Matt

Once again, Roeder is loathe to suggest that he'd be prepared to let specific players go, despite making it pretty clear that there would be departures during his press conference. Given the wages situation, it's likely that any half-decent offer for either player would be snapped up. What we've not done is as in the past, made it brutally obvious we want rid of a player and then be forced to accept peanuts for him. First the comments about Chopra, now Butt and Faye. I reckon that we could see mentions of Luque having a future before long, but as with the others, he's be away at the first sight of the asking price.

What I like most about this is the way Eamonn Holmes hides behind the woman. Tough guy.

A tidy profit for the evening. At least it made up for paying £12 to get into Digital- NEVER AGAIN!

Owen is undoubtedly a talented player and signing great players is fantastic for the club. The day we signed Owen (and Nobby, while getting got of Jenas) was superb. However my concern with this is that people see players as an end and not simply a means to winning matches- which is what a club is all about. Unfortunately there is an element amongst our support who see spending money as success, and base their opinions on club performance based on the summer's outlay. Many of them own season tickets. I see the 'splash the cash' crew are out in force again this year on certain other forums, with utter disregard of our poor cash position at the moment. I just wonder if Luque was on the market for £2m, would we have been so interested?

LM, I dislike Souness almost as much as you, but I honestly can't see Luque being one of his signings. A lightweight, winger/forward was the opposite of the sort of 'working wide player' he banged on about. I may well be wrong, but I see Luque as a complete panic buy, he looked decent when we scouted Depor in the Intertoto and we went for him because we could. Luque was our summer 'glamour signing' and had Owen joined a week sooner, Uncle Albert would still be sunning himself in La Coruna. If we're to blame people for this farce, it's those who have generated the 'trophy player' culture. Luque's not the first and won't be the last player to be signed just so that we're seen to be spending money.

So does Sandyford. 138036[/snapback] Got one in the back garden! Not sure how it survives the snow, mind.

There's nothing to say there wont be other bids later in the summer. I think anything over £6m would probably do it, but we have to be braced for at best a £3m hit on the deal. Far better we get in the cash than worry about profit and loss on disposal. I recall Atletico Madrid being interested and they will have a few quid when they eventually flog Torres this summer.

Absolutely.

True, but then Ameobi shouldn't have been handed so much time. We can't really afford to give everyone every chance they may deserve as we're more than a proving ground. When transfer windows come around we have to make decisions based on what we've seen- we might not have tested something as rigourously as possible, but we have to go with what we have. In Chopra's case, you can only say that he's well short of Premiership level.

These comments can only be judged when we see what happens to Chopra. He's hardly going to say he wants rid when we can get compensation. The club will be hopeful of getting a decent fee, unless a Premiership team gets interested it probably won't be a great deal (£500k at best). Better than a kick in the bollocks though!

Well there goes my £2 on Belgium. A Scandal. Lordi carry the hopes of my other £2.

We paid around £3.5m up front IIRC. I'd be surprised if any clauses were activated in his one season, however they could well be a sell-on clause in there.

It's so much what he said but the words used. Do you not think it unfair to suggest Roeder is as good as a man off the street (despite the fact that he is UEFA 'A' qualified) and to then allude to Roeder's desire for the job being purely financial?

IIRC the racist slur against the bouncer was 'gypsy'.

Sounds like a hissy fit to be. No-one's arguing that Bellamy is better than Van Nistelrooy or that he's a better goalscorer. Stop changing the argument.

I'm not saying he is- what I'm disagreeing with is the statement that we haven't missed his contribution to the side because we have. I won't deny he's a mouthy troublemaker and maybe some felt this outweighted his efforts on the pitch, but even then I find it hard to fathom that we haven't missed him. Owen is a different sort of player all together. Far better finisher, but won't chase down nothing balls like a rabid dog. It's the combination of pace and workrate that's been lacking. The point that we HAVE missed Bellamy should give the manager an indication of the sort of striker we should be looking for in the summer- and not just a big Shearer replacement.

SE corner, towards the East Stand, back row.

Suazo's record this season- 31 Toni L. (31 Fiorentina, 2 rig.) 23 Trezeguet D. (23 Juventus) 22 Suazo D. (22 Cagliari, 5 rig.) 19 Lucarelli C. (19 Livorno, 4 rig.) , Shevchenko A. (19 Milan, 5 rig.) , Tavano F. (19 Empoli, 4 rig.) 17 Gilardino A. (17 Milan, 1 rig.) 16 Rocchi T. (16 Lazio)

Now given that a Bellamy return is the most remote of possibilities, who are the strikers with those attributes who would be available in the summer?

There are two attacking elements for which there is no substitute- pace and natural width. This season we've lacked pace up front with Shearer at 35 and Ameobi looking like he's around the same age. When Roeder brought back Zog and Nobby it gave our team a shape again- but we still lacked that bit of zip- which is why we've relied so heavily on young Charlie. Bellamy had his faults but he had more of an impact on the side than any other player. The past is the past but we desperately need to sort of striker who can work the channels, chase clearances and should the opposition dare to play a high line, sit on the shoulder of the last defender and look for the ball in behind. If you don't think we've missed that, I'm at a loss.

All inclusive usually means all your meals and entertainment is thrown in, and will be in the same hotel. So if sitting in the same place every night is your thing, then go for it. If you plan to leave the confines of the hotel, it might not be worthwhile. I've been in hotels where some people are on all-inclusive and it stikes me as hellish. Holiday-club sorta people. All they want is alcohol and Euro-Butlins entertainment.

Aye, sounds good. Not sure how the logistics of playing footy, going to the match and having a meal will work out, though but that can be sorted nearer the time I guess.

Depends where you're going, it's not Greggs is it?

The sale of Robert was irrelevant as he was coming to the end of his contract and unlikely to be offered a new one.

That's what the French do though, isn't it? Toys well and truly out of the pram because they feel they've been wronged. Hugely unfair on Zog, he deserves a chance and for politics to stand in his way is pathetic.