PLY

Didn't Bscombe allude to this happening about 5-6 weeks ago?

Shocking spelling mate

By my reckoning so far we've committed around £30 million on Lucas (£6m) Torres (£20m) Leto (£2M) various kids (£2m) and have only managed to sell Pongolle for £2.7m and Garcia for £3.5 that would suggest that we haven't got to sell to buy. If we now go on to sell players to cover further buys then we've still spent around £24m and increased commitment on higher wages for players given new deals. Ultimately , if Rafa's happy with the players that he brings in then it doesn't matter if we have a net spend of £10m or £40m

When all this West Ham trouble raered it's head I'm sure I read somewhere that the agreement that MSI still owned Tevez would end up wouldn't hold up in court if West Ham decided to challenge it

Spot on. Greater effectiveness at set pieces would dramatically increase our goal tally. Look how many corners and free-kicks we got last year compared to the goals we scored from them. Improving the goalscoring ratio would be a huge step in the right direction.

And the fact that he shared an agent with Rafa meant that we knew all about the ins and outs of his release clause. Luis had a spark about him that could light up games and he certainly knew how to find the net in important games. The fact of the matter is his goals against Leverkusen , Juve and Chelsea more than paid for his fee and wages - he'll be missed.

I think the point of the thread was to try and establish a 'usual' net spend per season , he was merely saying that the sale of the shares to Granada that season boosted the 'usual' funds

I've mentioned this on another forum but Rafa's new look seems to be modelled on one of the baddies from this 1970's kid's programme - The Flashing Blade

To be honest I'd rather we gave the league a good go this year rather than the cups and for the league you don't necessarily need world class forwards - just consistent and good enough for the league

A lad on Est1892 reckons were due to sign another Bulgarian kid - Mihail Aleksandrov

It makes you think that the whole "no money" situation may have been overplayed. IMHO Momo was one of the more vulnerable players if it came down to 'sell to buy'

World U-20 Info Clicky

Is that the new Olympic Logo?

Yes to see his own film wierdly enough he was at FACT LINKY

You will always pay more for a younger player than a 30 year old because you will still have a decent re-sale value after 2 years. The only club who probably aren't bothered about that are Chelsea which is why they could think about £30m for Shevchenko

Cheers. Not a fan of open corners myself. They just remind me of freezing my nuts off at various crap grounds around the country in winters past.

Can you confirm whether the version that you have seen also contains open corners by the Kop or not , as stsed by Rushian?

That Angel Vales fella is supposedly working with the reserves and helping with the analysis of all the player data that Pako was moaning that he has too much of. Apparently he's from some sport institute in Madrid and Rafa asked him 3 years ago to come which he declined but he has asked again and he's accepted

Yes. When Bascombe's off Prentice just cobbles together stories from other news agencies. The Pink Echo on Saturday had a feature on Lucas which comprised of an old interview from just after it was made public and Tim Vickery's bit on him from a few weeks ago.

That's hit the nail on the head. For me the Forlan story was meant to provoke a reaction amongst Liverpool supporters to put pressure on the new owners for more money.

They've read the Echo then "Spurs are believed to be willing to offer only £12 million, while Liverpool have other preferred targets, but did make an approach last week to Charlton ? believed to be £10m ? which was instantly dismissed"

A lot of them said the same about Mascherano

From the Echo: LIVERPOOL are set to face a straight fight with Spurs if they are to continue their pursuit of Darren Bent after the Charlton striker turned down a move to West Ham. But neither club is willing to match the financial package the Hammers were prepared to offer. West Ham had agreed a fee of £16 million plus midfielder Hayden Mullins for Bent He had also been offered a five-year contract worth £75,000 a week during talks at Upton Park yesterday ? which would have made him the join -highest paid player at the club with Scott Parker. Spurs are believed to be willing to offer only £12 million, while Liverpool have other preferred targets, but did make an approach last week to Charlton ? believed to be £10m ? which was instantly dismissed. Neither Liverpool nor Spurs will not be willing to pay Bent more than £55,000 a week, which is double his wage at The Valley. ?West Ham were the only club to meet our valuation,? Peter Varney, the Charlton chief executive, said. ?Darren has decided not to join them. ?We look forward to Darren starting with us in the Championship next season ? a massive boost to our chances of returning to the Premier League.? West Ham midfielder Yossi Benayoun, meanwhile, tried to express his move to Anfield by putting in a formal transfer request last night. Liverpool have had one bid rejected by the Hammers for the Israeli captain but are still in contact with the Londoners. The Reds? hero of Istanbul, goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek, admits he would be happy to swop the subs bench at Anfield for the Bernabeu. The Polish keeper is wanted by Real Madrid and he confirmed: "I must admit that I have received an offer from one of the greatest clubs in the world, if not the greatest one. "I was able to keep it in the dark for a long time, because the first contact was established a dozen or so days ago. "The offer is an honour for me. I am seriously considering it. As for now, I can say that a few details have already been agreed upon." Despite making only 12 appearances in the past two seasons for Liverpool the 34-year-old has been approached by the Spanish champions-elect with a view to a free transfer when his Anfield contract expires on June 30. Real's sporting director, Predrag Mijatovic, has discussed personal terms with the Polish international's agent, Jan de Zeeuw, and it is believed Dudek has agreed in principle to move to the Bernabeu next month. Diego Lopez, the current deputy to Spain's No 1, is expected to leave for Villarreal this summer and has therefore prompted Real's search for an inexpensive replacement. Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard is already stoking the fires ahead of Chelsea?s early season visit to Anfield by claiming they hope to catch Liverpool cold. "The two fixtures that really stand out in the first few weeks are the ones at Liverpool and United,? he said. "It's quite simple. If you're serious about winning the championship then those are the games you have to get results in and so we know what's ahead." He added: "We played very well in the second half at Old Trafford last season ? some of the best football we played all season. "It was a different story at Liverpool, when it seemed that we were caught cold and lost early goals. "But Liverpool have had a habit of gaining momentum later in the season this past couple of years so. Maybe playing them in the third match could be a good time."

Well that's all you're going to get until we sign somebody or Elisha comes on with Rafa's shopping list

Aren't Lyon supposedly interested in Simao as a replacement for Malouda?