Asprilla

Shola isn't great but his goal record over the last 18 months has been alright. He offers more at present imo. Nothing against Ranger and I agree about his going out on loan. It's ridiculous expecting the kid to cut the mustard in the PL at present. Alex, I've just noticed that you have over FIFTY THOUSAND POSTS!!!! Equates to somewhere in the region of thirty thousand words. Each one a jewel mind.

Makes it all worthwhile tbf.

Shola isn't great but his goal record over the last 18 months has been alright. He offers more at present imo. Nothing against Ranger and I agree about his going out on loan. It's ridiculous expecting the kid to cut the mustard in the PL at present. Alex, I've just noticed that you have over FIFTY THOUSAND POSTS!!!!

I can't blame him for this one, no matter who the manager was, Carroll was being sold. Why? I don't really like the man but the fact that Carroll is gone has absolutely nothing to do with him. Yes it did Pardew himself said he was involved in the meeting where they decided they had no option but to let Carroll go, He may as well have been there to bring the teas in for all the influence he would have had. This club is run by one man.

It was a great season up until the Hughton sacking....then Pardew turned out to be lucky. It's pretty much fucked now though IMO.

Not me mate.

...overall, as a percentage. The season in the Championship was the best for ages. Regardless of the division, it was great to look forward to every game thinking we'd win. Then the excitement of promotion and the real hope that good times were ahead. Hughton had us playing as a team again and Carroll set his stall out against Villa with a hat trick. It felt like we had a real chance with some cracking players who other teams would look at enviously. Last night was what it's really like to support us. Thanks Mike, I'm sure having £735m in the bank feels SO different to having £700m in the bank.

At £35m obviously Liverpool have taken the risk that he'll turn out to be Fran Jeffers but I think we'll regret it for a long time to come.

I thought it was accepted that he had been touted round as available. I know SpivHarry said it and I'm sure I've seen it elsewhere You dont get £35m for a player being touted round for sale. As i have said before, i only say things as i see them but the likelihood of that being true is 0% in my opinion. My understanding of this back in December was that the club had made it clear to other clubs they would only listen to offers over £20m, any less and they werent interested so dont bother knocking. This was the basis of my posts previous and why I said it was a done deal re the discussions at the Spuds game. Thats not touting for sale its merely making your position clear, people are wasting their time trying to bid less but talk our kind of numbers and you may get a deal. And that 'position' being clarified would have been a 'response' to hostile bids for the player. Not the other way round, otherwise no offer would ever get to £20m, they'd all be under that. I disagree, the world doesnt operate on this strict cycle that you're making out. Chairmen talk, owners know each other etc etc there will be conversations over a brandy, chats on the phone about unrelated issues. If I remember correctly thats how Cole ended up at Man U, Ferguson was talking to KK about another player and cheekily said something along the lines of "how much for Andy" where he was told a price that KK felt was too good to turn down. Next thing you know hes gone. Even if it is as a result of a "hostile bid" that doesnt mean the price drops, club A bids £10m and is told you wont listen to offers of under £20m (which I believe happened earlier last month with Spurs didnt it?) that in itself alerts other clubs but you're not touting him. I love my Vectra its only worth a grand but its the car Ive had for years and Im attached to it. You offer me £500 and I'll tell you to shove it, if you bug me to buy and ask what would it take to sell then I'll say £1300. If you then offer me £1500 I'll snap your hand off. Thats not the same as placing an ad in the Autotrader for £1k ono. Will you take £800?

No-one (including Shearer) would have thought we weren't going to win anything though.

Well he's not anywhere near the top 10 world class players where his fee places him. In every interview I've ever heard with a coach who's had anything to do with the club when Carroll's been around the answer to that question has always been "he can be as good as Andy Carroll wants to be". Depends if he gets his head straight, which based upon what I know of him, is highly unlikely as he's a died in the wool piece of sh!t and he's now getting paid at a level where no matter how much better he may "want to be" he's not getting another significant rise any time soon. He's made it already. So I question any remaining motivation. Interesting to see how it plays out, but history (already been to court, assaulted a team-mate other allegations to the police not followed through) doesn't bode well IMO. Or he could have done a Barton...

Excellent article. Fuck it's depressing.

We'll know for sure every time we see him score in a Liverpool shirt.

He’s put a structure in place for running the club on the cheap so he can claw back the money he’s loaned it to hide the real cost of his many mistakes. It amazes me that after all that’s gone on over the last three years anyone can’t see what pigs ear he’s made of everything. Oh he's made a pigs lug of it alright, but it was a pigs ball sack when he bought it. crap It's the truth, as it was the club was unsustainable, FFS would have had us in Administration by now. Don't bother replying because I aint getting into this with you again. Good luck with that...!

or you sell him, but you make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to get in a suitable replacement or two. exactly, it's not Carroll's fault our owners are greedy spackers. His shit eating grin doesn't suggest he's too bothered though.... Serious question - what are you expecting? That he sits and cries all the way through the interview? Not at all but unless he's an excellent actor then he doesn't look as bothered as his text story bollocks would suggest. I'd settle for wide eyed nervousness but shit eating grin is too far...! Especially the interview. Basically saying Newcastle were a stepping stone to where he is now. However true that is, those aren't the words of someone who's gutted to be leaving his home town club.

or you sell him, but you make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to get in a suitable replacement or two. exactly, it's not Carroll's fault our owners are greedy spackers. His shit eating grin doesn't suggest he's too bothered though....

Well they supposedly rejected the £35m bid the first time it came in. Until...WHAT?! He's handed a transfer request in?! Oh I don't believe this, we'll have to sell him now, Mike. Shall we reluctantly accept it?

Bollocks. I first watched this team in the 60's (late 60's mind, and I still don't agree with Leazes) I've seen it all before. I just don't get blinded by emotion anymore. If you've seen it all before why are you saying wait and see until the summer, i.e. it might be reinvested etc.? Surely this is us going back to being a selling club. You can't have it both ways tbh. I'll assume the bit in bold was the only thing you disagreed with as well. It's £35 MILLION QUID man for Andy bloody Carroll, more than David Villa FFS There's not a club on the planet that isn't a selling club if the price is right (or even ludicrously right). If he'd taken £10 million for him, then I'd have my pitchfork and torch out too. But £35 million, geez !!! As I said somewhere else though, all it does is pay off the debt from relegation. What ambition!

Yep. I think that's why I'm gutted. I'm probably being unfair on Carroll but so fuck? The whole thing just sums up why the game is shite now and why me interest has been waning for so long. It's also a kick in the stotts after allowing myself to get a bit excited about the team again over the last season and a half after what happened prior to that. I really have no business taking it personally but I do. Every time.

Yep.

But it only wipes out the debt caused by (Ashley's) relegation. We're no better off financially and we're one amazing, free, young, local, England capped striker down....

There's not a chance in hell those texts are real. Correct use of apostrophes for one thing. iPhone puts them in for you *burns application to Sleuth School*

There's not a chance in hell those texts are real. Correct use of apostrophes for one thing.

Why say anything then ? Cause he's an attention seeking ballbag?