Rocafella

20% chance of finishing 4th 70% chance of finishing 5th 10% chance of finishing 6th All other outcomes are unlikely

Young's FK's are much more dangerous when Carew is in the box.

Well I guess you would have to line up each game and put up an estimation of points beforehand, look at the opposition according to the table and statistics, inuries, form etc. Over time and seasons I guess you can make conclusions but not during a single one. Forget it

True. People have different views on everything though... which I respect. However, Angel was maybe a legend and a good bloke, representing the club and taking good care of the fans etc. As a footballer he didn't do enough over time to deserve such status. Perhaps it's his long hair, being from Colombia and awesome name that does the trick, I dunno

No what I am saying is that people are always using all this excuses why he wasn't the best player in the world. Almost implying that he would have been a galactico hadn't it been for numerous stuff that happened in his life. All in all, I think he suffered too much with these factors and it's a pitty for him. That's why he was rather average from season to season IMO. He had a great season, but please remember he only scored 16 league goals which isn't that big of a deal for a club finishing 6th. From 04/05 to 06/07 he played 35, 31 and 23 games in each season netting 5, 3 and 4 goals respectively. Pretty awful record to be honest, much worser than I would have guessed! When he scored 16 goals we scored very little, only 48 or something. That tells the tale of a team only attacking in one way, resulting in many goals from one player but few from others. Just like Bolton with Michael Ricketts and Birmingham with Mickael Forssell. Forssell scored 17 goals that season by the way, it's not like he is a hero.

1. Not exactly true is it? He also had seasons where his scoring ratio is very poor. In football there are no excuses, at least not over time. 2. Has this got anything to do with his performances on the pitch? Where it matter I mean... 3. Again, so what? People go through shit experiences all the time. I lost my best friend this year but I didn't quit my job... and neither did I get any extra treatment from the university I go to. And why should I? I know I am being extremely cold towards this subject now.... but anyhow, your opinion on Angel is based on everything that hasn't got anything to do with football. Like I said; his scoring ratio is poor and he often disappeared for months.

Him having a hard time, not knowing the language and "being too scared to get a haircut" etc is all in all BS to me. We are talking about a grown man grossing some 40K a week to play football - him not being able to speak English or live in Birmingham was his problem. Good god, we are talking about a man not a little kid going to school abroad because his father is doing some trade there! Like I said earlier; decent player who struggled to get into form sometimes. Didn't he miss two penalties in one game?

Long time ago. Barry has taken two steps forward and Downing has taken two backwards. Easy as that. Barry has been at a better club as well.

Well he is quite obviously neither! Flop? Never such a thing Hero? If so - the term should be used for many players He was above average but sometimes he went many games without being interested. Scoring record not very good

Gabriel Agbonlahor has really stepped up, Martin Laursen solid as ever, Ashley Young doing some fine stuff and then we have Stiliyan Petrov who has also done quite well. 1. Gabby (Important goals and great composure - we aren't missing Carew - just look at our recent form) 2. Laursen (Gives the kind of stature to our defensive unit that only top players like Rio and Terry could do) 3. Young (Our best player if you ask me and is only getting better - although his crossing has been variable) 4. Petrov (Though someone should point out that he is starting to be massively overhyped by some on here. He does his job simple and quietly, but it's not the hardest job) Then a mention to Gareth Barry and Brad Friedel who have been solid - although not living up to their full potential

It will be Heskey or nothing in my opinion....

Petrov? Well; 1. His English isn't good enough and 2. He isn't vocal enough So why would anyone make him captain? I realize Hughes made Robinho captain a few weeks ago... which is odd since he doesn't speak English.... I know Petrov speaks English but it's not remotely close to being fluent (which is odd since he's been here a loong time)

Easy pick - Brad Friedel 1. Always playing 2. Leading the line from behind - watching everything unlike a striker who wouldn't contribute in the same way 3. Vocal - unlike Barry who I seldom see screaming at people

Then you kind of missed the point of the poll. Did I? Or did I kind of just say it was pointless given the obvious pick of Heskey going to be the one we are buying?

I put a vote in for Heskey - as he is the one we will get. Sadly.

The man won the Tour de France after being diagnosed with testicular cancer, biggest ass I've seever seen

It's out on Blu Ray - which is fantastic news. Quite cheap at Play.com as well

That is nearly impossible right now, both for you and Newcastle. The money left for good sport and pleasure is wiped out from every wealthy person's savings - and to be honest - I doubt even Randy Lerner would buy Villa at present state. I imagine him losing much more money compared to what he has spent on Villa so far. It's great though, two supposed rivals in deep trouble.

And add to the fact that they should be attractive for foreign buyers - due to their lack of rich owner and lack of huge debt. They have the same amount of fans (if not more) and have done much better than ourselves in recent years so calling them a nothing club is nothing short of ignorant.

Villadude, you are aware of the fact that the "woman" you are holding on the first pic is a bloke?

Liverpool Clearly not as big as United even though they think they are, without a question, the biggest and only club in the world. I hate that song with the title I am not going to mention being sung, when it's not even about football or not even meant for them. It's like it's something special for them and something only they have, but when I see all those people singing it religiously it looks so **** lame and gay at the same time. Their fans are deluded, they think Gerrard is the best player in the world (something he is not even remotely close to being). Every person over 30 in Norway is a Liverpool fan, well so it seems, and because they witnessed the 80's they still think they are entitled to be favourites for every game and trophy when reality is that another red club not far from them have overtaken them totally. Here is for wishing them another 20 years without the domestic trophy they long for - always playing the most boring and cynical stuff as well. Yawn! West Ham When they got purchased by the former Islandic billionaire they appointed the biggest idiot I have ever seen in Eggest Magnusson. Made their fans think they could spend 100M on Beckham, Cannavaro, Nesta, Buffon, Bent, Ashley Young, Michael Owen, Cesc Fabregas and David Villa. Yes - I actually read this on their fan forum site and many believed this was the new scenario. In credibly deluded, and I am so proud of us here being able to see the reality in a situation although a billionaire had just taken over the club. Sure there were a few, brief shouts about Beckham (free at the time, although wages not) and Henry (unsettled), but we always kept a realistic approach with calls for Milner, Sidwell, Reo-Coker, Defoe and such players (any we got many). West Ham fans are in the belief that they are a bigger club than us, when EVERY other piece of evidence point to the contrary. Better history and trophy cabinet, bigger stadium and better Premier League history (which counts a hell of a lot these days) since football got much more professional after 1992. Tottenham and Newcastle Both big clubs - but both set of fans think they are on level or just under Arsenal and Liverpool. Tottenham have a pretty ordinary history in the Premier League, Newcastle have a pretty mediocre history all in all. Newcastle is a big(ish) city with lots of fans right there because they are the only club nearby. If that had been the case in Birmingham, Villa would have had insane amounts of fans but we have many competitors. I hate fans thinking too highly of their own clubs. Arsenal A history of violent players and arrogant approaches to the game. Annoys me that Wenger get so much credit for his young guns etc, when the fact is that a) they are a big club who generate money and they have money available and finally they haven't won any trophies in like four years? This should be critical for both the club and Wenger, and to be honest I don't think they have a single shot in hell at winning the Prem or the Champions League this season. We all know they won't win the Carling Cup because they think it's too little and the F.A Cup is on the radar for Man U, Chelsea and Liverpool as well. Silly silly silly. Man City I am progressive as a person but I respect tradition and history. Clearly, this club and fans don't have anything in that department. As soon as these **** Arabs sweeped the club from the criminal Thai person it was all about buying every player in the world as well as talking about winning the Premier League and Champs League next season. On top of that, disgracing themselves talking about bringing in every good player from the other clubs in the Prem - when they clearly will never get their hands on Torres, Ronaldo or Fabregas. Mark Hughes must feel so stupid - he is going to get fired and thus ruin his imagine within next summer. Here is for 10 years with 10 different managers, hundreds of players and serious underachieving! There also Chelsea and United, but like I feared, the hatred against Chelsea has vanished a little over time. They have built a solid image of what they are and I can't blame them anymore. What's the difference between buying players for 50M like we did this summer and 200M like they did in the beginning? Well - balls and jellousy. At least the club and its directors are professional, unlike what's going on at Manchester City where everything is over the top. I feel sad for the people who are not interested in football in the city of Manchester, it's gonna be hell living there now! I'm glad we have a good, old fashioned stadium with history and tradition, an owner who has both feet planted on the ground, a manager who has a vision and I am very glad we don't have a stupid song we always have to sing when something happens with our club

Don't think that's a question for the General really - it's obviously talk of a bad washing machine (if it was washed at 30 I mean) or a bad product and thus you should contact the store you purchased it from. Guess that happens sometimes unfortunately. All I know is that the facbrics in Nike kits are not likely to shrink, they are made by fabrics to endure tough treatment and dry fast.

I don't really count in Curtis Davies as he was brought in last season - we paid for him now kind of, even though none of us knows if the payments went now or last season. Even so, most deals have payment plans etc, at least when it's down to big purchases. So, Curtis was our player last season, not this one (IMO). Brad Friedel - 8 - starter His ability last season and the years before that was a 9, no doubt about it, his age brings my rating down to an 8 because we know that the chances of him suddenly being a little weaker are natural - and we won't get a hold of him for more than two seasons max which is a shame. A player and person that will bring lots of good things to the club, he must be a real leader within the dressing room. I wanted Artur Boruc before the summer - but I guess Celtic isn't the place where MON will pick his players anymore. Brad Guzan - 6 - reserve Keeper for the bench, a move that won't make any difference this season or the next.... but who knows how good he will become. Most likely he will not become our first pick keeper after Friedel, but at this price it's definetely worth a shot. Nicky Shorey - 7 - cover when Bouma was/is fit Good little player who will give competition to the injured, and older Wilfred Bouma. I have been a little bit disappointed with Shorey so far but what is three games anyway. Cuellar - 8 - cover for now I would guess I have never seen the guy and I am only speaking on behalf of expectations and reports from other people. How good he really can be is a question we will answer in the end of the campaign, let's hope is something in the Lescott category. Cuellar and Davies together the next 5 seasons after Laursen retires isn't bad at all. Like I have said, never seen him play, but he really looks like the kind of player who understands the game, makes hard tackles and wins everything in the air. If his mobility is decent for a tall bloke we have something to look forward to. Luke Young - 6 - starter 6 isn't bad - it's OK, it's good. He is a good player, a solid player who will give us just that. Solid performances. I wouldn't say I am disappointed, to be frank, who else is there in the market? He is obviously the player with the least ability in our back four IMO, but let's hope he develop some more assets to his game and make me look like an ass. The price was steep, but that shows we are not afraid of spending some money. After all, who are we to judge a deal when most of us aren't a) economists or behind the money spent anyway. A step down from Olof Mellberg (even at right back) but he gives us stability non the less. Steve Sidwell - 7 - cover Just like Shorey he is the best cover we could have gotten. Well, we could have gotten a much better player and made Petrov/NRC our cover but that isn't MON's style after all. Competitive and great for our games in Europe, he will not give us any spectacular performances but it will be gritty and tough. After all, that's what we need away to Stoke and Hull, teams that will win the game playing rugby and not football. James Milner - 8 - starter A young, good player with a terrific machine. He runs and makes tackles, never gives up. I think he is fairly limited in attack - as his shot is kind of non-existent and his crossing seem to be a little bit off at times, but he gives us another option taking corners and free-kicks. Taking set-pieces is something totally different from crossing in the heat of the moment mind, you can be a good corner taker and a crap crosser of the ball at the same time. Milner had a lot of assists for us when he was 20 years old, I would love it if he turned his game around a bit and hit that higher level, because I think he has stagnated a bit since returning to Newcastle. Saying that, this is the perfect place for him and he has been welcome since day one. I wanted Bentley and SWP before him to be honest, but now that's history. Striker situation Good teams with good defensive units such as Liverpool and Carragher love to play against us because they know how to shut us out. Mark Young and put the tough guy on Carew as well as leaving no holes for Gabby. When it happens it's frustrating and to be honest - I think we will score less goals this season because teams have learned about us better this time around. With another striker we could have had other options and systems, but it wasn't materialised and I am frustrated. My first pick was Darren Bent (this was waaaay back in May/June when he was still "crap") so it could have been an option. Dean Ashton, a great player and probably going to be better than Carew at lots of things, but right now it seems a little bit strange. We need a poacher, with a clean injury record. Well, needed. Rumors on the net say we have failed in an attempt to sign Emile Heskey..... I am pretty certain MON will not go our and comment on that. A) Heskey is utterly crap and he failed to sign him (if true) All in all I am relieved we have strengthened in numbers, which makes our UEFA campaign a little bit easier to endure. Our first team has been strengthened with Friedel and Milner, but we have also lost a very good player in Olof Mellberg. So my conclusion is that we will fight for the same stuff as last season, we are a little bit better on paper (first XI) but other clubs are getting better as well. My expectation this season would be to finish 7th, I would be thrilled with 6th again. 4th is not possible and 5th will be within a 10 point grasp. I remember I said last season that we were going to finish around 15 points behind Liverpool because squad size and ability always come out in the end. People were laughing of course, since we were only 2 points or so behind them then.... we actually ended 16 points behind them. All in all - a fairly good transfer window, perhaps because we aren't exactly blessed with good ones in the past ----> 7+

I seriously think people should lower their expectations on James Milner. At least right now, he is NOT that exceptional. He is young and hopefully will develop into something spectacular but right now he isn't guaranteed a starting place in the team. Stiliyan Petrov is the obvious pick though, he has never shown consistent form has he?

Don't really think Milner has deserved a start yet? 1) Petrov, the obvious weak link, has been decent and probably better than Milner has been this season (even though two games is very little to judge from) 2) Milner isn't Ronaldo - and is only marginally better than Petrov anyway. He is a right midfielder though, so will perhaps take over for the abovementioned in a flat four. 3) Dropping Gabby if we aren't signing another striker tomorrow might be a plan, thus playing 4-5-1 going 4-3-3 in attack with Young - Carew - Milner Next up is Tottenham away - a game I would be more than happy with if we gathered 1 point. It's a shit time to meet them, just like it was shit meeting Stoke City last week. They are bound to win a game soon and will gain some momentum drawing Chelsea away. They are very solid on their day, that's why I would drop Gabby for this one and put James Milner on the right... making NRC/Barry/Petrov link up in the middle controlling Modric and Jenas. They will have new players I think, at least Pavlyuchenko and perhaps another one as well up there? Bent and Pavlyuchenko will score at least once....