Archangel

no reason for this - have a f***ing word

There have been inept decisions and there have been bent decisions. Rob Styles is bent, no question about it. not inept,....... bent, dishonest and a disgrace. Unquestionably a very worrying development - you would not like to think the worst but there's no other credible explanation. I dont think he cracked I think he knew exactly what he was doing, he was looking to give his paymasters a penalty

Wise decision by Jamie under the circumstances and a brave one too considering the flak he's had I've absolutely no problem with England FC but Jamie frankly deserved better

You have to be world class at a very young stage these days, it would appear

They are on a learning curve and doing rather well now

I'm very happy about the players brought in by Benitez, I believe the thinking has been absolutely right for our development long term. I go back a few years and I get the sense that the club is really beginning to move in the right direction again on a number of fronts its a really positive feel - admittedly i have it each summer but this time there's some substance The downside is that it will probably result in more rotation than before and thats something I personally find the hardest to get to grips with. We fell behind Chelsea and United too early last season and I'm convinced it was because of the continual switching of players. We were then playing catch up but the top two kept the pressure on each other and we never got a look in. I'd like to start with the strongest team as often as possible, build up momentum, keep with the top two then use the strength of the squad in the last third. It wont happen and i understand why but one day maybe

Thats an empty threat his career as a middleman would be finished if he was seen to be holding a club up for ransom

actually he didn't, that was the deliberate interpretation some put on what he and usher were indicating about the americans atitude towards our transfer policy, I'd say probably because of jealousy. If i recall correctly the general gist of the article(s) was that there was no extra money available other than our normal budget plus funds coming in from sales, this at a time when fans were speculating about a shed load of the great and good turning up at anfield. In point of FACT so far that is not a million miles away from the truth, though things may indeed change I dont want to open up the same debate again even though it is relevant to our transfer policy, but the way some elements of this forum jumped on the quotes and twisted them out of all proportion in the shape of some sycophantic super loyal fan-tastic love fest was in itself truly gut wrenching oh and Heinze would be the next logical signing in terms of strengthening the squad with quality in depth

No problem they are welcome to be our feeder club as far as i'm concerned

Kept a dysfunctional demoralised West Ham side in the premiership despite the best efforts of Pardew and Curbishley to get them relegated. I thnk he's worth that 30m price tag considering the whole background to his first season here

Only a valid point if the purpose of buying a player is to make a profit on him. As I dont believe we are largely in that type of game what a players resale value is is hardly relevant

your being blatantly selective in your criticism. I could say the same about any number of players if I were to cherry pick appearances. Slagging off a player off in such unrelenting terms is frankly b******s

In fairness we have, and have had, a few in our own league Leeds Newcastle Palace (or was it QPR?) West Ham and now Citeh perhaps (apols for going off topic)

I'll second that as well Its not the player who determines his fee, if we paid an immense amount of money for him the blame lies elsewhere not to ridicule him Rafa had no time for him or Tallec, thats the Managers perogative and I respect that, but the boy was/is alot better than some of the opinions I've read here. After all he is a french international in what is still a very talented french squad He was a Liverpool player, he scored some vital goals for us not least in the fight back against West Ham which got our only trophy I'm glad he's going for a number of reasons but I also hope he does well for Marseille

Bascombe's got nothing to apologise for. There were definitely mixed messages coming from the new owners about our transfer commitment, one minute we were going to eat at the top table, the next we were not going to spend like a drunken sailor. Gillett in particular seem to be cooling on taking ''the three steps'' we were behind the top two according to Rafa I'm glad Leo's has got his 'I told you so' t shirt but I don't believe this particular part of media relations has been handled particularly adroitly by the Club nor do I believe that Rafa's outburst immediately after the defeat in Athens was just an emotional reaction - the man is a very cool, shrewd player, if he hit out then there was certainly something behind it So we move on, things appear more positive at last, but was it all fabrication by the press or has Gillett changed tack. I can't see how anyone will ever know for certain but lets not have the proverbial witch hunt eh!

Point is, in Rafa's own words, we need to take two steps up and the quality we need to recruit to acheive that is not going to come into the promising youth bracket or the possibilities bracket, you know that. So, yes actually thats the level we need to satisfy the managers ambition Incidentally I'm not a moaning t*** I'm a concerned patron

as you find the matter so funny, perhaps you'd care to enlighten me on your take of the interview feel free, i'm sure i'll find it equally humourous what like speckled with emulsion?

I'm a cynic, and Gillet has just given an interview and has said nothing. A real politicians politician. I dont like this guy at all, Hicks seems more genuine, more personable, but Gillet strikes me as someone who could quite happily shaft you. No suprises that there already appears to have been some disagreement between them, if this was insignificant why is it not denied by Gillet. Its not a good start Show us your ambition George, come out and confirm you'll match that shown by United. Until then the rumours will continue and its not exactly doing the clubs position any favours

In fairness it is a bit irritating to have people say they've seen the pictures but can't show them or describe them - whats the good of that to the rest of us poor unfortunates - bit of a wind up actually even if its not intentional

He has a good record, I dont think our American friends are quite as honest as they make out, I dont think their ambition stretches as far as the dreams of some people on here. We are more likely to use the Arsenal model than the Chelsea way

Was it not more down to David Moores - lets face it couldn't have been easy for him

Written by a child screaming for attention I recognise the behaviour

So what we are basically saying here is we were not responsible for any act of crowd misconduct and it was all the nasty fault of those men at Uefa and the useless Greek police Irony is the politest word that springs to mind Perhaps we ought to start another thread for the hundreds of poor sods who spent a huge amount of hard cash getting a legit ticket only to find that some jovial old cove had taken their place

The yanks haven't a clue how to run a football club but hicks knows all about wheatabix thankfully

in a word ..... yep but you can always dream