sharkyvilla

I read he still had 4 years on his contract, which was mental in itself as he's wanted to leave for at least 2 years. Why did he sign such a long contract in the first place? No doubt Arsenal have got a pretty shit deal in all this, though if they get Mata in for half the price it would soften the blow

Messi did look a bit lardy yesterday. May just be the stripes. Loved the way he bounced off the challenge before tucking it away for his goal. All in all Barca looked a mile off the pace whereas Real were almost at full pelt and yet it was still 2-2. God knows what will happen when Barca get up to 100% in the next few weeks.

Getting a decent winger in to provide for Bent could make several positions in the table's difference, and with that comes several million quid's difference in prize money. Come on, fork out the extra million and get him signed up.

5 years is insane. Still, welcome to the club, he's a top top keeper.

Punk v Cena was the dog's bollocks, one of the best matches I've ever seen. I'd lost interest a bit after I wasted my money on Wrestlemania but Sky Plused it last night as I love ladder matches. Christian is great though the flobbing in the gob was a bit near the knuckle.

Agreed, though he was good last season in a really dire team. Just frigging hope those three come in

Foster always seems a bag of nerves to me. Talented, but I think I'd prefer Given

Ireland is the kind of player at the club that will define McLeish's tenure. Forget the new signings, it's what he can get out of the players that let themselves down under Houllier that is most important imo. It's up to Ireland to work harder than he ever has done this summer to get himself fit.

Stuart Pearce would have worked with a few of them. I actually thought he had a decent start at Man City but things went pear-shaped once he started buying players, but that's an experience thing and something you can learn from. He's done really well with the Under 21s and seems a really good man manager. I reckon he gets looked down upon a bit harshly, especially in terms of taking over from Capello.

Adrian Durham is a genius at it. I bet he doesn't believe half the stuff he says. I actually find a lot of it quite funny. Ultimately **** knows who the manager is going to be, just sit back and let them get on with their work and who knows we may get a nice surprise

If Rafa can learn from his mistakes then he'll be fine. He seems a rather stubborn fellow though. Gutted about Ancelotti

See his AC Milan and Parma stints. If Carlo gets the job, Laursen for assistant manager? - the two know each other and are friends plus Laursen is a natural leader. I was thinking the same. Would love to see him back at the club. Though the Megson idea does have its merits

The Hate Mail on Sunday seem pretty sure that it's Ancelotti for us and Hughes and Hiddink at Chelsea. Randy is flying in at the start of the week and it should be done by Carlo's birthday on Friday. I'd take that.

Yeah players beyond the golden few are just playing to get a hiding from the press and then the fans when they're with England. No wonder they're all retiring. Like if any other keeper had let that goal in they'd have got humiliated. Bent's of the you've got to be there to miss them to score them mould which works great at club level but I guess the misses are amplified at international level

Roman going for Hiddink DOF and Hughes head coach? Wouldn't rule it out tbh (**** hope so cos I want Carlo!)

I'm sure Randy is willing to give transfer funds to any manager he appoints. What he clearly hates is when every other player that gets signed on huge wages doesn't get used and the club haemmorhages money. I think if Carlo wants to stay in England then we have a good chance. I have a feeling it will be Hughes though.

Hughes has a decent record and is young enough to build something, but I can't get past the fact that he is utterly charmless and Welsh. I voted for Ancelotti - I'd be very shocked if we could pull something like that off though. Moyes would be an excellent appointment but may take a bit longer for negotiations to be done. Ultimately, I'm just glad that Houllier has gone, as harsh as it sounds.

How? Maradona did his best work at Napoli and Argentina surrounded by some good players and a few journeymen. Messi as good as he is is surrounded by Xavi and Iniesta 2 players that will be named as legends of the game in 20-50 years time. If MEssi came to a club say like Villa and won the league then he be in Maradona's league To be honest I just want to see how he does when Xavi and Iniesta are gone. There is no doubt that he is a fantastic player and if he continues to dominate when surrounded by weaker players for years to come he will righty be talked about as an all time great. But for now greatest player ever is just 24hr media over hype. The thing is Barca will sign back Fabregas and bring through Thiago Alcantara and get away with it midfield but they'll never replace Messi I don't think.

I can understand where people are coming from when they say he needs a brilliant World Cup. I thought he was excellent in 06 in the bits he played and was pretty good last year myself. Whether he'll ever win a World Cup I'm not sure. I can definitely see him winning the World Player of the Year for at least the next 5 years which would be an unsurpasssable achievement I think.

I'd be gutted if we lost one of the few players who put his heart and soul into this season. I think it's inevitable that we find it hard to keep our best players though. It's still possible to be strong despite being a 'selling club' provided we choose the right times to buy and sell, though it's going to be tough to break the top 4 now like Spurs managed to.

Yeah he had a phenomenal end to the season didn't he? He's like a footballing robot. It's a bit of a shame that Real didn't push Barca a bit further so he and Messi would both have been at full throttle in the last few games going for the golden boot

There are two gambles here, one is obviously Houllier's health and the second is that if he does stay, it means a large turnaround of playing staff, which is risky. Now this squad last year was 6th, and as soon as Houllier went sick, pretty much the same squad with the addition of Bent and Walker, played to their potential and got a creditable 9th finish. In between was awful and a lot of it wasn't down to purely football reasons. How much you put that down to coincidence is up to you, but for me there are too many failings on Gerard's part and too much risk in keeping him, especially when there most likely will be decent managers available this summer.

That's one way of looking at it I suppose I think the top 5 next year is pretty much set in stone. Spurs will be favourite for 6 and then we should be at the top of the next pack as a minimum. They should do all they can to convince Moyes to come to VP.

He just seems utterly charmless to me. I know that probably has bugger all to do with how good a manager he is/can be but the way he moans at refs whenever things go tits up gets on mine.

That's only the top 18 shillz, here's his top 50 (great soundtrack btw) although doesn't include any of the 52 so far this season http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv5VotXzOQA I can think of 5 he has scored this season that would be in the top 20. Last night's second, the one where he dribbled it across the six yard box and put it in the other corner, the chip and volley v Arsenal, the winner against Brazil and the 'double header' which was insane. Also here's some hilarious commentary on his dribble against Bilbao http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEMcb_1G--I