LeazesMag

I didn't realise Ben Arfa had any critics. But, looking at players we don't want to lose ie Ba, Tiote, I would say that Ben Arfa is a player who is truly fit for the highest stage and we should be worried that he could attract the biggest clubs of all such as Barca, Real, AC MIlan etc and if that happens he would probably want to go and who could blame him, because most players want to play for those clubs.

is it finally getting there ? No, I think you are a sad old bastard more interested in trying to win 5 year old Internet arguments than you are in some of the great things that have happened at the club over the same period. I'm interested in the last match and the next match and how the the team is playing and how individuals are progressing. You discuss none of these things and instead waste your time trying to win an argument with people you think little of. You should retire. I think you're a deluded fool, who has only been supporting the club for 5 minutes hence your naivety, but never mind. And I'm already retired thank you.

If that was indeed the case then why did they purchase Papiss Cisse for 9M pounds? That turned out to be the most expensive piece of business by an English club in that window, and we were in no danger of being relegated at the time. There's a strong element of cross promotion involved, but apart from the visual eyesore I don't think it has a large bearing on the footballing operations. so where is the other 25m quid ? After the first transfer window in 5 years where we bought a decent player and sold nobody, lets see what happens in the summer and see if we see the rest of that cash and nobody is sold, to reinforce your utter delusion. ps Bolton also bought Anelka for 8m quid when they were [temporarily] in the UEFA Cup. pps. I don't care about the advertising either, if the team is doing well and the owner backs his managers, but it DOES emphasise the points I've made that the 2 forum clowns have said are "rubbish".

is it finally getting there ?

I hope Fish is watching this, he doesn't like people who make claims which are made up etc. Oh wait a moment............ Such childish comments only bring the forum down and ruin it for others. If Liverpool win the FA Cup Semi Final, I'll see you at the european games, but those with 1350 reasons for wanting them get first priority for tickets

The way to move on is to maintain the core good feeling and playing staff at the side, whilst strengthening the area of weakness and adding depth across the board. Ashley is vastly more cautious with his money now, but apparently will spend money where deemed necessary. It still annoys me that we haven't seen close to all of the Andy Carroll money invested into the side, but on the strength of this season I'm resigned to waiting it out to see what happens. Money will be spent on players who are deemed to be the right options, it's more the departures that are cause for concern. Unfortunately mate the climate of World football has changed. We were left behind a long time ago now, and it was nothing to do with Ashley. He certainly accellerated things when he took over, but we have hit the bottom and appear to be rising again faster than anyone could have predicted. We can only hope now that the rise is properly managed so we don't push for the sky only to come crashing back down. Sensible, sustainable growth is the answer. Froseeably we have a strong foundation to have our revenue amongst the top 5 or so in the league. If that is established again then it's a solid platform to once again mount an assault on the Champions League positions. as it stands currently there is a certain amount of biding our time required. We have to hope that the owners of Chelsea and Manchester City grow tired of their playthings and move on as it's flat out ludicrous to exxpect us to compete financially with teams that more or less don't care that they're throwing away fistfulls of dollars by the second. I stand by my view. The only way to move up is to keep your best players and build, and it is not going to happen. Players will be sold and the money disappear. This is not what Spurs have been doing at all. I have asked 2 posters to bet me that we don't match Spurs [or the old regime, who also backed their managers which Spurs are now copying rather than the other way round] both of which qualified for the Champions League and consolidated that, as they also spouted this "we are doing it like Spurs" bollocks. True to form, neither of them replied and have avoided the topic altogether since. The mindset of the club is in place, it is what I have said for years. They want a premiership club to promote the Sports Company at the minimum expenditure possible, if they don't make a profit they will sell a player to do it which is an easier profit than speculating on trying to reach the Champions League etc and the money in that way. This season has been very good for a club with such minimal aspirations, once in a while a club with these aspirations comes along and performs like this, but it doesn't last for ALL the reasons I've stated for many years. The 2 forum clowns have disagreed with this for years, saying it is "rubbish" and ignored these points when I asked them to explain what is "rubbish" resorting to childish responses instead and me being put in the sin bin for trying to have a mature debate about it, but as time goes by and we witness players sold, cheaper replacements brought in, money disappearing, the tacky advertising all over the stadium and the roof, the renaming of the stadium, it is becoming ever obvious, only the season which has gone way better than most of us thought, and the owner and his sidekick, it is blinding people to the obvious. I'm not explaining this any more.

I haven't mentioned Bolton at all. Bolton had a completely different strategy to us, and that was to build a team for a season, made up mainly of players loaned from abroad. We, on the other hand, are buying players who are young or approaching their prime. This has the effect of ensuring that we can either take advantage of the best years of their careers and / or receive decent compensation if the player chooses to leave for a big pay day. I am capable of forming my own opinions through reasoned logic. Whilst I'll read what other people have to say, I am my own man, and will form my own views. There are sound, reasoned views coming from match-goers as well as those who don't go the games, just as there are bizarre views from both camps. In all honesty it generally doesn't make that much difference whether they go to games or not. In order to break into the top 4 quickly, we would need to spend at least £200m and consistently pay out ridiculous wages. In other words, we'd need to mortgage the stadium and Mike Ashley would need to write a quarter of his fortune over the next couple of years. Not going to happen. I want a club which is self-sufficient and able to pass the UEFA Financial Fair Play rules with flying colours. If Ashley pumps in quarter of a billion, we will fail the tests, we won't be allowed to qualify for Europe and the best players will want to go elsewhere. So our options are: a) Ashley pumps in silly money so we can rise up the league, but we can't play in Europe as we're a substantially loss making business Ashley oversees a strategy of going after the future stars, building a team which appreciates in value. We may receive huge offers for players, but use this cash to fund the purchase of more players who fit the buying policy. c) Ashley refuses to sanction the sale of a player who wants to leave, as "we're not a selling club", resulting in unhappy player disrupting the team and negatively affecting team morale. To me, option B is the only option. It's sensible and will ensure long term growth and long term stability. In the medium term, the best up and coming players will want to come to NUFC as we have a reputation for giving players a superb grounding and introduction to the Premiership. Over time, we'll improve our reputation to the point that we're seen as a better option than many of the clubs that we once sold to. We need to continually improve, but sometimes it's about taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture. Throwing money at buying players doesn't mean we're going to suddenly become world beaters. We need to be signing players who WANT to play for us. We shouldn't be signing players who are only coming because we're offering more money than Spurs / Liverpool etc. We should be signing players who buy into our approach and strategy. This makes building the squad a more time consuming activity, but it gives us far less chance of buying duds like Guivarch, Luque, Bassedas, Maric, Owen, Boumsong etc. I'm not totally sure what you want from the club. You bang on about wanting us to be progressive, but by the very defnition of the word we have progressed: - more points - more goals - more clean sheets - more full internationals - bigger attendances - higher league placing - top players secured on long term deals, so they either stay or we received suitable compensation for them - club is no longer loss making - healthy cash balance to fund future developments - no reliance on bank funding whatsoever This makes us progressive. I've mentioned Bolton. Because our aspirations are now similar to that of Bolton, and no amount of short term bullshit is going to change that. Selling clubs are not progressive clubs, and NUFC are now a selling club, who sell their best players and witthold the cash from their manager, this is going to continue, and is a club who had the 14th biggest revenues in world football. I'm tired of trying to explain that one good season in 5 years changes nothing, and only deludes foolish people. How do you think a club can move on from 6th position in the top flight, and do you think the club will carry on the policy of keeping their best players in transfer windows and improving it with good signings, especially with 25m quid of the Carroll money yet to be seen ? I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt here, as a new poster, as I've long given up on certain others who know nothing about football. Meanwhile, I'm pleased you appear to think that it was players like Boumsong, Maric, Gui'varch, Bassedas who shot the club into Champions League football and european football more times in 15 years than everyone else but 4 other clubs, the 5th highest average league position and the 14th biggest revenues in world football and one of the best stadiums in europe. Such cherry picking almost made me laugh at your post, but I've gave you an opportunity to prove you're not so dim as other people.

I'd hate to see any of our big players leave. were you never a Boy Scout http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scout_Motto

who said I haven't enjoyed it ? It's very good, for a club with aspirations to simply survive in the top flight, make a profit by selling players if necessary, and promote a worldwide Sports Company as such. Excellent in fact.

reply when asked.

Do you read these posts back to yourself before you click "post"? Our squad and in particular our first XI is stronger than it was at the start / end of last season, other than at left back. So that means we've improved and built. But we've also got £40m for our two top scorers last season. We've demonstrated that we are a selling club. We've demonstrated that we've improved and built. The two are not mutually exclusive. what you are saying is the same as saying that because Sam Allardyce got Bolton into europe, it makes him "good", "great" whatever you want to term it. I'm saying what I've said for years, that some have said is "rubbish" for years. The club is a selling club, it has changed and is not a progressive club any more. The current good season the first in 5 years, is the same as Bolton had under Allardyce in that the policies of the club are such that they will not attempt to build on it, they will go backwards for the same reasons. Do YOU think the transfer window policy in January ie keep the best players and build with a quality signing or more [especially as there is 25m quid of the carroll money we haven't seen yet so there is no reason to sell anybody] will be continued ? Do you read anything I say other than believe the deluded nonsense spouted by others, mostly non-matchgoers ? If so, please tell me how else a club can develop from finishing 6th and go higher, and establish themselves as a progressive club ? The 2 forum clowns won't answer this, they have avoided it on numerous occasions now, which is the essence along with a few other points I've made for years now. It's nothing to do with "being right", its about deluded fools who can't see it because the team have had one good season, the first in 5 years.

mancy boy, I'm beginning to think you're getting this whole obsession with me and not being able to admit that you are wrong, mildy out of proportion. The lack of response to Gene Clark is shameful, surely you didn't get it so much out of proportion you actually phoned him up ? The ultimate hypocrisy.

oh dear mancmag and Gemmill are the 2 perfect examples of sad non-matchgoers who ruin this place and stop it from being a really good internet forum tbh. So far, they have succeeded again in following me around, and shown their lack of balls - again - in the pathetic non response to what I asked them and the non response to Gene. No doubt their mate will blame other people for spoiling things for others too and the fact that nobody asked them to make references to myself, of course I held a gun to their heads and forced them to post without being asked.

no reply to this so far ........... we discussed it last week man and all questions were answered. However, for the record, there isn't even a question in those posts you daft get. discussed it where ? Daft get. Anybody who knows anything about football, knows an improve and build policy will better a selling club in the longer term, which is the whole point here. I realise you deep down know this, its a shame the 2 forum clowns, and an assorted bunch of other non-matchgoers, don't get it though.

I've got no problem with anyone laughing at Enrique or carroll for their situations. I'm just saying he was right, agreeing with what you keep telling us. A new policy of not selling your best players during the transfer window and actually adding quality has helped us maintain a push rather than drop down the league. no reply to this so far ...........

Oh Scott, oh Sammy http://www.toontastic.net/board/topic/31906-carrolls-career-so-far-in-liverpool/page__st__720__p__1049893#entry1049893

surround yourself with fools and never see the truth I see you 2 dedicated matchgoers still don't tell us what you have said is "rubbish" for all this time........once again, I hope your mate is looking and doesn't put others in the sin bin to excuse your obsessed behaviour.

once again, the forum clown butting in without being asked. Hopefully your mate is taking note before putting others in the sin bin to excuse your bizarre obsessions. You've got forum clown sewn up. Don't worry about that, Captain Wrong. if I'm so wrong, please answer what I asked you, fool. Your obsession with following me around is embarrassing, particularly as you don't even bother going to games despite living in the city.

I've got 1350 reasons how many do you or anybody else on here have ? Including the obsessed clowns who can't find the balls to tell us what they have described as "rubbish" for nearly 5 years now. Prick.

once again, the forum clown butting in without being asked. Hopefully your mate is taking note before putting others in the sin bin to excuse your bizarre obsessions.

Surely you didn't offer him out, did you ?? In all seriousness, cannot possibly fathom what he's getting so het up about off the back of an internet thread. Can only put it down to being a bit of a delicate flower about the book review. you mean "het up about off the back of an internet forum" as in won't tell posters exactly what you have termed rubbish for years, from a specific list of comments made in order to make it easier for you ? Pathetic.

shirking it again. Pathetic.

Fuck knows like. I had a pop at his book about Percy Sledge but that's all I can think of. you're a liar & a coward; tell the proper story you gutless bottling cunt you'll be waiting a long time for that, if form is anything to go by.

Can't help but feel it would be a good one given our current M.O. and trajectory. Technically good player playing in a technically good league, who because he isn't English and involved in a £20 million+ inflated deal between two English clubs, will be initially dismissed by the Prem obsessed pundits so that he's allowed to quietly concentrate on playing his own game and then hopefully become one of Newcastle's 'surprise finds' of the season because he's never been mentioned for an England call up previously by omniscient Sun 'journalists'. hello? hello? speak up! hello? hello? tinkle