benno2

Probably yes, which was surprising. But that's their issue.

Thought it was a bit more like it myself too. We kept the ball on the floor a lot better. But that's only in light of how poor we'd been, mind.

I honestly don't think he works like that. Sadly, the reality is far worse ...

This all seems to be pointing one way.

Yeah that could well be it, although that wouldn't explain him not talking to the other players. But that could be down to a number of other things too. I thought I'd got away with writing what you'd quoted and hoped it would die. Putting 2 + 2 together based on a series of unsubstantiated rumours is not very clever. Even if these thoughts had been swirling through my mind in the wake of the spirit that's clearly evaporated from the squad in the last year. We'll have to hope that it's not irrecoverable and the new board make an inspired move forward very soon.

Dead right.

Perfect, we'll just miss relegation.

It's a while since he looked like that Torres though, all efferverscence and wholehearted endeavour. Something has definitely changed with him. Whether it's injuries, who can tell? But it seems more fundamental than that. Perhaps he never wanted Rafa out at all and is unhappy his name has been used for that purpose. If he won't talk to anyone at training, I'd wonder if that's always been the way, or is something new this season. Perhaps he doesn't feel he can trust people anymore.

He was reporting that as good news, this would be anything but.

And so you should, it was a s**** suggestion.

Sunday night has to be favourite, surely.

This is one unholy mess. We'd better hope that the likes of Reina, Torres, Kuyt, Agger hold Kenny in the same esteem that Carra and Gerrard presumably do and that he's the choice for the immediate future.

Gomez beat me to it.

I can ceertainly see him writing a book about his time here. Seems the sort.

It was actually late March, my bad 'I don't think it will be difficult to arrive at a deal and we will see what happens in the next few weeks.' I wonder what happened in those few weeks? Rafa seemed to get wind of being undermined from within, perhaps Masch knew this and held off, who knows? But he was happy to be directly quoted as saying those things and by the time he came back from the World Cup, everything had changed for him.

Not after the manager was changed, no.

He also said in February that he was looking to sign a new contract.

Sure and that could have been balanced in a number of ways.

I still don't get how they could have taken the money if they didn't have control of the board.

I'm not convinced by this at all. If the board had an overriding responsibility to balance the books then selling one of the two truly saleable players would have been done and spending £8-9m on replacing the manager wouldn't have been done. As far as the player account thing goes, in the last three seasons we've seen a marginal profit made on transfers, apparently in a time where the wage bill has risen, so to me it does look like this policy has been adhered to by-and-large and the fact that no extra money is going into the player account, is tantamount to admitting that things are tight. We spent £25.55m this summer outside of the change of management (sales were £34.65m), so this was sanctioned at a time where we looking to be sold and despite having posted losses of £40m last year. We could surely also have hung onto Aquilani and not bought Mereiles if your assertions held.

I'd actually be prepared to believe this, but the one thing that nags away and make me think it can't be right is this: Purslow's has repeatedly claimed that the 'player account' is sacrosanct. We know that the 'home team' had a majority on the board, so they could have stopped the re-diverting of funds in the same way they could stop re-financing. Yet according to your line on this, Purslow and Broughton believed they would be powerless to stop recouped funds going to debt-repayment, which in light of subsequent events surrounding the sale of the club, doesn't ring true.

When did Kelly stop being a centre-half? And why?

Skrtel Gerrard Meireles

I saw the same, that's right.