Dolly Potter MD

Human Centipede: cheap & nasty, low-rent horror film. Arguably the worst acted 'villain' one could ever see on the small screen. 0 out of 5.

Predators: brainless, pop-corn eating flick. Fun nonetheless. Predators are just cool really, extraterrestrial Jamaicans hopping on hi-tech boat & going fishing - i liked the subtle differences in the Predators' respective helmets. 3 out of 5.

People can bang on about the transfer system being a false economy, and how it should be bought into line to follow the EU-Line [accepted employment law affecting freedom of movement], but it's exclusive. The transfer market [and the trading of employees, whose respective talents have been nurtured by their clubs] is hard currency for all clubs, and the lifeline for feeder clubs. As Holloway infers, the old system was 99.99% fair. The case of Marc Bosman [his club behaving like pricks and not paying him, while still being the custodians of his registration papers] was an isolated one, and it certainly didn't warrant the transfer system [where player/agent power has become a disproportionate entity by itself] being turned on its head. The greatest irony being that the football landscape was forever & significantly changed by a player of limited ability. ..and the EU and its cosseted middle European dandruff ridden fat pink necked, flemish, dour Brusels types are thick and arrogant. Employment law as in France (the yardstick of civilisation apparently) means you can't fire a fucking secretary who's late three times a week without giving her 3 warnings and getting a letter from a beuracrat and 6 hearing, and 5 fake homely coffee chats and finally a letter from a wine addled judge. Mario Monti: is he still a sitting member of the EU. He was the bloke [in charge of competition a few years back] making the most noises, questioning the legality of the transfer system. The EU are on constant alert for an appropriate test case, to rip up the system in court. Their shown yellow card is trigger fire ready. It's why ugly club vs player disputes [concerning player movement] should raise concerns for clubs and supporters alike, when blokes like Ben Arfa play the 'footballers are slaves' card.

Heading towards a Webster move, if his stay becomes permanent. This i believe was Ashley's intention [prior to Marseille imposing the 25 game appearance fee] from the get go ie. borrow him for a season, and acquire him at a price [by fronting HBA's contract buy-out] under the going rate.

People can bang on about the transfer system being a false economy, and how it should be bought into line to follow the EU-Line [accepted employment law affecting freedom of movement], but it's exclusive. The transfer market [and the trading of employees, whose respective talents have been nurtured by their clubs] is hard currency for all clubs, and the lifeline for feeder clubs. As Holloway infers, the old system was 99.99% fair. The case of Marc Bosman [his club behaving like pricks and not paying him, while still being the custodians of his registration papers] was an isolated one, and it certainly didn't warrant the transfer system [where player/agent power has become a disproportionate entity by itself] being turned on its head. The greatest irony being that the football landscape was forever & significantly changed by a player of limited ability.

Onuoha [Hughton's alleged 1st choice RB target] has looked solid so far. It's a shame the player in question lay well beyond Ashley's spending parameters, and taking into account Perch's last two outings at home we'd be sitting comfortably within the top half the table.

That was the crack when we supposedly tried to buy him iirc. I thought Fred, Kenny and Paul Stretford had teamed up to form an agency. Didn't Stretford actually have office space at SJP under Shepherds regime. Rings a bell like. I can't remember the details though to be honest. Kenny Shepherd was Pro-Active's North-East [Regional] player development officer, when Jenas & Viana [ProActive clients] arrived at the club. He was essentially a liaison officer between club/player and Stretford, and was charged with the duty of getting lads settled into the area ie. accommodation etc. On a sidenote i'm pretty sure K.Shepherd was involved in negotiations pertaining to Luque's transfer.

Any sponsor that is actually providing some revenue to the club (i.e. actually sponsoring!!) would be borderline acceptable. The fact he's put his own brands all over the place is a fucking disgrace though. It'd be like Bill Gates buying Harrods and lobbing Microsoft signs all around the place. What really pisses me off is that they've spun this yarn about how they'll stick SD up there 'for now' to attract other sponsors. Why not be honest and admit they're just whoring the space available? Fuck off Ashley you fat cunt! Expect more of the same once the mooted jumbotron/big-screen is fitted. Broadcast in-match replays providing an interruption and a brief respite from the inevitable bombardment of stuck & paste jobs [from the shitdirect.com website] touting his own brands & special store-wide deals etc. And of course there is that cheap & tacky television advert as well.

Agree with that, particularly with the section placed in bold.

Guthrie whose tendency is to drift inside, but doesn't really have the legs & engine to provide defensive cover. Perch offers nothing of value in terms of positional play, and just like Ramage [and Perch is marginally quicker & and more athletic] shits himself when all-out/quick & skillful ball carriers run at him [like Zoggy]. And Zoggy has an eye for a goal, and was one of our better finishers, especially better than Martins who cost us points all too often imo. It was a recipe for disaster, the bloke's brain must have imploded today, when the job description of the day became clear. The lad's confidence was quickly shot to shreds but it's been a while since i've seen somebody hide from their defensive responsibilities, as was the case with Perch today [particularly Zoggy's second].

Moderators can create a 'film one was hoping to see over the weekend, procrastinated over it, then couldn't be arsed' thread. Let Me In now fits into this category Saw a top flick though, earlier in the week: "Animal Kingdom". Follows the crime orientated culture of a set of brothers, entrenched in the bank robbery business and how another younger cousin is inadvertently recruited. Without revealing any key plot spoilers but things take a turn for the worse, and what follows is a complex cat & mouse, cops versus crooks style of genre film.

After reading quite a few positive reviews, i will make an attempt to see "Let Me In'' over the the weekend - i was going to wait for it's eventual dvd release. Going by the preview it almost looks like a shot-for-shot remake. Will no doubt mentally criticise the remake, when comparing it to the original during viewing. The lad who plays the young boy was in "The Road", adds credibility and potential there.

Has anybody seen House of Voices/Saint Ainge? Hollywoof remake of Martyrs in the pipeline....... fuck.

Alan Shearer is a different story. He signed in 1996 after we finished 2nd in the league (the year before 6th, before that 3rd). Plus he has an obvious affinity to the area. You have to understand that we're far from the club that we were in 1996, or the years before that. For us to compete with the bigger clubs we not only need to match their transfer fees despite having much lower turnovers. On top of that we then generally would need to exceed their wage offers. In reality we'd need to do more, and spend more than 'big' clubs that have been stalwarts in proper European competitions of late. You'd be hard pressed finding anyone whose name doesn't start with Mrs and end in Best that thinks that the signing of Leon Best was a good one. Yes please. However to do it in the current climate of super spending clubs with stacked rosters (again you have to admit that this was not so strongly the case back in 1996) we need to be smart about our signings. Signing a handful of players that each improve the quality of our first 11 in the long term is more likely to be beneficial to European ambitions than signing a more expensive big name player who's likely to struggle to get the service, support and/or movement (depending on position) that he got at other clubs. I'd like to think that even you would admit that the signing of Tiote looks to have been a very good one that has significantly improved out first 11. Ben Arfa too was a good signing - finding someone with such obvious talent with a passion to play for Newcastle United is unfortunately rare these days. The short-mid term fate of that move unfortunately was fucked over by that cunt Nigel de Jong. Whether these sort of moves have a snowball effect resulting in other astute purchases that improve our team exponentially obviously remains to be seen. If Tiote leaves for more money in the off-season then the intentions will be made entirely clear. There's a general feeling that Mike Ashley wants to buy players young and cheap to improve them, raise their profile and then move them off for a higher price, but the flipside of this is that that is exactly the sort of common sense policy that is essential in building a team that can compete for European qualification without throwing away ridiculous sums of money bringing in ready made mercenary talent. We've not really seen a lot of activity from the top that truly indicates precisely what Ashley wants to do, though in truth the signs are not at all good in suggesting that he has the competence to carry out his plans whatever they may be. You might point to the sale of James Milner as evidence, but I'd counter that by saying that many believed at the time that we sold him for a very good price. On top of that he wanted to leave, so with a healthy price and his desire to depart it's hardly shocking that he was moved along (a true replacement should have been forthcoming though). Charles N'Zogbia likewise wanted to go, probably because he's a stroppy, complaining jerk. Sure he might have been more talented than most of the players he left behind, but his presence came at what cost to the harmony of the side? Seb Bassong had an excellent season and it was sad to see him go but I still agree that his sale was 100% the right decision. He wasn't needed for us in the Championship as evidenced by our excellent defensive record, and a season in the lower league would no doubt have reduced his value significantly. Upon our return to the premier league he'd likely have held us to ransom for a new deal with only 1 year left to run, and if he didn't get what he wanted he'd more or less have been able to force a sale at a severely reduced cost. Alternately he could have played out the season and gone for nothing. Whatever the case I think his sporadic and unimpressive performances for Tottenham prove that he's not as good as it first seemed. Stood out for us because he was playing alongside the confidence-shattered Coloccini and a winger as a fullback. Shay Given went after the Keegan fuck up, which was perpetrated largely by the incompetence and naivity of Ashley in regards to running a football club. At the time you couldn't really blame Given, though you'd have to wonder whether he'd change his mind if he had the chance to make the decision all over again knowing what he knows now. Now back to the topic at hand. In my opinion it's better to say you're not going to buy any players and then still keep your ear to the ground for any suitable players than it is to declare your intentions only to have agents drooling over the prospect of hefty transfer fees and sign-on clauses. January is notoriously bad for availability of quality players, so I'd rather us not throw away money on foolish signings with an eye on better bang for our buck in the off-season. Of course it's way too early now to know how close to the relegation spots we'll be in January so that should obviously have a large impact on Ashley's willingness to spend. Sorry for the effing huge reposnse, but once I got started I couldn't stop. It would be interesting to hear a response from Leazes or Year Zero that doesn't hark back to a past that unfortunately has very little bearing on the current footballing climate. You're both obviously passionate and intelligent enough to read this and make a reasoned response. There's a common theme to each departure though, from the list you've provided. Seasoned veterans [Given] and talented youngsters alike will want to seek pastures anew, if the club's ambition doesn't match that of their own. There was little sentimentality in the 80's, with predominantly locally based [british] players wanting to bugger off [compared with the likes of Bassong & Zoggy who naturally didn't have an affinity with the area & supporters, and thus are more volatile], think Beardsley as a case example. As shown with Robert & Solano an affinity with the supporter base can be developed [where foreign imports are concerned] over time within a flourishing football environment, where at least the team management & club's board are all pulling in the one direction for the sake of the product which is delivered out on the pitch. It was the club's achilles heel during the 80's [and prior], and now it's come around full circle. Mike Ashley's policy of buying players [based on potential future resale value alone. and raising their profile] compromises the so-called Arsenal-model [which many hark on, in defense of Ashley's model] which is geared around building a team and with it a semblance of continuity around the core of the team [it's strengths] Wenger & Dein only lost their grasp of players when the likes Real Madrid & Barca moved in, and usually such sales/departures came when it was time for a generational change within the squad ie. the twin sale of Petit and Overmars. Whereas our selling policy [under Ashley] has consisted of cashing in our chips at the first given opportunity. No manager would be able to piece together a jigsaw [and that's what building a squad over time is] under such constraints, and make drive for anything resembling a European birth with an owner lurking in the background, an owner who is willing to pull the carpet from underneath him at any given time because it represents 'good business', for the sake of the spreadsheets. Cole was sold by Keegan for footballing reasons, but & by the contrary we usually issued a hands-off warning when anybody came sniffing around - thinks Leeds again, when they were after Dyer and throwing money around. In relation to Keegan & Robson's respective stints there was always a permiating feeling that we were piecing together the pieces of the jigsaw, when the opportunity arose. The acquirement of Woodgate In January is an example, and his reinforcement of the back four in 02/03 was imo the major contributing factor behind our drive to 3rd place in 02/03, at a time when we not the free flowing & high scoring outfit down the season's stretch a year earlier. It wasn't that long ago [and i'm not harking back to Keegan's 1st stint, and embarking on a trip down memory lane] we adopted a similar buying pattern when purchasing the likes Dyer, Bramble & Jenas. The likes of Zoggy & Lua Lua were picked from relative obscurity when compared with the earlier names provided, at a fraction of the price. The approach was balanced, we acquired talent from recognised talent pools [well thought of prospects] and payed the necessary going rate, and by the same token took a punt some relative unknown prospects. This supposed & newly discovered youth model has always been there in the context of Ashley's predecessors and the running of the football department, Ashley is by no means a new-age revolutionary figure.

which also means its likely to be someone who is so shit nobody else wants him. aye, the OMG we can afford Rooney and Man Utd can't approach worked wonders didn't it What's wrong with punching appropriately in the transfer market, in accordance with the club's weight at the time? - in the wake of an average finishing position of 4th over the previous three seasons. We beat them to the punch, and outfought them once before [with a similar wheeling & dealing/negotiating team, minus Keegan & Fletcher] when signing Shearer. Nothing could be faulted in the move for Rooney - in the way of merit, ambition & timing. Rooney had just turned down a new contract offer, and the general consensus at the time was that Man Utd had budgeted for a move next Summer when Rooney's existing contract had run into it's final year. With the money acquired from the Woodgate sale [and the Rooney transfer was going to be partially financed, as was the case with Shearer] and extra finance we were in the position to have a genuine & concerted crack at the lad. If it wasn't for Man Utd restructuring their finances [to accomodate signing Rooney, a year ahead of schedule] we would've acquired a forward that any manager [including SBR's successor at the end of 04/05 season] could build their final 1/3 structure around for the next ten years, barring injury. It wasn't that often we were usurped in the transfer market by a rival club. Shepherd's record when acquiring in-demand players on the continent holds up as well - Robert [beat off Barca, i think the same applies with Ginola] and Viana [AC Milan among others]. Compare this with our mainly miss record when it comes to acquiring the managers' top/priority targets, going back to Keegan's initial transfer window in January after Ashley declared that he would be more hands-on in the running of the club. Our incompetance [in not landing targets, under the steward of your mates Ashley & Llambarse] in this department by far outweighs being beaten in a closely fought race with Man United, for a blue-chip player/talent. I'd rather not have the club be a whipping bitch, and feeding club for the likes of Spurs. Completely missing the point, as thick as leazes. The point is about going public about your intentions to spend money. You do know after publically declaring ourselves rich enough to sign rooney that everton turned down bids from us to hold out for more money? There has always been a separate rule for the big clubs of the day and the perceived also-rans [quoting transfer fees, and fees payed at the end of the day] regardless of public declarations etc. During Keegan's first stint [it's somewhere in his book] he made mention of a going rate for everybody else, and a going rate for Newcastle United hence the one cloak & dagger deal as mentioned in a previous post. Same rule applied to Leeds when Risdale was wheeling & dealing with almost exclusively bank/borrowed money. As for Rooney, yes Everton were hoping that Man United were going to jump into frey - who [as a feeder club] wouldn't hold out for a possible bidding war between two top-tier clubs. And going by Rooney's comments that 'he would have come here if it wasn't for Man Utd's intervention our 20m+ was far more palatable to Everton's board, compared to the inevitable & reduced offer heading their way next Summer when the said player's contract had trickled down to it's final year. A move for Rooney wasn't a belated non-runner as you would like to believe.

which also means its likely to be someone who is so shit nobody else wants him. aye, the OMG we can afford Rooney and Man Utd can't approach worked wonders didn't it What's wrong with punching appropriately in the transfer market, in accordance with the club's weight at the time? - in the wake of an average finishing position of 4th over the previous three seasons. We beat them to the punch, and outfought them once before [with a similar wheeling & dealing/negotiating team, minus Keegan & Fletcher] when signing Shearer. Nothing could be faulted in the move for Rooney - in the way of merit, ambition & timing. Rooney had just turned down a new contract offer, and the general consensus at the time was that Man Utd had budgeted for a move next Summer when Rooney's existing contract had run into it's final year. With the money acquired from the Woodgate sale [and the Rooney transfer was going to be partially financed, as was the case with Shearer] and extra finance we were in the position to have a genuine & concerted crack at the lad. If it wasn't for Man Utd restructuring their finances [to accomodate signing Rooney, a year ahead of schedule] we would've acquired a forward that any manager [including SBR's successor at the end of 04/05 season] could build their final 1/3 structure around for the next ten years, barring injury. It wasn't that often we were usurped in the transfer market by a rival club. Shepherd's record when acquiring in-demand players on the continent holds up as well - Robert [beat off Barca, i think the same applies with Ginola] and Viana [AC Milan among others]. Compare this with our mainly miss record when it comes to acquiring the managers' top/priority targets, going back to Keegan's initial transfer window in January after Ashley declared that he would be more hands-on in the running of the club. Our incompetance [in not landing targets, under the steward of your mates Ashley & Llambarse] in this department by far outweighs being beaten in a closely fought race with Man United, for a blue-chip player/talent. I'd rather not have the club be a whipping bitch, and feeding club for the likes of Spurs.

The Tiote & Ben Arfa signings failed to escape the monitoring eye of the press, they're good players. I'm sure the usual medis spies weren't clamouring around the Liverpool Reserves lookinf for a hint of a story where Guthrie was concerned, and there have been plenty have jizzed over themselves over the fact that it was done quitely & efficiently. Leaks to the press [where very good players, and potential stars, are concerned - even in the lower divisions] inevitably occur in most cases, and potential selling clubs are usually to blame. This was a virulent problem during Keegan's first stint when KK, Shepherd, Hall Jr & Fletcher were collectively wheeling & dealing. One signing [can't remember who it was] Keegan requested [through the player agent, when a transfer fee was already agreed apon] that our/the club's identity only be revealed when all 'i's' were effectively dotted on the line. This was the sort cloak & dagger stuff which the club/the former board resorted to, the above was probably an isolated & successful case. But the whole 'media exposure' thing was all too often unwarranted stick to bash Shepherd with when it came to incoming signings. As long as deals are completed [for good players] is what matters at the end of the day.

Can't be assed searching for the quote, but i did make reference to 'top 4 team refereeing' in the post-match discussion [Man City], so i'm not exactly taking them on the chin. But the point made is the all more relevant in our previous home defeat - against Stoke. We were a two goal better side in the first half, based on balance of play. Stoke's slow-down tactics [and refeering] shouldn't have been such a determing factor in the greater scheme of things/result on the day.

Can't be assed searching for the quote, but i did make reference to 'top 4 team refereeing' in the post-match discussion [Man City], so i'm not exactly taking them on the chin. But the point made is the all more relevant in our previous home defeat - namely against Stoke. We were a two goal better side in the first half, based on balance of play. Stoke's slow-down tactics [and refeering] shouldn't have been such a factor

He's done that a few times for Brighton but if you were to look at his overall game last week it wasn't up to scratch for league one, let alone the top flight. He looks like he suffers from big brothers tunnel vision. (btw I'd like him to succeed and be part of our first team but well time will tell.) He's a work-in-progress, as Lomana was at Colchester prior to us signing him, same applies to Delph at Leeds when the latter hit a purple patch in form 18 months ago before securing a move away. Raw potential is there, is certainly capable of turning a match with a moment of skill & instinct, he'd benefit more playing with better players & movement around him on a more consistent basis [at a higher level] as opposed to repeatedly farming him out in the lower divisions.

Whoever signed off on this loan deal without inserting a 'recall clause' should be shot. Shortsighted considering Arfa's injury, impending injuries and Routledge's hit & mainly miss form at a higher level of competition. Looking at it though from a balance sheet perspective [evening out the books] though i wouldn't be surprised there's a 'first buy option', should the lad continue on current form and continue to impress over the season remainder. He scored from a long distance effort last week.

Yep. It's a legitimate grievance. The refereeing we have endured this season has been shocking. Not saying that other sides have not also suffered injustices, but there's no reason why they shouldn;t bring them to the attention of the head of referees. What are they supposed to do, simply accept that the refereeing is sub-standard? Refereeing [substandard] wouldn't be casting such a shadow, and playing as big a determining factor if we were breaking down teams in the final third of the pitch - capitalising on the *passing & movement/build-up play in the engineroom, creating more clear-cut chances & grabbing them during periods of weighted possession in our favour. Lack of investment in the squad [namely upfront, for starters] over the summer is the main culprit for points lost, and 'sub-standard' refereeing will be used as a convenient scapegoat when bemoaning the team's plight/position on the table. *Hughton deserves credit for this. He has eventually stamped his gameplan/style on the team's overall pattern of play, a sizeable task in the wake of Kinnear's anti-football. This was probably the case from around the mid-point of last season. Credit where it's due, Hughton is at least a good coach.

It's a shame he still doesn't receive due credit [in some quarters]for signings that were wrapped up professionally and with bugger all fuss. The signing of Woodgate [a player of pedigree] before our rivals took wind-of and were able to jump in and spark a bidding war to name just one.

I suppose for some this is still the yardstick for which success in the transfer market [and efficiency] is judged by. 3rd rate signings.............. waayhaay

yeah we should get some more cloggers, because Andy "Break your Jaw" Carroll, Kevin "Break your leg" Nolan and Joey "Stub a fucking cigarette out in your eye" Barton, just aren't violent enough. fuck off sniffer, you bell end Raises a point though, discounting Souness' allround ability as a footballer. Using another example, it comes as no surprise that Arsenal's skillful youngsters are consistently targeted & beaten-up over 90 minutes since they lack a genuine midfield enforcer patrolling the engineroom and with it maintaining a semblance of order/authority - in the wake of them not replacing Viera. Roy Keane's presence - ie. the fear of a 'payback' challenge - had a similar effect for years, while Beckham etc were maturing.