blackandwhiteboy

I think it will come down to a two-horse race between Darren Ferguson and Avram Grant, however i think that Alan Curbishley should be a prime candidate for the job as he could do a good job down there. You can see all the options for the new gaffer here, there are some interesting names thrown into the mix - and of course a few from left field.

I have to admit is was good to see Liverpool fail and get knocked out. They better ensure they get fourth place this year or the likes of Torres and Mascherano may not fancy hanging around for Europa League next year. Should be interesting to see what happens if they follow-up this ecit with defeat to Everton at the weekend.

I think that Keane needs ensure he has a reputation as a manager before he comes out slagging other people's players off - this man has not got a good record and his work at Ipswich at the moment is not doing anything to improve his image in the game. Although there are probably a lot of people who agree with Keane's comments about the Irish defending, such as this football expert on his betting blog, there are not feelings that are being shouted loudly as it is true that Ireland were cheated and it remains a touchy and controversial subject matter. The time has probably come for Keane to keep his mouth shut for a while before he alienates himself from everybody in the game.

With Carroll, Harewood and Ranger at our disposal then we should be looking to get quality balls into the box for them to attack, for they are 3 powerful forwards who should be able to get on the end of crosses. Surely our wingers should be good enough to get some dangerous balls in there.

It seems following Wigan's horror show against Tottenham, then the players are going to refund the fans that made the trip to White Hart Lane. Bet the team are glad that Wigan do not have a massive away support, but this Premier League news article reckons that each player that started the game will be paying around £750 to the fans. Probably not going to be a lot for many of them, but do you reckon they would have made the gesture if thousands were at the game? There were only around 300 Wigan fans - which is a shocking number for a Premier League team.

Judging by his Wikipedia page, he has not exactly set to world alight during his career. From United to a failure at Port Vale and then to Denmark - not really sure he is really up to the level they we need. Probably only a squad player so would hope he came very cheap + on tiny wages if the rumours does appear to be true. Is his brother the one that plays for Burnley now? He also does not seem to great. Not exactly the new Nevilles or Ferdinands.

It wasn't a pen like and it wasn't even a very good dive when you saw the replay but the reason it looked like a one in real time to the ref was because Carsley slid in inside the box and got nowhere near the ball. Not defending N'Gog because it was a blatant dive but Carsley really only has himself to blame. Is there no sanction if a player clearly dives to win a pen or a booking? I don't see why players shouldn't be banned for 3 matches if they're found to be clearly cheating. It'd sort the problem out pretty quickly imo. In some cases the cameras show there isn't even any contact. No there isn't and that in a nutshell is what the problem is. The players will continue to do it for as long as the ends justify the means, so in order to stamp it out, governing bodies simply have to implement a punishment that is a significant deterrent. I don't really see what the fuss is about N'Gog - loads and loads of players do it - his was just a particularly rubbish dive!

Here's the latest from espn: Full article here. Sol seems realistic. Beckford less so. I also don't think Beckford is worth the risk. We already have players who can score goals in the Championship and I doubt he is good enough to score goals in the Prem.

Funny thing is even Scudamore doesn't want them and yet he tends to be all about the money. My opinion is simple - they are Scottish teams, therefore they should play in the Scottish League. As for the Belfast thing, I live with a girl from Northern Ireland and from what I gather (having been over there etc) very few people really 'support' the OF teams, they just attach themselves to one of them (for well documented reasons). The majority of football fans support either an English team or a Northern Irish team and that includes the older ones, so I don't think it has anything to do with the recent growth of the Premiership.

Apologies if I've missed it but I can't see another thread so I thought I'd kick off pre-match proceedings for this week. Maybe a good chance to increase our lead at the top, what with West Brom having to travel to Leicester. I'm feeling positive and reckon we'll be too strong for them and will win 2 or 3-0. There's a Championship preview here tipping Newcastle and Leicester for wins. The guy who writes it is generally pretty accurate (Mark Lawrenson he is not!) so lets hope for another good weekend for him and us. Thoughts? Predictions? Team news? Etc etc

Niether would I - because I don't have the money but if they can find enough people who are willing and do have the money then great. Liverpool supporters groups have come up with a similar proposal (details here) but they have had to reduce the asking price from £5,000 to £500. A touch more realistic I think.

Did we not back Keegan? I did...

I'm on the brink of giving up this season, I really am. It seems not one team in the whole of the country can be relied upon. It's saying something when we've been one of the most consistent sides in any division!

Fuck bumping into them, I say we pay the cunts a visit now - they're totally and utterly taking the piss out of us. There needs to be hell on, on Saturday.... Far worse than what happened against Hull last year. I agree completely. The atmosphere needs to be one of pure hate on Saturday. Ashley and Llambias need a shock. Chances are they'll turn up, smug grins plastered across their faces expecting a few nasty songs and nothing else. They need to get a hammering before, during and after the game. I actually want to wake up on Sunday morning, complete with huge hangover, to a meek press release from Fat Ash saying he fears for his safety. That would go some way to cheering me up. Has there not already been plenty of that though? If he couldn't handle the hate, he would have left by now. Not that we can just do nothing but is there not another way?

Following in the footsteps of King Kev, Alan Curbishley has won his court case for constructive dismissal. Quite why clubs decide to hire a manager and then not give him control over transfer activity is beyond me. Surely the best route to success is by everyone pulling in the same direction. I just read this interesting football blog on the Keegan/Curbishley cases. It calls for managers to be given more control and highlights the examples of Wenger and Ferguson. It also says that: I for one would like to know why Ashley seemed to think Dennis Wise would do a better job at finding new players than Keegan. Thoughts?

Should there not be a "he's" at the start of the second line? Aside from that it's brilliant!!

You can back all four English clubs to win in the Champions League this week at around 15/2. I'm gonna stick a few quid on it, as I expect Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal to win fairly comfortably and that just leaves Liverpool, who are normally pretty good under pressure. Team news here by the way - Torres, Agger and Aquilani all look like being fit.

Yep they do - from what I've heard, Standard Charter have swallowed all the debt in return for a share of the club and sticking their name across the shirts for the next 4 years. Liverpool effectively have no transfer budget which is why the Gerrard to Real Madrid rumour won't go away. You say that but they always seem to have money to spend every time the transfer window comes around and as for Gerrard to Madrid, is that not just the same as Ronaldo to Madrid i.e. he will always be linked there because he's a good player and they can spend what they want? Moving onto the original topic of the thread, yes I think they will come top four and may yet put together a title bid if all their players get back to fitness fairly quickly. The reason for this is that nobody else is very good this season and everyone is dropping points aplenty - we might have had a chance of the league title if we were still there and minus Ashley! I was reading this Premier League blog earlier today on the very topic and they also point to the incredible inconsistency of all the top four challengers.

2 down 2 to go... I know it's a little early but I'm really liking the look of Spurs for the weekend. I was reading this betting preview and a Tottenham win is a huge price (around 6/1). Bearing in mind Tottenham's good start to the season and Arsenal's slightly suspect defence that looks well worth a nibble.

Ooops, sorry. I somehow managed to miss that completely

I saw that earlier. The bloke on Sky Sports News wasn't making a big deal of it though. He seemed to think that it was just some sort of paperwork issue and the embargo would be lifted before January comes round.

I also remember paddy power stopping bets on Benitez being the first manager to leave about a week into the season and wasn't Harry Redknapp supposed to have done a runner a couple of weeks ago as well?! In genuine Hull news, the BBC are reporting that they could go bust if they get relegated - article

Agreed but are we going to be able to dispatch anyone else if we continue to play like that?! I'm delighted by the win but am also very concerned at our recent form.

There's a video with Mandaric talking about the Davids link here He's the sort of chairman I would like - someone that puts his all into the club and seems to put his money where his mouth is more often than not.

Aren't Madrid meant to be going for Gerrard every summer?! Anyone got any predictions for tomorrow's game? I think Liverpool might just sneak it on the basis that they desperately need the win and with that in mind I might stick a few quid on it. There's a good little preview of the game here in Betfair's new 'front room'. They're backing a close game, I reckon Liverpool will sneak it 2-1.