Overdubber

Bouma was always going to be difficult to replace....

Without wishing to defend the case of the guy, and going from Bicks quote there, makes you wonder just how difficult it is to learn `basic english`within a year whilst playing in Turkey....... Wonder how many of us could learn `basic turkish` enogh for passing imigration/foreign work permisssion laws in Turkey whilst living in England? All a bit hypothetical and silly really, but unfortunately the difference between a good player playing or not.

Bad chioce for him to end up going to Schalke as it turned out, but a real terrier in midfield when he gets going. Got a lot of bite in him, but, alas, can easily be sent off through getting into gripes with opposition players. Have some Ghanean friends out here who are real fans, but wouldn`t put too much weight on it. One for the `rainy night in Stoke`test...

Sorry, thanks!

Second that, especially for THAT goal..... Legend.

Sorry, but they hit that final by playing hard, iconically reflected by the Boateng sending off in the final for his Bruce Lee like kick. This Euro was once again haggered by infighting, and they were certainly a disapointment, even lost to the germans (something the Dutch hate). No disrespect to anyone intended, and appreciate that we are all entitled to our varying viewpoints, but the general viewpoit from my dutch colleagues and friends is that Bert is not the man for the job considering the players he has at his disposal. Failed at Dortmund, and just look what they achieved since Klopp took over. Fact is that Vlaar has been captaining a Feyernoord side who have had a couple of good seasons since Koeman came in.

Lambert in the states will obviously have slowed things down, officially at least.

What, there were highlights?

Gabby for me, despite his dreadful second half of the season, where he actually gained the captaincy. Hope he plays better under Lambo, as he seems to be the last of the locals, so to speak...

Not sure where the connection comes from, but would like to see such a transfer go through. Certainly the entertainment value, which seems to count in the modern game. One of the people for a classic moment or two, ala Gabby when we won 2-1 away at the sty. Friend of mine is a PSG fan, says himself that the guy should move into a "bigger league"

Shirts are faked anywhere in the world, anytime. TV shows are streamed. Begs the quesgtion why Man U want rid of. Is he not good enough?

Would be foolish to try and offload him now, as there is a rather excelent player in there, and the new coaching and management can try to harness some of that before deciding which steps to make concerning his future.

Looks a good tackler, something we have missed since Petrov has been out, will be interesting to see how he combines with Ireland. Not expecting too much though, as we have all seen many a false dawn at this club.

Certainly looks to be the kind of player we need. Agree with the opinion about youtube vids too. Good at winning balls and feeding others. Would be interested to see how shirt sales develop in Morocco.

Any indication we are keeping him?

How much was he actually able to cut off the wage bill then?. To his credit (if you can call it that), he did actually achieve our non-relegation.

I have to agree with Brummybloke to a certain extent, as we seem to be wanting rid of older players presicely due to the wages issue. He has, howerver proven himself to be wroth a few goals though, and Darren Bent is really the same kind of signing (not from style of play).

What with the current economic climate I`d be suprised at anything over 20 mil.

What with the Liverpool position up for grabs now, and FSG unwilling to pump in another 100 mil., I can well imagine some pretty hardball dealing going on for Lamberts scribble on the dotted line....

Seems to me that some on here are underrating Holmans potential. The goal or two in South Africa were not his only qualities, and his positioning, tackling and passing were not highlighted on the youtube videos. Seems he`s hit the roof in the Eerendivision, and is looking to step up to a bigger league, although the players in Holland are generaly bigger than most European leagues. Time to actually give the man a chance before comming out with prejudgements as fact.

AVB did wonders at Porto, brought in heaps of players at next to nothing, but sold them when they got a profile in Europe, much to the profit for the club. Not sure I`d like to go through that constantly, as one of our many mistakes has been selling off our better players in the past. Sort of supplier club for the top clubs. Can follow the opinion that is one of the reasons he left Porto for Chelsea (the other being the cash, of course). TBF Portugal has traditionally been a gateway into Europe for many a South American who then goes on to bigger things, so he could be seen as setting forth a tradition in some respects, but they also nurture home grown talent at an incredible rate. Cannot see him comming here though, unless our academy set up was to turn his head and think twice. Whichever way, very young and ambitious manager. Sadly had little chance at Chelsea from the outset, as expectrations there are high, and not easy to get an established group of superstars (some of whom are around his own age) playing a newer system. Seems he had the dressing room against him from the off. RDM has done very well there so far, and can well imagine him keeping the position if they win the CL on Saturday (not impossible). He`s up against one of the most experienced managers going though. Very clever tactician, but has lost out against Dortmund, driven by a much younger man, new ideas, fresh approach, etc. Whoever we have comming in, it is imperitive that he or she can make an impact on the squad and management. Keeping hold of our better players is very important. We have to stop our club selling of the assets from the field of play if we are actually aiming to get somewhere in this difficult league.

Agree with many on here who have been stating the Houllieresque aspect. Shame he had the dodgy heart, as his scouting for players was and possibly is really top stuff. Not wanting to ìf only`about the whole thing, but we did get to the stage after half of the season that we actually looked like playing football. Someone with that mindframe would do just fine. Could certainly do something with our own younger players too.

Sorry, but with his history with the far right in Italy, Villa is really the last place for a man like that. Still agree he was a great personality though.

Great thread! Terrible season......

Will be interesting to see who is considered deadwood by the new manager. One good thing to come out of the horrible season gone is that quite a few of our own youngsters got some playing time, and may well be up for the next season.