[Dwain Chambers]

Anything/one that stops Darren Campbell getting anywhere near a podium is more than welcome in my book.

Shame some of the other lads lost their medals because of it although Dervonish deserved to loose his medal simply for the horrific bbc program I saw him on where he messed about pretending to be building his house. Campbell's retired now too so you wont have to worry about it any time in the future either.

Can't be many world records out there that aren't drugs assisted.

I definately think they are pushing the boundaries now like, I hope Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell aren't found to be on any drugs or that will show your assumption would be true in the 100m at least.

[Steven Taylor]

He's a decent centre back and he probably wont improve loads unless he gets a good centre back alongside him he does have tenancies to do some pretty bizarre stuff but generally is quite dependable. Out of him and Richards it is without doubt Richards that is the better player, he's quicker, stronger, more composed, better tackler, better athlete just all round a better player.

[Dwain Chambers]

Served his ban end of imo he should be able to race again, another factor they seem to overlook is he is our best sprinter.

He took the drugs because he wanted to catch up to Mo Greene and his coach was advising him to take them saying they were untraceable. The man took a risk got caught served the ban they gave him kept fit and returned good on him.

Americans seem to give out longer bans than us as Justin Gatlin got an 8 year ban so that's him finished and I think Tim Montgomery got a similar one, I think it should be the same lengthy ban for our drug cheats.

I say let him run at the Olympics too if he can qualify.

Edit: About Ohuruogu she missed 3 tests total over a certain length of time, she actually had tests in between the ones she missed and she passed all of them tests so she was clean.

Also Darren Campbell still hates Chambers for costing him that gold medal so I'm pretty sure the rest of that sprint team will be pissed off with him still, well at least he could be mates with Pickering .

[relegation]

I got:

 

I don't think this will be too far off how it actually finishes. Granted our form is just as bad as those below and around us but we do have quite a large lead on those teams already.

[KK - Like the advert?]

Trouble is, that's exactly what every other club outside the top four thinks. To change anything we're going to have to catch up on the last four or five seasons worth of treading water. I can't see it happening unless Ashley spends over the odds to get some top players here. Chelsea paid obscene amounts for players for a couple of years but now they're only having to add the odd player and have reverted to paying sensible money again IMO.

I agree, I hope Ashley does back Keegan with cash (because it will have to be a lot) to get in players like Bentley we need a large splurge of cash like what City did at the start of the season. Actually adding to my point before we need a midfield who can hold onto the ball because at the minute the pressure is rarely off the defence, watching the Manchester derby before I noticed that although City were under pressure for long periods of the 2nd half they managed to take time on the attack and were always able to avoid losing the ball by passing, we rarely do this whenever we attack it always looks rushed especially when the ball falls to our central midfield players they can't seem to get rid quick enough.

[KK - Like the advert?]

I'm just as happy as I was when Keegan first arrived I knew it would be a struggle all you had to do was look at the fixtures, we had 2 (arguably 3) of our better players away in Africa and there wasn't long left before the transfer window shut. As long as we stay up this season I'm not worried because I'm still hoping that Ashley is going to keep his word and start showing more ambition and backing Keegan in the transfer market. I don't think our problems are as massive as the papers try to make out, Given has zero confidence at the minute and the centre back pairing is always either chopping and changing or simply not working, the right back is solid and I think Enrique can be a good player for us if we would ever play him. Our wingers are good but given the chance I'd like to see Bentley here, we're also good up front they just don't get the service we could maybe do with a tall striker like a (as much as it makes me sick to say it) Kenewyn Jones or someone in that mould. In my opinion our main problem is the central midfield we have no creativity there whatsoever just a bunch of 'destroyers' who can't even do that, this area definitely needs strengthening, other than that it's a case of confidence being shot to pieces and a terrible league position which the blame falls at the feet of (as much as he thinks it doesn't) Allardyce, we had so many easy points squandered under him.

Obviously having a new centre back, new central midfield, new tall powerful striker and David Bentley all here and the team full of confidence is a very tough task but hopefully we can get somewhere near it for next season and we may do alright with that and finish in the top half possibly challenging for a UEFA cup spot.

[It just doesn't get any funnier than this]

And Allardyce went on to claim that suggestions he was not up to the task of rebuilding a club famously starved of silverware in recent times were wide of the mark.

I've got no idea who Allardyce thinks he is he must think he's up there with Wenger and Fergie, even if he was at Man U he wouldn't do well because he'd be doing the same shite he did here like playing ronaldo left back and things like that. The man is delusional he thought the fans adored him at the time of his sacking .

[Roy Collins: add another one to the list]

I really don't get these peoples problem all we do is support our team yet we get abuse for it. The fans were chanting "walking in a Keegan wonderland" when we were winning and they get abused by him yet the Villa fans boo their team off at half time and he jizzes over how they then cheered their team when they were winning and then bleats on about how they sung theres only one Kevin Keegan . Yes we aren't playing well but neither are some other teams and I haven't seen any other team getting this needless stick, it's about time they packed it all in talk about flogging a dead horse everyone knows we're shite even us the fans know we are yet these tossers still feel the need to keep on telling us we are in 'witty' and 'humorous' ways .

edit/ It's also great how they make these stereotypes of us and then rip them to bits we cant win can we

Bunch of Racists

[if only he scored as easy on the pitch!]

Their last song had Micah Richards and Anton Ferdinand in the video

[relegation]

It looks like it will come down to us, Reading and Brum for the last slot. And we have to play B'ham away and Reading at home.

You reckon Wigan will do alright like? they have Arsenal, Chelsea, Man city, Man U and Pompey all still to play. I still think it will be Derby, Fulham and Wigan going down.

[King Kev The Great, New Compilation....]

Shit,Couldn't find one

 

Some fan you are taking enjoyment out of our doing badly

I'm not even a fan any more,The clubs to much of a joke to even bother wanting to go see them play."King" Kev's return was the last straw for me.

If things eventually turn round and the Toon start doing well don't bother crawling back saying your a fan.

I still don't see how any of this is Keegans fault Allardyce landed us in this mess.

[Aston Villa v Newcastle United]

That's it then.

3-1

[Top clubs consider overseas games]

Why don't Man utd, Liverpool and co just pair up with some clubs in Japan or wherever and change the name of the Japanese clubs to Manchester Tokyo United or some shit and let them have the same crest and then play them in friendlies often and send younger players on loan there etc, I'm sure they would still all go crazy over there for it.

What I thought was pathetic was seeing a group of Indians, Japanese, Chinese and others from that region all dancing round in 2000-01 season Man U tops with crappy flags banging on about how their the champions Yes there is money to be had but it makes no odds whatsoever if it's a competitive Premiership match or a friendly between Premiership teams they will turn up for it either way, tbh I'm not sure how much they even know or care about football they just support the winners and obsess over who they think the media tells them too i.e Beckham and C.Ronaldo an example of this is when Real Madrid went to Japan (I think it was Japan) but Beckham was injured the Real Madrid players Zidane, Carlos, Figo et al were booed they just wanted to see David Beckham.

[Keep widening that door]

This ones canny pathetic like http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3325439.ece

I'm not quite sure why the Muslim council is shocked by this decision the guy supports terrorists ffs

And it also seems an odd way of them defending themselves by saying he didn't get his visa because of a "zionist lobby"

[Keep widening that door]

I agree with you both I don't see how it's a thing we can possibly compromise over the law is the law, honor killings and all these other things are just plain wrong and should never ever be accepted, woman are treat like 2nd class citizens (probably worse than that) in Sharia law and to be honest it sounds rather boring to be a bloke under that law as well.

The daftest part about it is that countries in the middle east are alot harsher than us beheading terrorists etc. So I can see why they think we are such soft touches over here and why they think they can bring in their laws because ours don't sit comfortably with them. What is most annoying is if you say anything along these lines you get branded racist I have never had a problem with anyone that lives here peacefully but all this changing the laws to suit them rubbish I'm not having that.

I do agree that people in this country are often indifferent and sheeplike but I doubt they'd let something like this go ahead and I'd hope our government will never sanction it.

[Keep widening that door]

'Sharia' i.e. law's based on the Koran / Muslim doctrines rather than 'shia' btw. I'd have concerns about this being the 'thin end of the wedge' were it to happen. It's the Archbishop of Canterbury though. Difficult to think of a less influencial windbag.

Ahh right but not all Muslims actually like it at all do they. To be honest he's just probably trying to drum up a bit of religious hatred/make more people Christian rather than Atheist.

[Keep widening that door]

The whole topic seems pointless to me because it isn't going to happen Muslims are in the minority and they are a really small minority and of course Shia Muslims will be an even smaller minority.

Dr Rowan Williams told Radio 4's World at One that the UK has to "face up to the fact" that some of its citizens do not relate to the British legal system.

He says Muslims should not have to choose between "the stark alternatives of cultural loyalty or state loyalty".

As for these bits that's just tough luck on them if they want to live here they have to abide by the laws of the country, same as I would if I wanted to live in another country.

[Top clubs consider overseas games]

This is a disgrace, when the Americans held that NFL game in London I started wondering how long it would be until one of these greedy scumbags did the same with football. They are just pandering to glory hunters over seas it's pathetic I don't know how much longer I will stay interested and keep going to games if this is the kind of shite they are going to start pulling.

Actually just remembered Man U went to Dubai or somewhere a month or so ago to play a friendly game simply because they were offered alot of cash to do so, if they are already moaning about fixtures when playing champions league games flying to Dubai in the middle of the week to play a game then flying back to England to play a premiership game 3 days later can't do them any good, I'd have been pissed off if I was a Man U fan like.

edit/ Just thought if this does mean games are added onto the regular season it would be even worse, imagine your team being relegated when their in singapore you'll have no chance to "cheer them on" since that seems to matter so much to them, or if they are challenging for Europe. The ends of seasons would become boring affairs it would be like watching foreign footy and you'd probably have to stay up late at night/early in the morning to watch them fucking joke.

[Film/moving picture show you most recently watched]

Just saw Cloverfield last night, I thought it was really good wasn't sure what it was going to be like with the hand held cam and all but it was a quality touch, the guy holding the camera was funny now and again as well.

Just read about there being something at the end of the credits but I missed that.

They reckon they might be making a sequel too but have this idea of another group of peoples tape of the same night, guess that could work.

[Matt Damon spoof video on youtube]

I'd heard about him doing some sort of spoof video over in the states for some interviewer who had some long running fake feud with him and when I googled it this came up:

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/stor...ml?from=mostpop

It's great to see he went along with it for as long as he did even getting in on it at the end

[Limit foreign footballers say MPs]

the wage cap idea is stupid, all that will mean is that the league will gradually get worse as players don't come here as opposed to spain and italy, then we'll be less of a force in european football and our national team won't neccesarily get better

Well the Italian and Spanish leagues are doing just fine paying out lower wages than we are you said so yourself.

 

when exactly did i say that? i said they're doing fine allowing foreign players in their leagues

Thats what I was meaning you had said the "paying out lower wages" was my point sorry reading it back I hadn't written it right.

My overall point was that you had said the Italian and Spaniards were doing fine and I was pointing that they do this despite having much less money than our clubs, so they are fielding many of their homegrown players and at the same time competing Continentally and Internationally so having less money in which to entice foreign players is doing their national teams a lot of good.

[Limit foreign footballers say MPs]

Thanks for explaining, it's certainly a different way of doing things but I guess it's working, I've always thought the draft system was a good idea with the poorest teams getting to pick first unless they trade with a higher up team helps even things out. The draft system wouldn't work over in Europe now though it would be too difficult and too hard to change to it.

[Limit foreign footballers say MPs]

You cannot be too specific, but the methods of limiting foreign players in the squad or what not shouldn't be too difficult to manage, surely?

 

The dramatic improvement in the US player pool is directly related to avoiding the NASL "bring in the big foreign stars" model and limiting the foreign players on each team to (I think it's) six. It encourages teams to look for good domestic talent. Does it hurt the quality of the league? Definitely. A league where journeymen players are guys like Ronnie Eckelund and Tim Curtin is not going to be as good as one with Zat Knight and Matthew Etherington.

 

But in the long run, developing the domestic game is what's important. An MLS team from 1996 (the first season) would've had trouble competing with the likes of Preston and Colchester. Todays squads are limited by the size (18 active players at a time, IIRC) and a dilution given the league's recent expansion, but is MUCH more competative. Hell second division teams in the US regularly trounce Sunderland.

What is the league below the MLS? I've heard about the US having a 'developmental league' or something where only American youth players play in it what's that about if it's true?

[Limit foreign footballers say MPs]

Hleb's not better than young?

No

 

the wage cap idea is stupid, all that will mean is that the league will gradually get worse as players don't come here as opposed to spain and italy, then we'll be less of a force in european football and our national team won't neccesarily get better

Well the Italian and Spanish leagues are doing just fine paying out lower wages than we are you said so yourself.

[Limit foreign footballers say MPs]

Arsenal spend big though fair enough they do get quite a few players who turn brilliant on the cheap like Fabregas, but then they go out and pay over the odds for players as well like Jose Antonio Reyes who cost in excess of £20million Hleb and Rosicky were expensive, Eduardo cost £15m ish, then when they do get a good young English player they rarely play such as Bentley and Walcott (to a certain extent).

Teams like Aston Villa have a lot of good English players that they have either brought through their system (Agbonlahor etc) or bought (Young etc), players such as Hleb cost just as much as Young and being honest they aren't better are they?

Perhaps putting a wage cap would help as Foreigners may decide to play on the continent allowing them to earn more, meaning more places for English/British youngsters and if they too decide to play abroad then that is also good for our national team.

As for saying the other 2 big leagues do fine, I'd agree but look at their players discounting AC and Inter Milan Italian players are the majority, the same goes with the Spanish league, except that Real Madrid and Barcelona also field many Spaniards, la liga is also mostly Spaniards.

The reason the premiership attracts more foreign players than the other 2 big leagues is it is a far richer league and wages are much higher our mid-table clubs pay out as much as the top 2 Spanish and Italian clubs in wages.