could be are - Simpson, Lovenkrands, Ameobi, Routledge, Guthrie, Williamson, Hall, Ranger, Kadar Players who are not imo - R. Taylor, Best, Pancrate, Butt, There will imo be a minimum of 3 to replace the outgoing lads which will certainly inc' Butt and Pancrate and poss' even Hall, whilst I wouldnt be surprised if there were as many as 5 new in.

......... and MY prediction to YOU, which I have said for YEARS, is that Mike Ashley will NEVER match the Champions League qualifications and european qualifications of his predecessors......... well, you don't have to be Einstein to know that ffs as you have been the most vigorous verbal critic of myself on here, thought you might have had the cojones to admit you were wrong and I was right ? Never mind, while you wasted endless hours of your life fretting and worrying, my confidence in what I was saying has resulted in 2 free hols so who's laughing now bonny lad

been a crackin season bet wise - two holidays paid for !!

Cheers for that - whilst Ashley has much to do to be forgiven, the fact is, the clear out was nowhere near as drastic as it could have been. That is what has made promotion possible being able to retain the big earners like Smith, Nolan, Colocinni, Guiterrez and Enrique when he could so easily have told Hughton to get them off the books.

can't work out if you are taking the rise or not as I'm sure you once accused me of being DL !! All depends on MA's attitude to ''attacking'' the PL - if he fancies having a decent go, then anything between 12th and 16th. If it is correct that there will be a wage cap of £15k, only under 26's etc, then it will be a struggle as make no mistake, even the likes of Hull, West Ham, Wigan, Bolton etc will be tough to beat at home whilst away from home, it could be a very barren time UNLESS the squad is drastically improved. Anyway, thats for a bit later, the celebrations are to embraced over Easter and whilst the Villa game of last season will never ever be forgotten by any true fan, gaining promotion the very next season has gone some way to eradicating the pain.

confidently predicted promotion by end of March - will have to settle for first week in April. To all those who accused me of being mad, stupid, moronic, Derek Llambias, a Mackem, Mike Ashley's patsy and lots of other choice names, I say to you all I TOLD YOU SO.

do they really ??? play them at SJP now and theres only 1 winner.

keep hearing this crap - where are these 3 worse teams - its current form that counts - the likes of Hull and Wolves have had wins in their last 14 games unlike Safc. Both teams have safc at home too. They are in the shit, make no mistake about it.

Can anyone recommend a site that gives the stats of all NUFC's seasons from the very first season back in the 1890's to present day ? Cheers.

purists are pains in the backside

so let's see now 4-1 v coventry 3-0 v preston that was 2 piss easy home games wasnt it and yet the pessimistic tools on here gave me pelters for saying it - let's face it, there are too many clueless numpties on here - there are probably some who still think WBA and Forest will finish in the top 2 ffs How many points do you think are needed for promotion? 14 games left, 6 at home including Forest next month but more importantly 8 away, the trickiest of which look Boro and possibly an improving Reading, which is our game in hand on Forest.We've got 63 points and there are 18 points up for grabs at home....dare we hope for 14? which takes us to 77....how many do we need to pick up away from home?.... the 6 home games will yield 16 points - may have to settle for a draw amongst the remainder but will certainly end the season with unbeaten home record. away from home will yield a minimum of 16 points - 5 wins, 2 draws and a loss. 32 plus 62 = 94 and title. get your money on it now. credit where it's due. Can't see us winning 5 away games though. The promotion team of 1993, and 1984 too, is still better than this lot and would slaughter it. What's your forecast for next season, assuming we aren't sold. Far more important. let's assume Pompey, Hull and Burnley are relegated, and that WBA and Forest also go up. It won't take a fantastic amount of buying new players to survive - people on here are far too pessimistic due to what happened last season, and are too ready to think Ashley has it in for the club. WBA and Forest will struggle in the prem as will Wolves, Wigan, Bolton, Sunderland, whilst Stoke, Birmingham, Blackburn, West Ham and Fulham are hardly world beaters. With the best will in the world, the current team with a few additions is not going to finish above the established top 4, Spurs, Villa, Man City or Everton. However, as long as everyone is realistic, there is a very good chance that the top 3 can be avoided. It may be tight, but it is nowhere near a foregone conclusion that Hughton will take the club straight back down or that a ''yo-yo'' SAFC type of existence is going to be the norm.

so let's see now 4-1 v coventry 3-0 v preston that was 2 piss easy home games wasnt it and yet the pessimistic tools on here gave me pelters for saying it - let's face it, there are too many clueless numpties on here - there are probably some who still think WBA and Forest will finish in the top 2 ffs How many points do you think are needed for promotion? 14 games left, 6 at home including Forest next month but more importantly 8 away, the trickiest of which look Boro and possibly an improving Reading, which is our game in hand on Forest.We've got 63 points and there are 18 points up for grabs at home....dare we hope for 14? which takes us to 77....how many do we need to pick up away from home?.... the 6 home games will yield 16 points - may have to settle for a draw amongst the remainder but will certainly end the season with unbeaten home record. away from home will yield a minimum of 16 points - 5 wins, 2 draws and a loss. 32 plus 62 = 94 and title. get your money on it now.

so let's see now 4-1 v coventry 3-0 v preston that was 2 piss easy home games wasnt it and yet the pessimistic tools on here gave me pelters for saying it - let's face it, there are too many clueless numpties on here - there are probably some who still think WBA and Forest will finish in the top 2 ffs

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