PaddockLad

We're all agreed then that shouldve been "something" Shep financed his men to the hilt, but they were mostly the wrong appointments. Chucking money like that at the wrong men has put us in divi 2 as far as I can see. Ashley is unutterably fuckin useless, but he didnt do due diligence where two or three other people did and walked away. There was always going to be a financial reckoning for Sheps years at NUFC, its just that Ashley was so impatient he didnt see it coming. Dalglish and Gullit were top candidates at the time mate, Dalglish had won as much as if not more than Alex Ferguson and Gullit had won the FA Cup and left a team in the 2nd phase of the Champions League and top 4 of the premiership Well thats fair enough, but strangely thats what Shepherd said in his own defence: "no one complained when I appointed them" In other words, its all down to us, the fans, to rubber stamp his appointments?...is that what he was suggesting? I think he should've taken responsibility for his poor appointments himself. But as usual, and along with everyone else in the known fuckin universe, it appears he blames us.

We're all agreed then that shouldve been "something" Shep financed his men to the hilt, but they were mostly the wrong appointments. Chucking money like that at the wrong men has put us in divi 2 as far as I can see. Ashley is unutterably fuckin useless, but he didnt do due diligence where two or three other people did and walked away. There was always going to be a financial reckoning for Sheps years at NUFC, its just that Ashley was so impatient he didnt see it coming.

Rose tinted specs. No-one was complaining about anything in '96 or '97 when we were qualifying for the champions league and hadn't dropped out of the top 6 since promotion. But in Shepherd's ten years in charge we averaged tenth place with one of the highest wage bills in the league that was constantly growing. There was only 2 top 4 finishes in that decade and 6 bottom half finishes. Aye, all that debt wasn't much in return for a couple of FA cup final twattings and half a dozen games in the champions league. Good times undoubtedly compared with now, but for the outlay it should've been so much better. Sir Bob fell into Sheps lap and we should be greatful for that, but when you look at Sheps other appointments he's as bad as any other proprieter the clubs had. What would a Wenger or an O'Neil have acheived with the loot Shep gave to Souness in 2005?.... failure to give credit where it is due for getting Bobby Robson..........I've seen this before though If you check the record books, we had the 5th highest average league placing, only 4 teams qualified for europe more and instead of blaming the board/chairman for losing 2 FA Cup Finals why not blame the players for poor performance and the managers for tactics, team selection and preparation. It is bollocks to lay the blame for those things at the foot of the board when they financed and backed their managers to put together teams good enough to win trophies because after that it then becomes the responsibility of the manager and players. Sorry like, but you are just another person who's dislike of a personality is clouding your whole judgement and common sense. To be fair to Shep, he did go for Robson after KK left. But Sir Bob, gent that he was, wouldnt break his contract with Barca. Thing is Sir Bob was out of work and looking at retirement when he got the call second time round. It wasnt going to be that difficult to talk an NUFC fanatic to take charge of his boyhood club. He fell into Sheps lap. No real skill or vision needed for that one to be honest. Who appointed the manager who couldnt get Didi Hamman to face coming out for the second half v Man Utd at Wembley in 99? who appointed the manager who thought it would be a good idea to get into a power struggle with Alan Shearer, the man who truly was in power at the club...and who let Shearer become so powerful within the club in the first place? And thats just Gullit. I'm not denying theres nothing in what you say. But to say Shepherd=good/everyone else=bad misses the point that it could and shouldve been so much better for the money he borrowed to finance his ambitions. In that regard he failed.And that debt is the major cause of where we are now. Was it all worth it? Looking at it as a "financial outlay for success on the pitch" equation then no, not in my book anyway.

Aye...I see the young black lad from Manu is off to Preston on loan...Wellford? What about bringing Kanu in till the end of the season? Pompey will love to get him off the wage bill and he'll give defenders in this divison nightmares. We're so predictable and really need something a bit different. Whether Ashley would pay his wages is another thing mind The young white kid Macheda still up for grabs though. Wellbeck....I knew Wellford wasnt his name. Fergie wont lend every striker theyve got though?....can't think that they're pinning a lot of hope of Berbatov and Owen to win the title for them.

Sounds like you need a car battery and a seperate charger then mate. The easiest thing to do maybe is install a 13amp socket in your basement though.

Aye...I see the young black lad from Manu is off to Preston on loan...Wellford? What about bringing Kanu in till the end of the season? Pompey will love to get him off the wage bill and he'll give defenders in this divison nightmares. We're so predictable and really need something a bit different. Whether Ashley would pay his wages is another thing mind

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Rose tinted specs. No-one was complaining about anything in '96 or '97 when we were qualifying for the champions league and hadn't dropped out of the top 6 since promotion. But in Shepherd's ten years in charge we averaged tenth place with one of the highest wage bills in the league that was constantly growing. There was only 2 top 4 finishes in that decade and 6 bottom half finishes. Aye, all that debt wasn't much in return for a couple of FA cup final twattings and half a dozen games in the champions league. Good times undoubtedly compared with now, but for the outlay it should've been so much better. Sir Bob fell into Sheps lap and we should be greatful for that, but when you look at Sheps other appointments he's as bad as any other proprieter the clubs had. What would a Wenger or an O'Neil have acheived with the loot Shep gave to Souness in 2005?....

Nicole Kidman too Can somebody explain how well known "jaffa" Tom Cruise lays his troosers on the end of his new missus bed and she gets preggers virtually straight away but him and the big ginger Aussie had to adopt?

The FA have a "fit and proper persons test" already..it goes something like this: But its less than 2 years since Man Utd won the Champions League amid huge cries of "the debt hasn't really had much effect has it?...get in there Ronaldo!!" Maybe the petitioner should've joined FCUM when he had the chance....a petition now looks like shutting the door after the horse has bolted.

Like color instead of colour? If that was me I would go all Hungerford on that school. You didn't complain??? They aren't even a proper fuckin country, and they're saying your spelling English versions of words wrong. Remind them they'd be speaking Kraut or Jap if it wasn't for us, I wouldn't care most proper people know fuck all about their history, while I've read our history is high on their educational agenda, as it should be for the whole world, and they're telling you, you're spelling words incorrectly in authentic English. What a fuckin wank country. Americans are jealous as fuck of our history and traditions. Fact. Because they have no history of their own, they are only 200-odd years old ffs. you really are a deluded old fuck i'm not even american, although some may argue it may only be a matter of time....but I digress, the americans are anything but jealous of the Brits. The only bit of history that most americans would deem worthy of even mentioning would be how they kicked your asses out of the colonies.....(maybe you've heard of a little song called the star spangled banner) and everything thats happened since then (in their eyes) is just further proof that they are the mightiest country in the world. Then of course is the widely held opinion (by americans) that if it wasn't for them (Stevie) you would be speaking German..... LM you really have no clue about anything yet you have cast in stone opinions about everything...fucking classic Americans are jealous as fuck of British traditions and history. Fact. what book you read that in then? my highly regarded life experience has lead me to believe you have no idea what you talking about haha. Hundreds of Americans I have met bonny lad. They are jealous as fuck of our traditions and history. Fact. where did you meet these yanks.....on british soil while they wandered around and saw the sights? of course they said that and meant i'm sure but lets face facts the VAST majority of americans have never been to the UK (their loss) never will go to the UK and the only exposure they've ever had to the UK is in AMERICAN history books, what do you suppose they say in those books? certainly not that the UK is superior in culture and history ah. don't jump to conclusions..... They are jealous of our history and traditions. Fact Most I've met both here and over there are fascinated by our history, but the same people also think they are truly gods chosen people, with a beleif that as a nation they have a divine right to behave in any way they please towards any other nation or state to suit there own ends and to fuck with the consequences. Which is a bit ironic, when you consider George Bush senior trained, financed and armed Osama Bin Laden in Soviet occupied Afghanistan in the 1980s. Talk about chickens coming home to roost. We're paying a very high price for foreign policy mistakes of the 20th century. Maybe a different way of thinking is needed in the 21st?..."Those who learn nothing from history are destined to repeat its mistakes" as a wise man once said....

Have you heard "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts" saying? Villa, & Citeh may have "lesser" individual players however they are a good team, villa especially. Milner is having a great season etc. Liverpool have gone on far too much relying on those two IMO. Yeah but recent history doesnt really bare that out does it? Gerrard and Torres have meant top 4 for a number of years (since 2006?) for Liverpool. I'm not saying thry're going to do it this season, but theres not much to choose between them and the other 3 going for 4th and they've not really done much to suggest that Liverpool are definetly out of the picture,especially when G & T get fit again.

It's Benitez fault the squad is shite. 12 of the 14 who played in their CL win were already there when he arrived. His appalling transfer record (with the exception of Torres) has been responsible for the squad being gradually weakened the longer he has been there, as well as an absolute fortune being wasted. Their spending is second only to Man City over the last three transfer windows. this Benitez's signings have been dreadful. £20million on Keane then sell him 6 months down the line for half the ammount? Aquilani 20m?? Babel 12m?? not a fantastic record at all. I think it's well known that Keane being signed was nothing to do with Benitez. I agree that many of his signings have been largely average but I've been told by various sources that he's been told to reduce the number of playing personnel. Evidently doesn't look good on the Yank's balance sheet... This is the other side of the coin, and it may also need pointing out that they're only four points off 4th place, and Villa,Spurs and Citeh are about as consistant as Derek Llambias. On paper the other 3 may have better squads, but none of them have two individuals as good as Torres and Gerrard. Getting them fit (neither have been all season, the main reason for their poor run) and getting on a run in the last couple of months of the season will see them there of there abouts. It may be irrelevent in any case, as the Yanks are skint and a buyer with the level of finance to sack Benitez & co, hire a new man and build a squad,not to mention a new stadium just isnt out there. Hicks, Gillette and Benitez are stuck with each other.

Wasnt he over there before xmas for a while seeing him? Shame. Hope his old man saw his goals from the other night.

Do you mean like representitives of the Taliban being sat in the offices of Haliburton in 2000 negotiating with Dick Cheney about an oil pipeline to be run across Afghanistan from the oil rich southern Russian republics to the north and failing to reach a deal?

this is what gets me.....at that price surely if we ever stood a chance of being sold to anyone it was last August? the thing that struck me was with our good start to the season the time to buy was November or December? Am not sure we're going to be worth 130mill in May if we are promoted considering Ashley was willing to go as low as 70 mill 8 months earlier with the same players at the club and near on a complete new squad to be brought in if we are to stand any chace of survival next season. The best time for a buyer to come in was last month when the price would have been perhaps 100mill?

"Conformalist" Would Suzie on Countdown let you away with that one? As to the content of your post, it's mostly the difference between grown ups and children, or grown ups and those old enough to know better.

The US are occupying or bombing 5 muslim countries now - occupation of Iraq, twice-escalated war in Afghanistan, rapidly escalating bombing campaigns in Pakistan and Yemen, and various forms of covert war involvement in Somalia. Fuck Yeah! They regularly bombed Iraq throughout the 90s under the UN no fly zone gig,and obviously the anti soviet activity in the 80s in USSR occupied Afghanistan where George Bush senior armed,trained and financed a racy young shaver called Osama Bin Laden......a lot of the problems we now have in the world are due to US foreign policy disasters in the recent past....makes you proud doesn't it? Does Yemen sit on a huge lake of oil by any chance?......

Why is it daft though? Like it or not, professional sport is big business now and it should have to stand or fall along those lines. More general business is being slowly strangled by the dreaded pre-pack and phoenix companies and it won't be long before it's happening regularly in football. Why should club's be allowed to spend billions they don't have, bump the company and the debts and then carry on with a major advantage over other club's who have managed their finances properly? Ultimately, that's where it's leading. Because it's immoral, but not literally cheating...like say a club like say Juventus for example. Who Michel Platini used to play for. If he wants a level playing filed in european football theres no fuckin way they should've been allowed back in the champs league for at least a decade. He should look closer to home if he wants worse examples of what he may or may not consider to be cheating your way to an advantage.

yep "up the bracket" could be a tribute to the fat lasses sex life? the whole 3 series have been completely overrated...its vaguely amusing but hardly Blackadder etc

As someone said about Killgallon coming in for Colo if theres anything in this it pretty much means that we're certain to lose Carroll or Ranger or maybe even both.

He's a fuckin hypocrite. Trousered thousands for himself whilst emotionally blackmailing the public in general into giving the cash to him. What a complete cunt. All brushed under the table though..."legend" "institution" "good old Terry" etc etc.....

Younger posters would not beleive the fun that could be had by sitting in a pub on a Saturday afternoon with your fixed odds coupon in your mitt waiting for the ceefax page to change....Jeff Stelling fuckin ruined that simple pleasure, the monkey hanging prick

Viewed at the distance of 17 years or so I dare say you have a point about it being a bit 6th form common room. But the actual content of the lyrics is about racism,police corruption and the KKK in the southern states of the USA I doubt if Zak and Tom would write a song in that way if they were to tackle the same subject in 2009. For me, back in 1992/3 it was very refreshing to hear something with a bit of attitude instead of a steady diet of jungle/happy hardcore or dreadfull covers of 60s/70s stuff like "Please dont go". And Suede were a bit camp for my liking