ruggedknot

Looks like a sacking rather than a contract not being renewed to me . No contract runs out in the middle of a season . Massive loss , the media will have a field day and just when you thought there was some semblance of stability in the club this happens . Not jumping to any conclusions yet about the board , but they might've blown this one , bad .

Here's a full blooded statement if there ever was one : http://www.santosfc.com.br/noticias/conteudo.asp?id=22687 "In respect to fans, sponsors and advisors Santos Football Club, the board has the following to clarify the reported interest from Chelsea Football Club striker Neymar: 1) All surveys and proposals, whether official or unofficial, to foreign clubs or national Neymar received by the athlete and will get the same answer: NO Saints are interested in trading that considers one of his greatest talents; 2) The Saints will not bow to pressure or suggestions from anyone to negotiate the athlete; 3) The Saints will publish any threat that is made against the player or the club to force a unilateral breach without paying the termination clause of the contract; 4) The Saints will comply fully with the signed contract and make sure that the athlete will do the same by relying on their training and in his word; 5) The only hypothesis Neymar stop wearing the shirt of Santos is on full payment of the fine rescission provided in the contract; 6) The Saints will act with the discipline to enforce rights under the law and will not allow sports clubs or businesses recruit and seduce our athletes; 7) The Saints will not tolerate unethical attitudes of other associations, national or foreign, or agents for any of his athletes, otherwise go to FIFA to ensure that our rights are preserved and that unethical actions are restrained by the maximum authority football; 8) The board of Santos reiterated his appreciation and affection by Neymar athlete and has absolute conviction that maintaining this relationship is the best alternative to that club and athletes achieve their biggest goals; 9) The Saints will present next week, a development project for the career of the athlete to plan the best use of his brilliant talent. A project that interested him and Brazilian soccer. Luis Alvaro de Oliveira Ribeiro Chairman of Santos FC" Its clear that he doesn't want to let go of Neymar , considering Santos have already sold 2 or 3 first teamers from last season to clubs but it also goes to show that its a negotiating tactic where nothing can be done about their grasp on the player if Neymar hands in a transfer request AND we match the buy out clause , which is the full 28.7 mill sterling. We've so far officially made only one offer , about 17 mill and there seems to be more weightage to his earlier comments about us asking for a fax number ( Google it dammit haha) ... which means a second bid is highly imminent . Either way , I can't see the club getting into another 'tapping up' situation anytime soon , let alone for what happened with Kakuta's case , which FIFA still owes us an apology by the way , seeing it was proved we didn't do ANYTHING wrong in getting Gael. This will only gain steam in the coming weeks right uptil the transfer window shuts , if it gets dragged along

Its just a quick chat about Adidas contracts , just a case of the pretty blonde wondering what an Englishman smells like, just a game at the park after going back to Germany , just AARRRGGHHH ! Bastiaaan ! London Calling !!

Yep , for new members signing in to see older ones with a large post history making the racist comments or infact , sticking up for it , wishing death on a player and making fun of his appearance in a thread titled " Official : Yossi Signs " as a new player coming in to OUR club , is just bound to turn off potential new posters from expressing any sort of an opinion when there's a stupid unnecessary juvenile circus going around . Makes the whole thing kind of look pathetic really.

I can't wait to see him play in the Blue shirt. Such an easy player on the ball that its a treat to watch, very very technically gifted and has time and again found an opening and spaces for a through ball and despite being a willowy frame, is strong on the ball. He's got a footballing brain. Boils down to this, a proven player in the league, hence no two-year settling in process for a flavor-of-the-month player from the WC or indeed anywhere else who needs to get used to the pace and tussle of the Premiership -- who can provide different options , experienced and can provide strength in depth for that kind of money, is an excellent piece of business. It hilarious that there are some actually complaining about this signing .

Yossi is a fantastic squad player to have , one of the few consistently good performers from the Liverpool squad . Technically good, is easy on the ball and having him along with Kakuta in the right wing could work out well for both the players, not to mention helping in the development of Gael . Great signing IMO , if people don't get caught up in touting him as the replacement for Cole, which he is NOT . Could end up to be a brilliant signing for a proven creative player in the league despite his age, time will tell. Could just be the kind of guy who could help open up defences when we are up against a brick wall.

While I was reading what the OP had said , I thought he was talking about Capello . Ancelotti is the exact opposite , he's a young manager compared to many and he still remembers that feeling of being a player and one with the lads . He can still do a sprint down the pitch despite that belly ! I remember reading about how Carlo took the team out for an Italian dinner one night to loosen the strings a little . Deadmilkman made a good point about how Gattuso was down to tears when he heard about Carlo leaving . Even Ray Wilkins repeatedly has said how Carlo keeps things calm and always finds humour to lighten the mood within the camp and always finds an excuse to crack a joke . His English has come leaps and bounds from a year ago and the players , supporters, Roman himself and the entire club are loving him !

Streams guys?

http://www.veetle.com/viewChannel.php?cid=4b5811f0512f2

Roman has done and is continuing to do more than anybody could have ever expected of him.Chairman Bruce Buck comes up with something we'd all be pleased to hear...The debts have practically been wiped off completely,courtesy of the Russian. http://www.guardian....ch-debt-scolari So no outstanding debt.Wow.For the highest paying club in player salaries and agent fees,that sure is something , I'm sure Man City will take up that mantle sometime soon and no complaints there. Thinking of Roman's timeline at the club from what best I remember: -2003,takes over the the holding company of the club,had some massive debts suddenly didn't look so bad,nearly half of the debts are paid off by Roman's own money which the club owed him at the time,as an interest free loan too,none of the turmoil like Liverpool with RBS or United with the Glazers and the other banks involved...finished 2nd in the league,reaching the semis of the CL, last year of our good manager Ranieri at the helm. -2004,Jose comes in,so does Drogba,Carvalho,Ferreira who remain to this day,Kezman (am I missing anyone out?),the league is won for the first time in 50 years.CL semis again,this time to that "goal" grrr from Garcia. -2005,Essien comes in,consecutive league titles won. Somewhere in this time,those interest free loans were converted into shares of the club,so not only does the guy have an shareholder's interest in the club now, he already owns the parent company,which doesn't quite add up,but I'll take it for now before finding out more on how the dealings happened. -2006, United win the title,the emergence of Ronaldo among other things and Jose's troubles with the back-room and Roman begins if I have figured the timeline correctly and Shevchenko is signed just from Roman's influence,Jose never wanted him,Ballack came in during the summer as well,free transfer with him though, -2007 United dominating yet again with Ronaldo firing...the FA cup was won however the previous season , the same year,Mourinho was out of the club in Sept,Grant took over and Roman almost saw us win that CL final at basically the home ground in Moscow. -2008 Player wages are going higher up, Lampard signs a new contract,Scolari bought in and we all know how that went,Hiddink coming in later to save the day. -2009 Roman finally gets a manager he wanted in Carlo and things are looking pretty good ,despite all the hic-cups lately.I'm beyond certain Roman has learnt his ways in not interfering with player signings after the Shevchenko debacle and having Ancelotti as the guy he trusts,lets him figure out the transfer market which the Italian is rather stubborn with. I probably have some of the facts and figures wrong in there, but I just called my memory on short notice. -2009, today...The Chairman comes out saying that all the debts have nearly been entirely wiped out,Roman has turned into the solitary shareholder of the club by practically absorbing all the debt,turning it into stake and now our books should show that we are stable. This will go a long way when UEFA comes up with the ruling which they inevitably will that club spending can only match the turnover , not more. Summing up,its pretty obvious how influential Roman has been for the club.I say thanks and hats off to the guy,he's not some billionaire who just wants to have a football club as a hobby.After 7 years at the club,he comes up and completely turns the fortunes around ,just as he did in 03'. Hats off to the Russian, love him or hate him or doubt him , he sure loves the club. This along with some of the best years the club has had,makes it one of the most significant events in the club's history. Can anybody throw more light on just how Roman has gone about acquiring the club and what his current stake in the club is, if he doesn't own it entirely ?

Wow,where to start.We were digging our own grave yet again with that kind of play.The first half was absolutely atrocious.How bad were things looking then?The midfield lethargic yet again.Drogba showed why he was so frustrating,went down so many times , 1-0 down, duelling with Pantsil. The crossing by the RB Ferreira where the core of the attacks were coming from,forgettable.Sticking to Paulo,what in the hell was he doing in the middle of the field when that ball was played out wide to Konchesky?!? FFS, then Terry fails to clear and a goal down.Ballack looks completely out of his element,I thought Lampard had a burn-out because of the gruelling calendar where he starts nearly every game,I'm convinced Ballack needs a vacation and some tapes from his Leverkusen and Bayern days.He couldn't kick a corner today!Even until the final whistle there was a lack of communication between the back-line and Cech.A case of everyone being nervy and not entirely confident. Bullet time: -3 points taken!!! Back to a 5 point lead.The most important game of the season so far and the way things turned around should be encouraging to even the players to say the least.Great to see that huddle in the middle at the end.Just a few minutes among the players themselves,we have seen many times how they have come back from some really bad mid-season slumps. -Kalou shows why we need a winger and shows us again that we'll miss his play despite being diabolical many times this season.He had a quiet first half in many ways but absolutely turned things around in the 2nd. -Sturridge coming on changed the whole dynamic of the play.Instantly more width,him and Kalou combined for that second goal.He must be on his toes for January . If that performance was a sign of things to come,we'll have one handy striker plus an English player in our ranks. -IVANOVIC! I can't say this enough, he is the most under-rated performer this season.Comes on,delivers one good cross to the far side and Drogba heads in,goes back to his excellent defending at the back. -Drogba shows yet again why he is to be trusted with carrying the mantle. -Now with our without reason or excuse,the diamond will be ditched.Carlo has acknowledged it,without Drogba and Essien, we got to go back to basics.4-5-1 with Anelka or 4-3-3 with the flanks with down the middle. Absolutely thrilled to win the game.This could be the game that changes the season for us.Despite the mad season so far, where more surprises are inevitable....Sticking to wins and the belief with confidence on winning games is all anybody needs,not looking behind us to expect the chasing pack to slip up.

Giving him a breather? The guy has been playing out of his skin and has been for a while.

Just saw Jose sitting in the owner's box. I wonder how many fans are out there who'd want him back.

Any steady streams guys?

Making it look easy haha.

Ah well, something to learn from the game.No excuses about dismissing the cup as a non-requirement for the season.The whole point of having the squad was to compete on all fronts.The game was certainly exciting,credit to Blackburn Rovers.The triple substitution certainly back-fired at the 75th minute when Kalou got injured.Chelsea did really well to cope with 10 men,be the better side in extra-time and score onthe last minute when all hope was lost to take it to penalties.Mental game. When was the last time Ballack ever missed a penalty? Kakuta didn't have nerves at the end of things seemingly,all in all disappointing but lessons are learnt.Zhirkov had a very good game by the sound of things although that penalty seems like it was due to his mistake.Drogba imperious as usual.Carlo will definitely know more about the squad's efficiency now and it'll help to determine if January signings are needed.

Damn.

3-3!!! Zhirkovvvvv.

Hilario saves@!!!!!!!!

Shit , too tense.Atleast we can't watch. 3-1 fuck.

Robinson saves Ballack's effort,grrr

The last minute of gameplay haha and Paulo scores,wow.Now the adrenaline must be pumping.

FUCKKKK yess!!!!!!!!! PEnalties!!!1

Blackburn penalty, gah.

Down to 10 men.16 minutes to go.Kalou out with a groin injury.