teignman

AVB's contract was £14m for 3 seasons. At most we'll have to pay him around £11m in a buyout.

One of the biggest problems I had with AVB was his stubborn insistance on his philosophy of football. The impression I got from some of his interviews was that playing beautiful, entertaining football was first and foremost on his agenda, but it should be winning. Ultimately his insistance on his principals lead to his downfall.

For the love of God, no Rafa Benitez.

My sentiments exactly.

Could've fooled me. Sure seems like you're hating on him.

I didn't get to watch this one. Does anyone have any links to video of this abomination? Thanks in advance.

James is quality. Came on Friday against Benfica and scored a short time thereafter. He had some really good performances in the CL as well. This is the type of player we should go for. He'd be much cheaper than Hulk, and could possibly turn out to be better. At 20 years old, we could get at least two contracts out of him and he would have resale value if we wanted to go that route.

Absolutely, but one never knows with our board and the managerial carousel.

Yeah, Fabio is doing quite well at Roma. My point was that Borini did well and progressed through ranks, and we let him walk for free. With Bamford at least should be able to get some dosh, if we have learned anything. Bamford has looked good in the couple matches I've seen him play.

This rumor is per Ian McGarry, so I wouldn't put to much faith in it. Jose was definitely in London though.

BR just signed a very long extension at Swansea, but I agree he's showing a lot of ability at Swansea.

I believe if we are going to play 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, it is imperative we have a proper holding midfielder to serve as an anchor. I would prefer/preferred Essien. I understand he is not fully fit and tuckers out around 60-70 minutes, but I would rather 60-70 minutes of him than 60-70 mins of the likes of Raul the Terrible. AVB seemed to want an open game by not selecting a DM, and he certainly got one. The game was a veritable track meet for stretches. Not exactly what you want against a team with that are proficient in the art of the counter and have a good deal of speed. However, this was not our undoing. Once again, it was a string of individual errors that cost us dearly. The aforementioned Meireles turning tail and running from Lavezzi instead of trying to make even the slightest attempt at closing him down. Brana, oh my beloved Brana, ball watching instead of covering the run of probably the most dangerous player Napoli has. And Luiz making the error of going for the ball and ending up wrong side of Cavani, when staying goalside of the Uruguayan probably would have been the more prudent choice (though I do somewhat question Petr's thought process of plunging into the fray). All in all, I don't view this result as catastrophic. Damaging yes, but the Napolitans have some definite defensive frailities. We have a few weeks to get our heads and our arses wired together.

I'm liking it already. Good show.

Win, lose, or draw: just give us a performance we can be proud of lads!

I don't quite get AVB's affinity for Meireles. Raul has been piss poor as of late, and he's not that great in general. He offers very little in defense, and he is extraordinarily inconsistent with his passing. Should've gone with the Bison, in my not so humble opinion.

A very good analysis of what Nando's woes. Special attention on yesterday's match. http://www.weaintgotnohistory.com/2012/2/18/2808482/its-time-to-stop-blaming-poor-service-for-fernandos-lack-of-scoring

I'm sorry but the Spuds link just doesn't add up. First, Spuds are desperately trying to fund a new stadium. Granted, they will receive CL revenue, but will end up spending a large portion of it on Hazard? Next, they need a permanent first choice striker. Adebayor's loan is up at the end of the season, and they will either have to pay a transfer fee (I reckon at least £20m) to City + his extremely high wage demands, or go into the market to get another striker. If they delve into the market for a striker it will probably cost them upwards of £20m, not counting the wages that player would receive. I just don't see them splashing out over £50m in transfer fees plus well over £100k/week in wages on two players when they are trying to build a new stadium. One final note on Monsieur Hazard, I sincerely hope (for his sake and mainly ours) that he is not so myopic as to think that Spuds are a better destination because they will be in the CL next season. Even if we don't make the CL next season (cringe), we are still a better bet to make the CL on a yearly basis than Spuds over the duration of his next contract. Christ on a bike, if we don't make the CL next season (double cringe) it's not as if we won't make it for the several seasons. Pseudo-rant over. Thanks for tuning in.

20

He's back. Hallelujah! http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11668/7525395/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

I have no great hopes for Bamford. He seems a likely lad, but so did Borini and we know how that went. If he somehow puts things together and ends up skillfully leading our line in a few years, I'll be surprised and overjoyed. One positive I take from this is that we will be able to turn a profit when, not if, we sell him (even accounting for inflation). My understanding of FFP is that our purchase of Bamford does not count against us, but our sale of him in the coming years would count as positive cash flow under FFP.

Not naive at all. The amount of money that Rangers and Celtic generate is the bulk of the revenue that the SPL sees in a year. If Rangers fold, ironically, their biggest rival will suffer greatly. The SPL as a whole would be in dire straits. There will not be a 1 to 1 transfer of Rangers supporters' money to other clubs, i.e. Rangers supporters won't just start supporting other Scottish clubs and spending their money on tickets, merchandise, etc. As for my personal views, I am a massive Gers supporter. They were my first love in the world of club football. However, I am strangely numb to this most recent development. Perhaps it is because nothing is final and I've expected this. I do have a bit of anger towards the board for letting this happen, especially the aspect of the massive tax bill that is looming. All the eejits had to do was operate within they confines of a simple tax shelter by not using portions of the club's finances on certain expenditures. However, the failed to do this, and the supporters, and possibly Scottish football, are paying for their transgressions.

Not really too fussed about how many threads, or the format they are in. However, I do think it a splendid idea to have multiple threads for a match. Whatever the mods/admins have the time and energy for is fine by me. I really appreciate what these folks do.

I think Luka Modric might disagree with that statement.

After reading the past few pages I would like to state the following: First, I highly, highly doubt that Spurs will spend the £30-35m it will take to get Hazard. The same goes for the wages he would command. Second, players (probably under the advice of their agents) always say the same non-commital, complimentary things about clubs when they are mentioned as possible transfer destinations. Per Exempli: Journo: What do you think of that 3rd tier Guatemalan club? Player: They have a good club, coach,and players. Ok, maybe that's a bit of hyperbole, but you get the point. The player and his agent don't want to rule anything out publicly so they can spark a bidding war between truly interested clubs.

Lol. Fair enough.