PaddockLad

2 fixtures apart from our own will go a long way to deciding decide where we actually finish: Barca v Chelsea on Tuesday....if Chelsea are dumped out they will strangely have a lot more to play for against us by the time we roll into town on the 2nd May..although they do have the small matter of the FA cup final 3 days later as well...gotta love fixture congestion Man Utd v Man Cty a week Monday...if Man City get beat youd have to wonder how motivated theyll be when they come to SJP. If things go our way in these fixtures we may not need to beat Chelsea, which is the one am really not that confident about out of the 4 remaining. I think anyone saying "we've got a game in hand on Arsenal" is forgetting its against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, where our record is appalling. And it has to be said that Spurs were in a similar situation to this 2 seasons ago when they won their last 3 games to get 4th place...including going to Man City and beating them in the last game to do so. But we're the form team at just the right point of the season... and it does appear more and more that Spurs have shot their bolt. Cant see them getting more points than us from their remaining games. If we beat Wigan and they drop points at home to an obviously motivated Blackburn next weekend then that could be it for them. Basically fuck knows where we'll finish, but its going to be a brilliant end to the season. We're in unchartered territory with a new side, we're not sure how they'll handle proper pressure games. But the signs are good, very good if yesterday is anything to go by.

Your vocalist sounds like hes ripping off some classic new wave band from about 30 years ago but as I'm in an advanced state of alcoholic refreshment am fucked if I can put my finger on who it is....its good, but will listen again tomorrow when am sober...I hear Wire and Television i there, but that could change...

What sort of stuff is it mate?....available on exclusive free download to TT members?

fyp

rip, great band

Getting rid of Guthrie and Simpson means you'll basically be asking Perch (common opinion on here: "hes shite") to cover the entire back 4 and a midfield posistion. Fair enough we've got Ryan Taylor too, but apart from the untried and the useless (Vukic, Abeid & anybody you mention who hasnt played in the first team, Gosling in the other category) who else is there? Both Simpson and Guthrie have been offered new contracts as well. One ever present and one whos played 19 games despite injuries. Both good enough to have contributed to a squad on the verge of champions league qualification too. Loan out the junior pros on the verge of the squad, get rid of the deadwood, and replace the likes of Tiote, Krul and Ba if/when they leave. Also looks like Pieters and Douglas are nailed on iyam. But getting rid of Guthrie and Simpson isnt on iyam.

Wigan away on Boxing Day got Allardyce the sack. I wasnt going back either at that point. Had tickets for Stoke in the cup and the manu game at OT later in January but I was going to knock it on the head after that.I honestly couldnt face any more of it, and this was after seeing 2 relegations in the previous couple of decades and not losing heart. At Wigan we were singing "we're shit and we're sick of it" whilst Ashley was stood in amongst us. Mort sacked him after Stoke, where Allardyce had received a lot of support from us.

Bracewell and Sellars.....if they played well, the whole team seemed to......

Top 4 is what we need, anything other than that is likely to be not worth it financially. Fuckin sad state of affairs, but there you go. Thats UEFA for you. Fulham made £12 million from their UEFA cup run the other year so it's definitely worth it. A similar run should generate us more than that if the fans get behind it and go to the games. Done a bit of digging, and you're spot on Nevertheless, the Europa League does provide much needed revenue for many clubs at a time when clubs’ finances are being scrutinised more than ever before. In 2009/10 Fulham’s run to the Europa League final, where they ultimately lost in extra time to Atlético de Madrid, generated £12.5m, 16% of the club’s revenue for that season. From this very good article on the subject: http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_GB/uk/industries/sportsbusinessgroup/sports/football/deloitte-football-money-league/3dd395aa0c415310VgnVCM1000001a56f00aRCRD.htm

From Baggio's post no. 692, about the differences between the champions league and the europa league: Top 4 is what we need, anything other than that is likely to be not worth it financially. Fuckin sad state of affairs, but there you go. Thats UEFA for you.

He's looked good in highlights and was Swansea's best player on Good Friday but I still wasn't that impressed with him on the day......if this is true does it mean Guthrie's off to Villa? In view of his dead ball ability I assume that would be good business on paper.

"story" I've met him once or twice and know a lot of lads who were coached by him in the early 90s....hard but fair they reckon. I doubt you'd get to the level he's got to (remember he's got to motivate millionaires week in, week out) purely by shouting at them a lot. It doesn't happen like that nowadays. I ran into James Beattie a lot when he was at Southampton, he drank in Bournemouth where Strachan didn't have any spies in the bars. A complete and utter pisshead as it goes, and proud of it. If we're to beleive what was in the paper about him and Pulis, then seeing as Beattie was complaining about having to change tithe arrangements for the Stoke Christmas do, then I'm not surprised Pulis nutted the spoilt prick.

Pulis is a bully and a thug? Care to back that up? were you at school with him or something?

Ozil scores a cracking goal after Ronny misses a one on one with Casilas....the way they recycled the ball to set up a tap in was class.

Since when did Swansea play like Barca? I sort of agree, if Stoke are so shit at football why are they holding their own in the top division?.....its shit to watch, but there you go. Their decades in the lower divisions makes their fans lap up any old shite. If the refs (big if that like) can curb their worst excesses then I dont have a problem with them.

True, but Parker has got 2 winners medals as well. A far better player than Neville iyam, who was no slouch either. I was going to say Wazza Barton but couldnt bring myself to, even as a joke.

That's what I thought. It's got to be Gary Neville at right back, surely? I'll see your Gary Neville and I'll raise you Paul Parker

For folk who claim to hate arguing with Leazes a lot of you spend a lot of time doing it...this leads me to dedeuce that actually YOU FUCKIN LOVE IT!

best trip last time the champions league came round for me was Bayer Leverkusen, what a fuckin piss up....Frankfurt last time in the UEFA was pretty damn good too. The majority of the locals were spot on, especially in Leverkusen/Cologne. I'd definetly be up for more Teutonic action whats the dream EL group?...the worst group I've ever seen was Stoke's last season.....Israel, Ukraine and Turkey. All a minimum of a 4 hour hour flight away. They struck lucky with Valencia after they got through all that. Got to be pleased to come out of the hat with any club from Holland,France,Germany,Belgium etc...went to Riga when we played Ventspils, that was canny too....been to Italy 4 or 5 times, all good experiances but thay don't have any real pubs/bars, even in the city centres. I would imagine getting club from a "strong" European league is likely as I dont think our co efficient is good enough for us to be seeded.

Its what the sponsors want....millions of fans in each company watching Europes premier competition on tv. An almost full scale european league by the back door which will probably take precedent over a lot of the smaller countries' domestic leagues. Cunts.

He doesn't want to move until he's done his 5 years in Holland so he can play for the national team. which will tick over in august Fair enough, didnt know that. The point still stands though, invest in a centre back in January and we wouldve given ourselves an even better chance of getting into the champions league. Give Pardew the tools to do the job. And as I said, you may well have got the money back with interest if we got through the qualifier. The standard has gone down a bit in the champions league iyam, that Marseille side were ordinary this season and they got to the quarter finals. What does that stage bring in in finance?....

It was sold as "we're just doing it temporarily so potential sponsors can envisage how it would look and sound".....now am a sparky to trade, what I know about marketing can be written on a grain of sand. But even I dont need an example of how it will look and sound, I have just about enough grey matter to work it out for myself. He's pulling our collective pissers about this. But thats ok because of our strong finish to the season and very likely european qualification? not in my book its not. Llambias said he wants to maximise revenue streams, except where his boss's company is concerend. If Sports Direct were paying the going rate then it would piss me off but I'd just about accept it. This is just lies on top of lies.

People were also predicting Sports Direct would be plastered across our shirts without getting paid for it too when Northern Rock cancelled the deal, however as we've seen money talks and now Virgin have the deal instead. If a good offer comes in they will take it, I'm pretty sure of that. Looks like Virgin have taken over as shirt sponsors from Northern Rock, just as they have bought out the NR name from the government and rebranded it as Virgin Money. Northern Rock weren't stadium sponsors so how much has actually changed apart from a much redeuced fee payable by Virgin for the priveligde? We'll see what the summer brings, but we'll be called the Sports Direct Arena next season iyam, and thats just the way Mike likes it. I know I sound churlish after the season we've had and I dont actually lie awake at night thinking about shit like this but it is important. No other major club which hasnt moved lock, stock and barrel to another stadium has done this. Its funny, I was a t my mate's 40th on Saturday night and his old man was there who was stadium manager at St Mary's whilst Pardew was manager at Southampton. He says he quite liked the bloke, but he was fuckin hard to work for. The word he used was perfectionist, which I really like the sound of. I know everything cant be perfect in life in general, it doesnt work like that. But these fuckers lie as easily as breathing and thats just not good enough.

He's charging no interest on the loans man. I know the free advertising sticks in the throat, but it probably evens out. Yeah fair one, but what happens when he comes to sell the club?....I know that would be an issue for any owner that has gone down the road he has, but the club isnt worth the money Ashley has put into it.There is a residual debt hanging around the club which he doesnt need to service the interest on so it suits him down to the ground. Llambias has said its about maximising any revenue stream possible, and theyre just not doing it. Were Virgin offered shirt and ground like he claimed a sponsor would be? Impossible to know but theyre lying through their fuckin teeth on this....again...

No amnesty until Sports Direct pay something for the advertising at the ground. He's still a cunt.