Trinity-Tom

On your last point, I mentioned earlier in the thread but I have been led to believe that Virgin and Setanta are potentially going to launch a new sports channel to rival SSN.

Could potentially be very good but tbh I can't see it being half as good as SSN

I think it will be better. They have a blue print on which to improve. I think they could also link up more fully in the long term too. Sky is lucky that Virgin didn't take over Telewest sooner as they may not have won as many football packages.

One thing that puts me off Virgin is the price. I know if you have all of it you don't have to pay line rental to BT, but I can't see them beating the 26 quid package from Sky.

O, I have a question. If you have the Sky+ box do you pay an extra tenner a month like I'm get on their website.

Depends on the size of the hard drive on the Sky + box I think. If you get the 80g one then there is no extra cost!

How much is that? Thinking about getting a recordable DVD player but thinking ma mom would be better off with Sky+ as my mates seems simple enough to work.

Brand new from Sky they are about £100 but you can get reconditioned or second hand ones cheaper. Not sure how much though as I haven't invested in one yet!

One thing that puts me off Virgin is the price. I know if you have all of it you don't have to pay line rental to BT, but I can't see them beating the 26 quid package from Sky.

O, I have a question. If you have the Sky+ box do you pay an extra tenner a month like I'm get on their website.

Depends on the size of the hard drive on the Sky + box I think. If you get the 80g one then there is no extra cost!

The new V+ box on Virgin is absolutely fantastic. Natively has 3 tuner inputs (through the 1 cable ) meaning you can record 2 programs at once whilst watching something completely different. Also, the channel change on the V+ box is on-par with Sky for change speed now. One thing Virgin has that Sky can't compete with is the huge On-Demand database. which will soon have all the good stuff from Disney and HBO (they've done a big exclusive deal). Click the button and the program starts. Virgin also automatically record all the popular programs from the past week allowing you to watch virtually anything you've missed that stream straight to your box via the on-demand service. I do know Sky are starting their Sky Anytime service soon but it's hardly comparable...seeing as it isn't a true on-demand platform (how can it be On-Demand when all Sky are doing is sending programs to the un-used partition on your Sky+ box every night?). One more thing... HD content on Virgin is absolutely free with the V+ box - you might say but there's no HD channels (barring BBC HD - which does look fantastic)! However, there is a good little on-demand library of HD content building up on Virgin now and the box does automatically upscale normal SD content.

We only recently changed to Virgin from Sky due to their VIP offer (we already have Virgin Broadband and phone anyway) so in the long run it does save us a helluva lot of money.

Must say, I do miss Sky Sports News though

That's interesting stuff. I have just subscribed to sky after buying a house and had I known all this I would probably have gone with Virgin. Oh well.

On your last point, I mentioned earlier in the thread but I have been led to believe that Virgin and Setanta are potentially going to launch a new sports channel to rival SSN.

If the TV service offered by Virgin was of the same standard as Sky's I would choose Virgin out of principle. I am not so fussed about the channels offered however, I hate the slow channel changes on Virgin and the fact that the interactive features cannot be used. I can honestly say that these are the only reasons I went with Sky.

My channel changes are instant and I have all the interactive features including teleport replay and TV on demand as well as loads of features I don't even need. Do you have the supreme package (which is what I have)?

I don't have Virgin but my girlfriends parents do and certainly at their place when I I change the channels it takes a few seconds for the channel details to come up and for the channel to change. It is a small issue which I have a big problem with. The features you don't get are the ones such as Football First, Match Selections for the Champions League to name but two.

If the TV service offered by Virgin was of the same standard as Sky's I would choose Virgin out of principle. I am not so fussed about the channels offered however, I hate the slow channel changes on Virgin and the fact that the interactive features cannot be used. I can honestly say that these are the only reasons I went with Sky.

Sky. Despite the anti competitive behaviour of them they do provide value for money and the service is currently miles better than anything else. I would imagine that Virgin and Setanta will merge in a couple of years to try to combat sky, which will be a good thing in the long run. In fact, someone told me that Setanta and Virgin are already in discussions to launch a sports news channel.

The thing that annoys me is that England will win about 3 nil and tw@ face will be raving on about how England have turned the corner as though it is some achievement to beat some minnows 3 nil. Now if the score was something like 10 nil I may sit up and take notice but I doubt that will happen.

He has to go!

Reo coker also looked quality from what I saw in the Championship. FWIW I still think he is a good player. The comparison is simply that both had excellent first seasons yet one is now seemingly no longer a good player after his second season and there is a risk Sidwell could go the same way.

The expectation argument is true although highly exaggerated. I would much rather us sign someone like Barton or Parker to play the midfield anchor role. They are "gettable" and are not what I would call "near world class" players.

It is also a myth to think Sidwell is a goal scoring midfielder. He isn't. He is a box to box player who will score every now and then.

On a free transfer he would be a good signing but I think that there are better players out there than him and I am not convinced he is top 6 quality which are the kind of players we should be aiming for to come into the team. Don't get me wrong, he could turn out to be the next big thing but I am yet to be convinced of this.

I hope so Tricella, I really do!

The point is Tricella that Sidwell has had one season where he has arguably done very well. Reo Coker was flavour of the month this time last season. The fact is Sidwell needs to show me alot more to make me believe that he is a player of the quality suggested. Better than McCann, he probably is, but I want someone much better than him and I am not convinced that Sidwell is that player.

Arsenal want Sidwell back and they are a bigger club than us.

He has done very well this year, playing box to box and scoring goals.

That is one thing we haven't done.

As for setting expectations higher, come on, who will we realistically get?

Arsenal are not in for Sidwell. Even if they were he would be no more than back up to what theye already have. He has also scored 4 goals in 32 appearances this season. Hardly a goal scoring midfielder is he?

A good player, yes, but not as good as some people make out. I think we should be setting our sights higher though!

Can't see us signing Sniejder to be honest as I think Man Utd and Chelsea may be in for him. Sidwell would be good for a free but still think we should be setting our sights a bit higher.

i'd rather defoe than saviola

I agree but as he is on a free, let's get both!

None of us are saying sack him, no one is saying he's a total clearing in the woods

There are the odd one or two people who have said such things. I know it wasn't you but I just wanted to clarify this!

I would say that the likes of Juninho and Gilberto Silva could be added to that list.

But as has been said...this is something for Off-Topic rather than here.

Agreed actually. Forgot about them!

Let's sign Saviola and see what he is like any way. On a free it would be rude not to!

FWIW, I think Saviola is a different sort of player who would perform well in the Prem but I think the only example of a player doing well is Crespo. Veron was a huge flop. To describe him as a sensation in his first season is so far from the truth as far as I am concerned. Tevez and Mascherano, the jury is still out but they have hardly performed to the level anticipated. The fact is though that the majority of South American players who come to the Premiership find it incredibly difficult to settle. The only example where there appears to have been no problem is Solano.

Javier Saviola!

Didn't we try for him in the summer? There was something in the paper yesterday about him considering moving to England at the end of the season.

I read it on the bbc gossip page.

I did think the same when I saw that actually.

He is comfortable on the ball and his timing of runs, tackles etc... is getting better. Previously, he wouldn't get close to the ball and when he had the ball his biggest problem was that he sometimes would get caught in possession. This all says to me that he is off the pace but that he starting to adjust to it. It has taken longer than I would have hoped but if he solves these small issues I think he will be a real player.

Petrov is improving. I genuinely believe that he will be an excellent player for us. With a full pre season and the 1st seasons experience behind him, I think he will be top drawer next season. If by this time next season we are still seeing such inconsistency from him though then yes he can be deemed a failure. As for Young, I have seen enough to believe that he will be awesome for us.

Is there any way you can offer a cash back scheme for re arranged fixtures? I bought a half season ticket at Christmas and have had to miss both Arsenal and Liverpool due to work commitments that no matter how hard i tried i could not get out of. 2 of the biggest fixtures of the season and i had to miss them its very frustrating and as my season ticket is with friends and my Dad i have nobody else to offer it to.

I think this is an important issue. Some sort of refund ought to be offered to season ticket holders who are unable to attend rearranged fixtures. I had to miss Chelsea earlier in the season as it was moved for television purposes and this is just one example of several over the last few seasons. It is not so much of a problem now that I have moved back to Birmingham but it tends to alienate supporters who live further away as when I was living in London, I had to plan in advance so that I could attend mid week games and when a weekend fixture got moved it often meant I couldn't go.

No to Foster if it's a loan. YES YES YES if its a proper deal.

Reo-Coker was excellent last season, this one he's looked lazy and not up for a fight - if we can get him cheaply then worth it imo....

Agree on both counts.

I wouldn't want Hunt either. I doubt Parker will leave Newcastle either but Defoe and SWP are likely targets. Whilst Heinze is a top player, I can't see him staying in England if he leaves Man United. I would be happy with Distin on a free though as a centre back signing.

Possibly, although I do think we need to give our new signings time to settle in, they have hardly got mud on their boots and they are coming in for stick, amazing! :roll:

Tell me about it.

The fact that we have constantly been linked with players like Bellamy, Defoe, Keane, Bent etc... suggests to me that we are definitely in the market for another striker. Given that JPA and Sutton will be out come the summer, we could do with one. Nugent would be a good shout though.

Me too Wurz although I do think we will be signing a striker too.