Bombadil

It's his face, man, I can't help myself! And I'm a bit prone to that sort of thing anyway... His face is bad but his hunchy posture and bizzare crab like walk get me He really does look like a crab when he moves around the pitch.

Oh for those days again.

Speaking of useless full-backs: It's the first time I've heard about it, but there's a surprise. What a total waster.

I have to agree with Leazes here, that is plainly not true. When Bellamy first arrived he was a nothing player who'd just flopped at Coventry, he'd only managed 4 caps for Wales and most thought we paid over the odds at the time. Martins on the other hand has managed to score 1 in 3 at a far bigger club than we're ever likely to be, got an average of 1 in 2 in the CL, 7 in 6 in the UEFA cup and 11 in 13 for his country. For someone who likes to spout about facts so much LM I hope you enjoy these, do you think the Bellamy we signed then is better than Shevchenko now? after all he hasn't settled in yet and with your poor knowledge of football outside of this country I doubt you've ever heard of him. BTW are you still backing Roeder? I've asked you several times over on N-O yet you seem to be avoiding the question. To be fair to Baggio I thought he was talking about their respective reputations they bought to the club rather than what they did when they arrived here. It's a fairish point. But I'd love an answer from LM on the last point, but he seems to have gone very quiet. Let me do it for him. 5th best club in the country, always in Europe, England internationals, backs his manager, etc.

Re: Ramage, it's always painful to see him run up the pitch and desperately try to put the ball onto his right boot when he receives the ball. Hopelessly out of his depth tbh.

My spirit has broken, does that count?

He wouldn't get a contract at any other club in the Premiership. Factoclownum.

I'm in total agreement with your philosophy.

Has he been put off signing coaches by the fat one to avoid future pay outs if a new manager is coming in. IE Shearer. So who would shearer bring in onto his coaching staff?? rob lee? Mike Newell

High standards then. No, certainly not. It's just that I've come to the conclusion that for as long as Shepherd and his cronies remain in charge, we're not going to get another top-class manager. Giving the job to Shearer - who would get plenty of support and time from the supporters as well as the club hierarchy - could well be the best thing we can hope for.

If Shearer comes back (or should that be when), I want him to come back as manager, not as Roeder's assistant.

It's making my piss boil, it really is. What a fucking shower of shit.

I know, I saw the quotes yesterday. I was tempted to post them on here, but then I don't get too see too many games so I'm not really able to comment on individual performances. In the games I've seen, however, Carr has been shit. I mean, "I bet he hasn't been in as good form as this in his career"?!?

Robson is also highly critical about the manner in which he was approached for the job, I'd hardly say Shepherd comes across in a good light. It's also apparent that they didn't approach him until after Gullit was fired. So since Dalglish, Gullit, Robson, and Souness have all been sacked without a replacement in mind. There is virtually no short-term planning let alone long-term planning by the sounds of it. "Planning"

I just think the players arent very good, certainly nowhere near the hype. He got enough out of them to get to the 1/4 finals, on last nights performance that seems quite an acheivement There's definitely some truth to the players not being anywhere near as good as is made out. It does my head in every time we get to a major finals all these idiots in the media talking about how England have "as good a squad as anyone". Unfortunately Shearer is one of the worst culprits outside of the "Boys from 66" who make a living out of saying that stuff. Unless it's their turn to be the controversial one and say that this squad wasn't a patch on theirs. Saying that I was impressed by Shearer's tactical analysis of the game yesterday on MotD. He'd make a great manager imo To be honest, I've completely changed my mind about Shearer as manager (not because of his tactical analysis obviously, I didn't see it). I think I'm looking forward to the day he becomes our manager. At the very least he'll get plenty of support and time to build something long-term.

What is the DS?

Having said that, you thought taking Theo Walcott was a good idea Did you see him on Tueasday night? That's not really the point though, did you see him at the World Cup? Eriksson should never have taken him if he wasn't going to play him.

Bond unveiled as Bournemouth boss Former Newcastle assistant manager Kevin Bond has been unveiled as Bournemouth's new boss. Bond, 49, has signed a deal until the end of the season. He was sacked by Newcastle last month following allegations in a BBC Panoroma programme saying he would consider receiving payments from an agent. But Bond, who was assistant boss at Portsmouth at the time, says he has never been interested in receiving bungs and will fight to clear his name. Bond has beaten Andy Hessenthaler and Phil Brown to the post and replaces Sean O'Driscoll, who quit to take over as manager of Doncaster Rovers four weeks ago. Bond is a former Bournemouth player and has also had two spells as assistant boss to Harry Redknapp at Portsmouth.

Carrick was atrocious, £18m for what exactly?

Eh? You're in a mental home? I don't think he lives there man. So it's true that most the Swiss populace are junkies then? That's what a whole lot of Nazi gold and a guilty conscience will do to you. Can I interest you with some state-funded heroin?

Eh? You're in a mental home? Three more days.

I'm a local journalist and a political science student, and I'm currently serving my last days in Zivildienst (400 days of "compulsory military service with other means and without arms") at a psychiatric outpatient unit for opiate addicts.

Newcastle edge towards Owen settlement as FA reviews policy Matt Scott Wednesday October 11, 2006 The Guardian Newcastle's battle to be compensated for Michael Owen's wounded knee is edging towards a negotiated settlement that is likely to see the Football Association offer significantly greater payments to players injured on international duty. The English governing body has one of the most progressive insurance policies in world football, offering to pay the wages of players for up to two years after they suffer injury. The sums involved - capped at approximately £55,000 a week - are sufficient to cover the earnings of most of Steve McClaren's squad. The policy encompasses footballers representing England at all levels, including youth and women players, with premiums working out at approximately £200,000 per match during the World Cup. But the FA has recognised from Newcastle's response to losing their star asset that more must be done to mollify Premiership clubs. A proposal will be placed before the FA's professional game board - which represents Premiership and Football League clubs - to increase the payouts, although the FA's executive main board would be unlikely to ratify any call for unrestricted cover. "This is something that is under constant review but there has to be a balance over what we can afford," said a source. "If somebody is given £200,000 per week by their club, the FA has no say in it. But if cover was uncapped we would be expected to pay it." Owen's salary of more than £5m a year exceeds the FA's current cap and Newcastle have threatened court action to recover the difference after his cruciate ligament injury at the World Cup, which may prevent the £17.5m striker playing this season. Lawyers for the St James' Park club have also stated in their claim against the FA that the £10m investment in Obafemi Martins came as a direct result of Owen's injury and they are demanding some form of restitution for the otherwise unnecessary expense. But dialogue continues and it is thought that the FA's latest offer - believed to enhance the £55,000 weekly payout by a further £20,000 to £30,000 per week over the period of Owen's unavailability - may prove acceptable. Newcastle are also seeking a payout from the £6.6m total compensation pool that Fifa set aside at the World Cup. Depending on the cost of other claims arising from the tournament in Germany, that payout could amount to £1m. Fifa is looking at the issue of player compensation and an insurance fund and expects to have something in place in time for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Ginola was the better player, but Robert did more for us than Ginola.