Dolly Potter MD
-
Posts
590 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Dolly Potter MD
-
-
They already have in place a creative foil in the form of Suarez. I've likened him, based on what i've seen of him to Bellamy abit - he brings aggression to the table as well, to compliment his technical ability. If he can acclimatise to the unrelenting pace of the premiership they have the classic big-small strike-force in set in place. That's step one of the final 1/3 restructuring put in place already.
Step 2 will be about retooling the wide options, providing true left-right balance. An ambitious club like Liverpool will properly address in the Summer, there'll be no trolling around the lower leagues [and far off outposts] banking their hopes on cheap-as-peanuts 'chancers' coming good.
The acquisition of Carroll [as expensive as it was] is about a much bigger picture, as it would have been for Spurs [to compliment their already existing attacking/creative options, particularly thier wide play]. From an attacking perspective Carroll would've been Harry's icing on the cake.
-
Dramatastic
Unbelievable, coming from somebody who has previously bombarded/spammed the forum with pro-Ashley/Dekka threadstarters for months.
Return to type lad........... that's your comfort zone.
-
5ft 8', 70 kgs.
-
I agree with everything other than the spite bit, I think zero decisions are based on spite, he would have done the same things even if he had a great rapport with the fans. I think he enjoys doing them even more knowing hes pissing us off but thats different.
I'm not suggesting spite is factoring directly into his decision making, of the 'you know what, i'll rebrand the stadium & offload their academie's best product in over two decades just to piss those Geordies off' mindset.
95% is purely commercial decision making based [as inferred in the OP], 5% comes from the added personal satisaction of winding up & taking the piss, as you infer. And a source close to Ashley [whether that be allie or foe] in an article i once read [Times or Guardian, i don't remember which tbh] gave the impression that Ashley enjoys what he refers to as the 'game', the company in-fighting/ducking it out with & infuriating bitter rivals, just as much as the making of profits.
-
As an interested observer it's disappointing hearing about the logistics of the AGM [time, place, accessiblity] and that it possibly excluded much of the 'average joe' membership, those lads who hum & ha about attending when factoring work commitments and the like.
PP, given that the Trust's movement has stalled to understatedly put it, was this meeting set-up in a way as an effective means of escaping any degree of largescale [more than bloody 18 members] criticism of the membership? Ashley used to set up his early Sports Direct AGM's in such a way [ie. time, place etc], it was an often criticised by observers, mom & dad shareholders with a vested financial interest & mutual commentators alike.
Disappointing re: the elitist & insular nature of the Trust's current managment.
-
I'm under no illusions that his running of the club is purely business related to generate a profit in all facets of the club's running ie. the cheap & tacky aggressive/confrontational stall trader made it big, with a lack of ethics to match. Ashley's greatest defendants see him as something of a revolutionary among a football ownership landscape, dominated by free spending media magnates, oil barons and Russian obliarchs.
He has a successful model put in place [built around running business' on a bare bones budget - look at the once classy Lillywhites store for a better example] during the height of what was an commercial economic boom time], and attempted to but has spectacularly failed to apply that model to the realm of football club ownership.
That's what i liken our club to at the moment, the Lillywhites of English Football.......... a cheap & tacky, despot operator setting up shop in a boutique & classy address [thanks to & built by his immediate predecessors] with the customer flow to match, running it on a skeleton budget aimed at maximising profits. One relegation later, the model has failed when applied to football.
He still hasn't learned [re: the sale of Carroll], but this is a man who imo is asset stripping the club [paying back money owed to him thanks to his lack of due diligence when purchasing the club, and the money he pumped into the club following relegation] while using the club's image & following as a clever marketing extension to his retail empire.
Back to the context of the post. The relationship [since KK's treatment] between the club's ownership & a large proportion of the supporter base has been built around a feeling of mutual dislike of one another. Ashley [in his dealings with Whelan, from a position of power in the retail market] haunted his hated rival for nearly a decade.
There's a story [presumably leaked by a source close to Whelan] that during a JJB boardroom meeting, during which time Whelan was offloading & reducing his shareholding, Ashley boasted to Whelan that he'd prefer to run Whelan's creation [JJB] into the ground regardless of job losses & losses to minor shareholders. You could interpret this affront as a kick to the guts, aimed at the bloke who once told him he wasn't welcome in the their club & likened him/Ashley to a gardener.
I have no doubt it. The sale of Carroll is about Ashley paying himself back - we have a glorified debt collector [casino operator] doing Ashley's bidding, his puppet in crime. But looking at Ashley's record of dealing with rival groups [personal & bitter rivals] he enjoys the confrontational political game as well. There has to be an element of spite in this................ in my mind it's 90-95% business, 5-10% spite.
-
Thought that deal was done & dusted, mid-window.
-
Andy Carroll will face backlash from 'angry' Newcastle fans
Big Al
http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/football/8542...-newcastle-fans
Alan Shearer believes Newcastle’s supporters will be in uproar at the club’s decision to sell striker Andy Carroll to Liverpool.Carroll put the finishing touches to a big-money deal taking him to Anfield on Monday night, effectively as replacement for Chelsea-bound Fernando Torres.
Shearer recognised the offer for Carroll, thought to be around £35million, was difficult to turn down. But the Newcastle legend believes fans will nevertheless be fuming about the deal. ‘I think they’ll be angry. They’ll feel hard done by. He’s just recently signed a new contract,’ said the legendary No.9.
‘And after listening to Andy say he wants to stay at Newcastle, and listening to the chief executive and the owner and the manager saying he was going nowhere, I think they’ll be disappointed.
‘But from the club’s point of view, you’ve got to say that £35m, or whatever it is, is just a massive amount of money.
‘If you’re inside the football club you can see why they’ve had to accept that.’
Shearer was surprised by the deal, saying: ‘I think it’s an incredible amount of money for a guy that’s had half a season in the Premier League, albeit he’s done very well.
‘The potential is there, he’s now a full international, but it’s an incredible amount of money.’
Shearer suggested Carroll has ‘carried the team at times on his own’ at Newcastle this season, adding: ‘There’s no doubt they’ll miss him.’
The former England striker, who played under Reds manager Kenny Dalglish in Blackburn’s Premier League-winning team, believes the Scot will make the best of Carroll’s ability.
‘He’s going to a club that has to win trophies, is expected to win trophies,’ he added.
‘He’s going there with a great manager who I’m sure will get the very best out of him.’
he won't give a fuck, and quite right too. Small time parochial attitudes, why should he care ? There is only one winner here, and that is Liverpool. While we have signalled our intention to concede ourselves to be an inferior 2nd rate club again, they have signalled their intention to get back among the winners. If you want to win, you gamble and take chances.
Liverpool have sold Torres to Chelsea - trust me they wont be celebrating. Buying a target man when they have sh*te wingers is a bad move for them.
They needed midfielders. Lucas is awful.
Elia's [an absolute flyer of a winger, who can drift inside and shoot with power] arrival dispels that one marketedly, and Suarez [very creative] looks at home doing the rounds out wide. As far as their left-right balance goes Elia as important a signing as Suarez [probably Carroll's creative foil]. Elia because of his signicantly smaller fee, [and when you factor his potential & the positive ramifications for their attacking structure] has slipped really under the radar.
-
Elia, Suarez & Carroll as Jan incomings.
A major upgrade on thair attacking options. A spearhead in the form of Carroll, and 1st rate technique & quickness with the former two.
From what i've seen of Suarez he reminds me of Bellamy a bit. He's creative and is repared to work the outside channels, quick & top marks for technique, and there's a genuine aggressive streak to him.
Carroll & Suarez: has the potential to rival the Bellamy/Shearer combination when they were at their best, and with Elia [a huge talent who has lost his way a bit over the last 12 months, who will drift in & shoot with power] providing ammunition from the left, their final 1/3 looks to have more left-right balance to it now. Torres [in the wake of Bellamy's departure in particualr] has been surrounded by too many grafters in the final 1/3, most notably Kuyt.
-
They've made enquiries and we've told them no. Im sure we'll do the same again.
We'll see. We'd be rejecting offers now anyway, whether we intend on keeping him or not. The time to get smug about rejected offers is 1st Feb, cos then we'll know that we weren't just holding out for a bigger offer on the last day of the window.
Is that the same time the humble pie gets eaten......I doubt it.
Humble pie about what? Nobody wants him sold, but people are rightly concerned. Why do you have to try and lord it over people and insist they eat humble pie?
When I say that the time to be smug is on Feb 1, that's not strictly true. What I should say is that while the rest of us choose to be relieved that we kept our best player, knowing what you're like, you won't be able to stop crowing about how you predicted it all and acting the smug prick. And a better time for THAT would be Feb 1st. Although tbh there's never a good time for that sort of shit.
So Im smug for being pleased we've YET AGAIN, turned down an offer, but others in this thread who claim the deals being done all along shouldnt eat humble pie on 1st Feb..
What utter fucking TOSH.
ASM is right, come 1st Feb, the usual nay sayers will be spouting about how the clubs just waiting til the summer to get more money.....and so it goes on.
TIT
CT, you're a fuckin pleb man, not so much as Skidders like, but you are talking about selling Carroll in January/August etc, you are talking about WHEN Carroll will be sold.
Mate, nothing is as sure as this club will, eventually, lose Carroll and Enrique to one of the top clubs attempting to win the trophies and play in europe, and they will be happy to leave when the penny drops when they realise they have to make this move for their career ambitions.
Do you want to know what will help convince them to stay, and build on this "platform he has started" ? Its quite simple man, all Mike Ashley has to do is buy a couple of quality players like Carroll and Enrique to show them that THIS club is trying to go places, this will also correctly bring about a u-turn in attitudes among supporters of the club towards him and his ambitions for the club.
It's THAT simple man.
Tiote? Ben Arfa?
exactly and not too expensive either.
so do you think it is possible to put together a team to consistently play in europe and/or the Champions League rummaging around the basement transfer market ?
I wouldnt say Tiote nor Barfa were basement bargains...far from it. Clever business.
You can assemble a quality squad without spending alot of money if you have a quality scouting network in place and then know how to manage them.
That isn't what I asked.
And Tiote and Ben Arfa were relatively cheapish buys in todays market.
Exactly.
Ben Arfa was nearing the end of his contract [heading into his final 12 months], and his disciplinary issues with OM probably devalued his true market value at the time when he effectively talked himself out other feasible options [permanent transfers] were avilable, when Ashley was lurking in the background with a loan offer [minus a concrete 'to buy' figure set in the loan contract] which amounted to Venus Fly Trap [with all the bargaining power in Ashley's court] in waiting.
And Tiote is one of those 'chancer' & inexpensive type of signings, a player in development whose attributes [physical attributes & his reading of the play] have made for an immediate impact in the physical & fast paced nature of the top flight. The most comparible signing in the premiership era would be Viera: a peripheral figure at his former club [Milan], but like Tiote made added steel to Wenger's overall football philosophy re. their outfield play, and hence a pivotal signing. Credit goes to the scouting department in this case, but they don't always come off ie. Guppy & Huckerby under KK. It's still an extremely hit & miss transfer policy, to rely on 'chancer' signings.
Tiote & Ben Arfa are gifts. We've been the beneficiaries of a combination of good scouting and a volatile/ugly 'player vs club & manager' situation. Players of this ability don't consistently drop into your lap, for next to peanuts in today's market at a highly consistent rate. Even Arsenal/Wenger hunt down & ultimately are prepared to fork out the going rate for those youngsters deemed to be in the top echelon of the talent pool, this why talk of Ashley trying to emulate 'the Arsenal Model' is offensive.
But the sort of signings we should be aiming for, you have be prepared to go that extra yard. Instead trolling around for mid-late 20's players in the lower leagues a kid like Delph [identified by KK], under a lengthy contract at Leeds, was exactly the type of emerging & dominating talent we should be trying to sign from the lower divisions. The prospect of a shaft type of move [where a compensation via tribunal ruling was out of the question] wasn't a feasible option. Instead Ashley/Dekka tabled an offer which brought about a reportedly colorful response from Bates.
Under the previous regime such signings [ie Jenas] were completed with the upmost of professionalism............ or in the case of Delph [as KK suggested] did Ashley & Dekka purposely underbid for a player in their attempts to push the manager to the periphery of the squad's building plans. Either way it's embarrasing running of the club.
common sense which still escapes some people, it would appear.
Todays news is gutting and absolutely no surprise at all, tbh
Gutting yes.......... and some some of us unfortunately predicted that if there was a large enough cushion between ourselves and the drop zone [by the end of the window: if enough points were accumulated over the busy Xmas/New Years - January fixture period] the gambler that is Ashley would take a punt for the double cash windfall ie. cash upfront for Carroll & premiership survival.
Unsurprisingly livid best describes my feelings & mood at the moment.
-
I don't think Carroll's been forced into putting a transfer request. I think that a month ago he wouldn't have dreamt that Liverpool would have tried to sign him. I think once he found out they were interested in him, he found out that he could double his wage, and all the rest of it, he very probably WANTED to go.
But I think the club have then said to his agent "He wants to go, we want the money. Just see if you can talk him into handing in a request for damage limitation purposes from our point of view."
And honestly it would be a piece of piss to talk him into it, I reckon.
You only have to read the order of events being played out in this thread to see that it was choreographed.
£35m bid rejected.
Transfer bid accepted.
£35m bid accepted.
In the space of 20 minutes. He wasn't forced into doing anything, but the claim that it was the transfer request that forced the deal through is a a fucking stitch-up man.
Fair post, I don't think "forced into it" was fundamentally what I meant.
Influenced by the club? Yes, I could see that.
Not for a minute do I honestly think he desperately wants to stay and is only going because he was somehow made to hand in a request.
Neither do I. I think he wanted to go. And honestly, I don't fucking blame him. He knows there's a ceiling on wages here, and that he'll have his work cut out negotiating contracts etc. And what's that? Fucking Liverpool will double my wage tomorrow?! (I wouldn't be surprised if they've more than doubled his money) And I get a cut of this fucking ludicrous transfer fee too?
You can't blame him for wanting to go man. We are going nowhere under this bloke. Don't forget it's only a month or two ago that these twats completely destabilised the club by sacking the manager for no good reason and replaced him with one that's mediocre at best.
If I was Andy Carroll's adviser, I couldn't do anything other than tell him to GTFO of Newcastle.
Agreed.
-
Torres is a notable yardstick for Spain's current level of productivity on the world stage, or should i say Spain finally jumping out from their underperformers tag at the major tournaments. Brings aggression and some backbone [mental toughness] to the table, to compliment his technical excellence. That combination of mental toughness & aggression was something that was berefit among Spain's once mooted golden generation which included the likes of Raul & De La Pena etc. Dismissive talk of him [re: his ability] using phrasing like 'he is gash' is naive & shortsighted.
But like others have said his career is in need of reinvention at the moment whether that be in the form of a change in scenery [ie. club change or a major reshaping of Liverpool's current striking options] as his application has tailed off in recent times. Perhaps Saurez [an on-field firebrand, and a very good all-round footballer: there are similarities between Bellamy & Suarez imo, and Bellamy has been a cracking foil over the years for more celebrated strikers] can bring out the best in him, act as a catalyst for a reversal in form.
Contradictory
Even Shearer's [well regarded for his mental toughness & agression] on-field application suffered under Gullit. I'd go far as saying that his body language & attitude stank during the above mentioned manager's reign. Sometimes all the mechanics at club-level [from managment level - interpersonal manmanagement, to a on field playing role that player isn't entirely comfortable with - to on-field chemistry among the playing group] have to be aligned. Sometimes there's a fine balance needed, and it can be easy for it all go belly up, there are often shades of grey involved that can lead to a decline in a player's productivity & application.
For somebody who sees the world of football in purely black & white terms [and therein is all too quick pull the 'that player is gash' trigger, contrary to footballing ability] i'll understand if this sort of point swiftly flies over you.
"He is gash" was an overall statement. Injury prone and can't be arsed counteract any technical ability he has. His goalscoring record isn't stunning barring one season. What about the world cup, was the chemistry not right there too?
I presume we're talking about the same player who failed to fire at the WC. This is the same Torres who entered the WC with a lack of match fitness under his belt, coming off knee surgery.
You really do have a negative obsession towards figures [players & club administrators/chairman alike] who have provided supporters with a semblance of enjoyment over the years irrespective of what country or club they follow.
An injury before the world cup? Torres? Injured? I'll be damned.
When fit, unlike his predecessors [Raul & Morientes: products of Spain's previous & failed golden generation] he's somebody who has some fire in his belly.
Relive some of the Spain's greatest moments against unfancied opposition [against one zip-eyed Asian outfit in particular, when they were intimidated & outmuscled by a pack of midgets] prior to the true emergence of the likes of Torres, Xavi & Iniesta, after some the above mentioned & much hyped up chokers had wound up the respective international careers
Torres has more than proven his worth at International level [at major tourneys] in the last major tournament cycle.
-
Back to Carroll. A bid of around the 30m mark, and some appearance based incentives [international caps & CL appearances: it's how Levy works apparently] should get the deal over the line.
Asshley gets to knock over a significant chunk of the debt owed to himself, as Carroll's departure will be pure profit. And the bonus part of the equation is Asshley will enjoy the big lad plying his trade at the club he supports [spurs] at the highest club level.
I still maintain that Carroll is the missing link in their final 1/3. It might not happen this season [as his impact there may be limited somewhat, depending on the extent of his thigh injury & how it's managed] but Carroll + Spurs' current attacking-midfield options equates to around about 5 years of CL football/qualification. At least Ashley will enjoy that, a WHL regular for their European fixtures.
-
I used to have an admiration for Leeds like when I was a youngun in the early 70's. Partly because Don Revie used to live next door to us in Boldon and people were always going on about him (I dont remember him) and I suppose just for the likes of Joe Jordan, Lorimer etc.
Suppose its the same in most generations where you appreciate the quality players of the day.
I also think theres something special about Newcastle v Leeds. Not sure what it is, but is has that something that Boro just never came close too.
Can't see anything to admire about them even then to be honest. Kicked teams off the park, won trophies through intimidation, arsehole manager, arsehole players and even worse supporters with the worst racism record of any team in the UK. Anyone who's ever been to Elland Road knows exactly what they're like, and that is FUCK ALL LIKE US. They are bad cunts, I can only imagine what they were like in the 70's and early 80's.
Agree with all that, particularly the pieces placed on bold. And they [Revie] didn't have to place a heavy emphasis on those tactics. They had some cracking & skillful player on their books. It was Revies's shortcoming at international level, when such intimidatory tactics were no longer going to cut the mustard against outfits that one couldn't categorise as league minnows, teams who couldn't be outmuscled so easily.
But still, i had to admire the infrastructure laid down [at bricks & mortar level] by their board.
-
Has he not said several times that he isn't going anywhere?
I dont think he has since the transfer window opened and definitely not in the last week or so since the Spurs interest. Not that he has to, its not his job to keep us happy with quotes but a direct quote from him now would shut the door on the speculation.
Caulkin tweeting tonight that "NUFC reiterate today that Carroll is not for sale at any price".
As has been said by many a person for many a time, that doesnt put me at ease.
I bet that upsets Big Mike more than anything
Perhaps you can offer your mate a consolitory handkerchief.
-
Simply put, Leeds had one of the best teams I've seen.
Easy to say we are a bigger club providing you don't examine the trophy cabinet too closely.
What our 11 trophies to your 6.
We might have big crowds and a canny ground but everything else about the Toon is a joke.Some of the drivel you come out with is the reason why other fans laugh at us.
Fred Truman couldn't have put it better himself.
Leeds won trophies. And in my lifetime. Who gives a fuck if we can only get 40,000? Bear in mind they have cricket and rugby, but so what? They won trophies.FFS, Stevie thinks Derby are a bigger club. They are shite now, small crowds if that's your yardstick and haven't won what Leeds did. I'm not a Leeds supporter but be realistic.
Are Leeds bigger than us? Or have a more impressive history? No. Not if you want to consider the pre-war era. Boer war that is.
Get in! Leeds up.No further questions your honour.
Problem is, Stevie. All of that is true.
This was in the discussion of what makes a big club, and you think its an impressive stadium and a big crowds. I don't think that s enough and said so. THese factors plus winning trophies makes you a big club. Leeds did that and as much as you hate it, it happened. That doesn't make me a Leeds supporter by stating the obvious.
Leeds did that???? 6 trophies in their entire history and you're going on like they some sort of Real Madrid. I know where your butters died mate, I bet you have a LOVE T'LEEDS HATE MUNICHS doormat as you walk in the hoose. You were and are the only person on this board who was happy Leeds come up, just admit it mate, you've come up from Yorkshire about the time of the miners strike settled here and decided Tynemouth is a better option than t'Batleh, and your heart is t'Leeds. Just admit it for fuck sake.
We're currently a big club punching well below our weight under the current ownership, as was the case under McKeag/Seymour/Westwood etc. As was the case when we were used a feeder club by Spurs most notably in the 80's, it's come around full circle.
There were even periods of transition under the previous regime [KK - Robson] where managers failed to capitalise on what KK/Fletcher/Shepherd/Hall Jr [and Hall Snr as a figurehead] built, and with the right managerial appointment the recent Robson era could have been resurrected.
Even under the previous regime there were hiatus' where we were seen to be the nation's sleeping giant, and you could largely put that down down to first team management - and not throught the lack of ambition & effort at board level.
Whereas under this lot [Ashley's ownership - though his pennypinching/cheap stall-trader business ethics & idealogy applied to club running, and idiotic decision making] it's slipped a step further................. we're a big club that is slipped into a proverbial coma.
Stevie: i accidently quoted your post, instead of simply replying in the thread. No need to come out with all guns blazing
-
They've made enquiries and we've told them no. Im sure we'll do the same again.
We'll see. We'd be rejecting offers now anyway, whether we intend on keeping him or not. The time to get smug about rejected offers is 1st Feb, cos then we'll know that we weren't just holding out for a bigger offer on the last day of the window.
Is that the same time the humble pie gets eaten......I doubt it.
Humble pie about what? Nobody wants him sold, but people are rightly concerned. Why do you have to try and lord it over people and insist they eat humble pie?
When I say that the time to be smug is on Feb 1, that's not strictly true. What I should say is that while the rest of us choose to be relieved that we kept our best player, knowing what you're like, you won't be able to stop crowing about how you predicted it all and acting the smug prick. And a better time for THAT would be Feb 1st. Although tbh there's never a good time for that sort of shit.
So Im smug for being pleased we've YET AGAIN, turned down an offer, but others in this thread who claim the deals being done all along shouldnt eat humble pie on 1st Feb..
What utter fucking TOSH.
ASM is right, come 1st Feb, the usual nay sayers will be spouting about how the clubs just waiting til the summer to get more money.....and so it goes on.
TIT
CT, you're a fuckin pleb man, not so much as Skidders like, but you are talking about selling Carroll in January/August etc, you are talking about WHEN Carroll will be sold.
Mate, nothing is as sure as this club will, eventually, lose Carroll and Enrique to one of the top clubs attempting to win the trophies and play in europe, and they will be happy to leave when the penny drops when they realise they have to make this move for their career ambitions.
Do you want to know what will help convince them to stay, and build on this "platform he has started" ? Its quite simple man, all Mike Ashley has to do is buy a couple of quality players like Carroll and Enrique to show them that THIS club is trying to go places, this will also correctly bring about a u-turn in attitudes among supporters of the club towards him and his ambitions for the club.
It's THAT simple man.
Tiote? Ben Arfa?
exactly and not too expensive either.
so do you think it is possible to put together a team to consistently play in europe and/or the Champions League rummaging around the basement transfer market ?
I wouldnt say Tiote nor Barfa were basement bargains...far from it. Clever business.
You can assemble a quality squad without spending alot of money if you have a quality scouting network in place and then know how to manage them.
That isn't what I asked.
And Tiote and Ben Arfa were relatively cheapish buys in todays market.
Exactly.
Ben Arfa was nearing the end of his contract [heading into his final 12 months], and his disciplinary issues with OM probably devalued his true market value at the time when he effectively talked himself out other feasible options [permanent transfers] were avilable, when Ashley was lurking in the background with a loan offer [minus a concrete 'to buy' figure set in the loan contract] which amounted to Venus Fly Trap [with all the bargaining power in Ashley's court] in waiting.
And Tiote is one of those 'chancer' & inexpensive type of signings, a player in development whose attributes [physical attributes & his reading of the play] have made for an immediate impact in the physical & fast paced nature of the top flight. The most comparible signing in the premiership era would be Viera: a peripheral figure at his former club [Milan], but like Tiote made added steel to Wenger's overall football philosophy re. their outfield play, and hence a pivotal signing. Credit goes to the scouting department in this case, but they don't always come off ie. Guppy & Huckerby under KK. It's still an extremely hit & miss transfer policy, to rely on 'chancer' signings.
Tiote & Ben Arfa are gifts. We've been the beneficiaries of a combination of good scouting and a volatile/ugly 'player vs club & manager' situation. Players of this ability don't consistently drop into your lap, for next to peanuts in today's market at a highly consistent rate. Even Arsenal/Wenger hunt down & ultimately are prepared to fork out the going rate for those youngsters deemed to be in the top echelon of the talent pool, this why talk of Ashley trying to emulate 'the Arsenal Model' is offensive.
But the sort of signings we should be aiming for, you have be prepared to go that extra yard. Instead trolling around for mid-late 20's players in the lower leagues a kid like Delph [identified by KK], under a lengthy contract at Leeds, was exactly the type of emerging & dominating talent we should be trying to sign from the lower divisions. The prospect of a shaft type of move [where a compensation via tribunal ruling was out of the question] wasn't a feasible option. Instead Ashley/Dekka tabled an offer which brought about a reportedly colorful response from Bates.
Under the previous regime such signings [ie Jenas] were completed with the upmost of professionalism............ or in the case of Delph [as KK suggested] did Ashley & Dekka purposely underbid for a player in their attempts to push the manager to the periphery of the squad's building plans. Either way it's embarrasing running of the club.
-
Since a few of the lads & lasses have done so already, my ugly mug is currently my avatar. Since this will by only period of access to the net for a little while, it will stay up until some time tomorrow morning.
Back story behind the shot: 30'something birthday party last year, blind/drunk as a bat and the lass bleached the mop on top for the party - i looked a bit like Canizarez on the night.
Tin hat firmly placed on head
Re: current avatar. It stays up until tomorrow morning.
Tin hat placed on again.
-
Torres is a notable yardstick for Spain's current level of productivity on the world stage, or should i say Spain finally jumping out from their underperformers tag at the major tournaments. Brings aggression and some backbone [mental toughness] to the table, to compliment his technical excellence. That combination of mental toughness & aggression was something that was berefit among Spain's once mooted golden generation which included the likes of Raul & De La Pena etc. Dismissive talk of him [re: his ability] using phrasing like 'he is gash' is naive & shortsighted.
But like others have said his career is in need of reinvention at the moment whether that be in the form of a change in scenery [ie. club change or a major reshaping of Liverpool's current striking options] as his application has tailed off in recent times. Perhaps Saurez [an on-field firebrand, and a very good all-round footballer: there are similarities between Bellamy & Suarez imo, and Bellamy has been a cracking foil over the years for more celebrated strikers] can bring out the best in him, act as a catalyst for a reversal in form.
Contradictory
Even Shearer's [well regarded for his mental toughness & agression] on-field application suffered under Gullit. I'd go far as saying that his body language & attitude stank during the above mentioned manager's reign. Sometimes all the mechanics at club-level [from managment level - interpersonal manmanagement, to a on field playing role that player isn't entirely comfortable with - to on-field chemistry among the playing group] have to be aligned. Sometimes there's a fine balance needed, and it can be easy for it all go belly up, there are often shades of grey involved that can lead to a decline in a player's productivity & application.
For somebody who sees the world of football in purely black & white terms [and therein is all too quick pull the 'that player is gash' trigger, contrary to footballing ability] i'll understand if this sort of point swiftly flies over you.
"He is gash" was an overall statement. Injury prone and can't be arsed counteract any technical ability he has. His goalscoring record isn't stunning barring one season. What about the world cup, was the chemistry not right there too?
I presume we're talking about the same player who failed to fire at the WC. This is the same Torres who entered the WC with a lack of match fitness under his belt, coming off knee surgery.
You really do have a negative obsession towards figures [players & club administrators/chairman alike] who have provided supporters with a semblance of enjoyment over the years irrespective of what country or club they follow.
-
Torres is a notable yardstick for Spain's current level of productivity on the world stage, or should i say Spain finally jumping out from their underperformers tag at the major tournaments. Brings aggression and some backbone [mental toughness] to the table, to compliment his technical excellence. That combination of mental toughness & aggression was something that was berefit among Spain's once mooted golden generation which included the likes of Raul & De La Pena etc. Dismissive talk of him [re: his ability] using phrasing like 'he is gash' is naive & shortsighted.
But like others have said his career is in need of reinvention at the moment whether that be in the form of a change in scenery [ie. club change or a major reshaping of Liverpool's current striking options] as his application has tailed off in recent times. Perhaps Saurez [an on-field firebrand, and a very good all-round footballer: there are similarities between Bellamy & Suarez imo, and Bellamy has been a cracking foil over the years for more celebrated strikers] can bring out the best in him, act as a catalyst for a reversal in form.
Contradictory
Even Shearer's [well regarded for his mental toughness & agression] on-field application suffered under Gullit. I'd go far as saying that his body language & attitude stank during the above mentioned manager's reign. Sometimes all the mechanics at club-level [from managment level - interpersonal manmanagement, to a on field playing role that player isn't entirely comfortable with - to on-field chemistry among the playing group] have to be aligned. Sometimes there's a fine balance needed, and it can be easy for it all go belly up, there are often shades of grey involved that can lead to a decline in a player's productivity & application.
For somebody who sees the world of football in purely black & white terms [and therein is all too quick pull the 'that player is gash' trigger, contrary to footballing ability] i'll understand if this sort of point swiftly flies over you.
-
Torres is a notable yardstick for Spain's current level of productivity on the world stage, or should i say Spain finally jumping out from their underperformers tag at the major tournaments. Brings aggression and some backbone [mental toughness] to the table, to compliment his technical excellence. That combination of mental toughness & aggression was something that was berefit among Spain's once mooted golden generation which included the likes of Raul & De La Pena etc. Dismissive talk of him [re: his ability] using phrasing like 'he is gash' is naive & shortsighted.
But like others have said his career is in need of reinvention at the moment whether that be in the form of a change in scenery [ie. club change or a major reshaping of Liverpool's current striking options] as his application has tailed off in recent times. Perhaps Saurez [an on-field firebrand, and a very good all-round footballer: there are similarities between Bellamy & Suarez imo, and Bellamy has been a cracking foil over the years for more celebrated strikers] can bring out the best in him, act as a catalyst for a reversal in form.
-
"Rise of the Footsoldier" was a solid crime flick.
-
Supposedly lost 200k in spoof, worth a laugh
He didn't lose just his 'own' money, it was company money [sD] hence it was shareholders' money albeit the other 49% involved. The game was played to settle a dispute with the investment bankers over outstanding legal fees incurred by Merrill Lynch during the SD floatation.
I'm sure Freshfields/Mort nearly had to play some hard-ball to get Ashley to cough up his outstanding legal fees relating to the NUFC takeover. Didn't Mort make a special trip to Tyneside for reasons related to his debt/fees owed to Freshfields.
Unless there's a concrete & legally binding clause ordering him to actually fill a debt [ie. *the stadium debt, following an ownership change, for instance] kicking & screaming it would appear the man has a recalcitrant attitude towards other service providers at the top end of town, where his retail empire is concerned. I've already posted one instance involving Umbro, when he attempted to welch on a contractual deal by refusing to take a delivery of a massive shipment of replica shirts, and thus not pay his outstanding bill.
As well as being an unambitiousn club owner, there is distinct lack of honour in his operational methods/practices.
*albeit he whinged about it for long enough, including misling the public over the legal specifics of the debt payback ie. the 'banks were banging on the doors' claim.
-
The Cocaine Cowboys documentaries, although i'm sure there are docos that more extensively explore the Colombian cartels. Particularly interested if there any about Carlos Lehder.
Will Carroll flop at Liverpool?
in Newcastle Forum
Posted