Ads

Martin O'Neill school of spending hits Southampton. This will not end well.

On what basis is that then? Yes he did but aren't you the one who always says you can't judge a player until he plays for the club he signs for? You certainly did so with Senderos. Or does it only apply to players that we sign? I'm confused. That he was a waste of money.

You're opinion on Kozak was ill-founded. Seems strange the money they are chucking at Hull for a player whose goal scoring record is pretty poor. I think Long is a hard worker, but still, £12 million? Football can be pretty stupid at times,e specially when they have spent £10 million on a keeper who I don't think they needed.

I agree. I would also add that part of the problem is a lack of movement in front of him and also the way our full backs get pegged back. Having Sanchez in there will increase possession and as a consequence, allow our full backs to press higher up the pitch; the more movement and men in front of the ball for Westwood, the better.

How soon would he need to sign to be able to play against Stoke? Or would it take a while for a work permit to clear?

That's what I thought. I will save the cash and wait. Far Cry 4 looks good in fairness, but I was wondering if there has been any great games that have been slipped under the radar.

Is it worth getting the PS4 yet for the casual gamer? There are no titles at the moment that are grabbing me, although I would keen to see what TLOU looks like on the next gen.

There are people on the deck with more knowledge on the subject than me or you who believe in Turkish involvement. Why do you think Barry was caught in the headlights regarding arming Syrian rebels? There are no good guys or bad guys in all this, only different shades of grey. It would be naïve to believe otherwise. Remember that at the time, ISIS were not like al Qaeda; their targets were Shia's and this was a region specific Jihad. It has only been since the air strikes by US forces that you have heard al Baghdadi grandstanding about bringing the US into a wider conflict [by targeting Kuwait one would imagine]. Their early conduct in Iraq was brutal, but don't forget they were initially invited in by Sunni's in Mosul to assist in resisting the sectarian government forces. There is a reason that they tried to provide state services, suggesting they had learnt from the defunct AQI. Somebody trained, armed and funded IS. We know the Kingdom and the Qataris hands are all over this and we know that their ranks have now been swelled by old Baathists and ex-Iraqi Army, but prior to this they stood up against the likes of Hezbollah. Somebody trained them and we know from the Turkish PMs own words that he was planning on dealing with whoever succeeded Assad. Edit: There is an article here regarding the allegations of the Turks picking up IS oil on the cheap. A segment from the article says It also has bits on MIT assisting militants across its borders. The rest of the article is here http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/tr/business/2014/06/turkey-syria-isis-selling-smuggled-oil.html#

How do you know they only trained moderates? Their President and his increasing Islamist outlook suggests he'd have no issues in picking a side.

IIRC this is straightforward for players with international caps. There's something about having played 75% of your countries games in the last two years that means you are guaranteed a work permit. A don't imagine that there would be any issues, but its more the admistration process and the time that takes.

There is a western lecturer in the KRG that seems to implicate Turkish involvement with ISIS in Syria. Its known that the Turkish Army provided training to anti-Assad forces, so it wouldn't surprise me if that was the case.

A work permit would be needed.

I have read in various places that Turkey was funding ISIS up until pretty recently. There are now British "advisors" in Northern Iraq helping to piont out where the F-18s need to be dropping their bombs and likely showing the Peshmerga how to fight an effective counter insurgency.

I have already copywrited the childishly amusing Dirty Sanchez gag. You owe me royalties. You pay now!

It gives us options at least, but you have to say that addressing one of our chronic problems (shipping far too many soft goals) is the way to go about seeing us safely into mid-table. That's not good enough in the grand scheme of Aston Villa, but for the rubbish we have had recently, it will do for now.

It's a cyclical thing. Hamas keep the peace in Gaza by keeping the even less desirables, such as Islamic Jihad, back in their box. Every time Hamas need to generate some short term support (their misadventures in Syria have weakened them) then they crack out the intermediate rockets knowing the response they will get. The IDF turn up to mow the lawn, and take out the plant beds as well, which gives Hamas the chance to kill a few Israeli's and boost internal support for them.

From a defensive point of view; Hutton, Okore, Vlaar, Cisshoko, with Sanchez in front of them, is a lot more physical and solid [with pace it must be said] than the likes of Clark, Baker, Luna, Lowton or Bennet. The player we should have signed two years ago, but that is neither here nor there now I suppose.

Wait a minute...

I just hope we get to see the headline "Dirty Sanchez" at least once.

He's on a boat with his easel drawing the Holte End. What a guy.

An increase in ecnomic investment doesn't mean you're about to see Turkish troops fighting with the Peshmerga anytime soon.

With respect, I am not sure if you're addressing Maqroll or myself here, but I am not sure how serious we were supposed to take your suggestion, given the known differences between Kurds and Turks. Turkey may intervene if their interests were compromised, but this would not be in the spirit of helping the Kurds and the communities of northern Iraq, much in the same way as Iranian air and Quds Force in Iraq aren't there to do anybody but Shias any favours.

The Turks deploy and put their men on the line to help the Kurds? In other news the Saudi Arabia and Iran become Facebook friends.

There is a difference in creating a vacuum and being responsible for what fills it compared to actively radicalising, funding and arming individuals to go and fight your proxy war against the Shia as the Saudi's and Qataris have.