RedHarvest

That left side would give you a heart attack

First rat to jump ship - f*** him if his heart wasn't in it, but I think we need to replace him with a similar (preferably better) tricky, between the lines type player.

There's the rub IMO, Kuyt consistently gives his all for the shirt where some of the more skillful and lauded names often just dont show up. Of course he needs to have good players around him but his strengths outweigh his faults for me.

Yossi would be mad not to meet and discuss his position with Hodgson before f***ing off to Chelsea

The Gerrard situation is way more complicated than just who we replaced Rafa with. He's at a crossroads in his life and career; I would imagine that more personal factors apply to his situation than the other so called "want aways". btw: fair play to Danny Murphy, he definitely has the ear of Gerrard and Carra, seems like a smart guy and I'd tend to trust his appraisal of Roy.

Wecome to LFC Roy. Now he's in I'm feeling positive about the club for the first time in ages. He's a dignified old school manager, a million miles away from the cult of personality types like Mourinho and this appeals to my romantic (unrealistic?) footie world view. I hope this patronising "nice old man" label is his smokescreen for the steel he's gonna need to steady the club through this particularly rocky period in our history. Good luck Roy YNWA.

Unlikely I know, but that would be the business, I think Benzemas class, was really glad Real trumped the mancs to get him.

that would be great - I've read Schultz,; maybe some excerpts from the adventures of a priapic theatre impresario is just the thing to get the lads playing.

I think one of the main differences in approach we're gonna see from Roy is his treatment of players. By all accounts he's in the arm-around-the-shoulder school, and looking at Fulham last season he got the best out of an older slower Duff, and worked miracles with journeyman Bobby Z. Gonna be interesting to see how Gerrard responds (if he stays that is) to this approach - I always felt he really struggled with Rafas cold ways with players despite having the requisite respect for him as a manager. No doubt the likes of Babel, Riera, Yossi could also respond to a bit of this treatment.

schneider's got a nasty growth on his groin there

good call...and Capello sometimes has a touch of the Lou Reeds about him

I always thought that was a backhanded way to poitely say English players have no tactical nous or technical ability. Seems to me watching those 4 games that there was a serious mutual lack of respect between players and manager - Capello deep down didn't trust them to perform the basics, and this was reflected back at him by the egos in the England team, epitomised by Terrys idiotic failed revolution. The ultimate blame rests with the players and the wrongheaded football culture they were nurtured under.

This thread sucks

It's even in question whether he was interviewed in earnest...and if they did ...cos of the working conditions

True, and the "game is different now" argument against his appointment was spurious. Was there ever really any substance to reports some weeks ago that he wanted the job at all?

Dont fancy Portugal at all, no backbone, bunch of pussies, flattered in the extreme by the N.Korea game. This - Brazil 2 nil, Fabiano 1st goal

this now seems depressingly likely

Me too but worryingly Hodgson rumours seem to be gathering pace which points to Pelligrini not being happy with the conditions (ie:transfer spend, wages) on offer and has dropped out - conditions Hodgson has agreed to work under?? It's all conjecture. the definition of realistic manegerial targets has to take into account our financial state, the straitened working conditions of the job on offer and therefore the likes of Lippi, Dunga, Pelligrini, Hitzfeld, Riijkard become less likely candidates. Seems to me it'll take someone with a strong feeling for the history of the club and a willingness to take on the formiddable challenge of getting us back in contention for trophies - hence Hodgson ...( and possibly Sven ) Roy is seeming more and more likely - to consider the glass half full scenario is it possible he will be on a one year rolling contract, experienced hands to steady the ship while the sale of the club drags on? We sell within the year and Roy steps aside for a top rank boss to come in for the new owners?

Havn't seen this mentioned - Didi hamann was on the RTE panel for Germany game last night, he was cool, made Dunphy and Brady look like the clueless tools they are, Dunphy in particular, he really hasnt a notion about the game.

that's gas. Im now convinced Argentina will win the WC on the basis that they're taking it the least seriously.

Since we cant appoint from the top - or even the second from top - shelf of managers we're gonna be taking a gamble either way. Van Gaal, having won the big cup and Spanish and German league titles is a top shelf manager. Our world reputation is a dwindling dwaw for most of these guys and the ownership situation is obviously poison. It's Hodgson who looks to be the best option for me given our perilous state.

So true,,,should lock it now and open a free transfers thread. I figured Masch would leave anyway, and since Barca are chasing Cesc and already spent wedge on Villa Inter was the most likely destination. If/when Rafa pitches up there it's nailed on.

The replacement will be inferior to Rafa regardless, so it's a question of who has the experience and tactical nous to get the best from our squad - for me that's Hodgeson over MON, Hughes, McLeish etc...

Hiddink and Sven are both breadheads and therefore not at all realistic. I've a feeling it'll be Hodgeson and I'm ok with that considering the circumstances.

Finally a decent, accurate and fair summation. It's the press broadstrokes, trotting out fallacies about Rafas tenure that have been the worst thing about all this for me since it became inevitable he'd leave. Dunphy wrote a typically poisonous piece in the Irish Star yesterday, made me want to gnaw my hands off.