markavfc40

Only a fool would suggest that the squad is currently no better than being capable of finishing around 12th - 16th in the table. I don't believe Lambert is a fool so he will know this. What we have done over the last 2 seasons is simply not good enough for this great club. Lambert didn't some here to be serving up another season of battling relegation and spending most of it in the bottom third of the table. For the above reasons I am expecting major activity in terms of incoming players over the next couple of weeks.

Not long back from the game. Ireland was playing much too deep today. Not sure if that is where he was told to play or that was simply the only way he was going to get the ball as quite simply the ball hardly ever reached over attacking third. He did OK but he needs to be in a more advanced position than he continually found himself in today if he is to do any damage in terms of creating chances. He tried to thread a few passes into Bent but as he was too deep they were telegraphed and relatively easy pickings usually for James Collins who was superb for West Ham.

Given who else was on the bill he was easily the biggest star involved ( alongside The Who )especially when you consider this was going out to a worldwide audience. Therefore I guess they pretty much allowed him to sing whatever he wanted.

**** Cameron. What a wooden prick he looks and as for Boris a **** embarrassment.

Just hasn't got going has it. I thought when George Michael came on with Freedom it would take off from there but its gone backwards.

They will I think when the proper concert starts after these formalities.

I knew he'd been ill for a while. Part of a select band of commentators that are instantly recognisable as soon as they speak and made watching the sport they commentate on more enjoyable. Sid came out with some cracking lines over the years and watching darts won't be the same without him. RIP Sid.

Pal it is not me that has got the figure wrong. I have linked what the BBC stated when he signed - £6million. This is also stated in numerous online papers at the time. Now you are saying that Houllier said 5 mill euros, although haven't backed that up, so I find it a little strange that all these media outlets have it wrong. Regardless of 5 mill euros ( which at the time given the shite exchange rate was about £4.7mill ) or the £6mill fee as was very widely reported, as things stand today he has made just over a handful of appearances most of which he was poor in, has been paid fully paid by the club for 12 months and partially for another 7 and has now either gone awol and taking a 7 month holiday or is having trouble getting a work permit as despite signing 19 months ago still can't grasp very basic English. Like I said as things stand today he has been a complete waste of space and up there as one of our biggest.

I like him. He is approaching his prime years, has PL experience, knows where the back of the net is, an intelligent player who reads the game well and will create chances as well as score them and bring others into the game. Two good feet and good in the air. He also has another attribute that Lambert demands from his players - an excellent work rate. Would be a good partner for Bent and around 10 - 13 mill seems about right money.

I can't understand why anyone thinks its 6Million, considering it was 5million Euros, plus he's been on loan for a season, we've had bigger wastes than this in my opinion. Where you getting 5 mill euros from? according to the BBC ( link below ) when he signed it was for £6mill. I am sure when he was on loan for 7 months we were also paying a fair chunk of his wages. He has certainly been a big waste of money but I am hoping we can get a mill back maybe. From the BBC Houllier press conference for Darren Bent signing stated it was 5million Euros. So not as a bigger waste as your making out, or have you forgotten Balaban? What about Habib Beye who was on 45k. I'm not sure what Houllier said 19 months ago ( thankfully I have wiped much of what that spineless prick said from my memory ) but I do know that as I have shown it was widely reported the fee was 6 million pound. Look you can debate who has been the biggest waste of money over the years. All I am saying is as things stand he has been ONE of the biggest wastes of money/space we have had. That could all change of course if he comes back and contributes. If he doesn't come back though then I don't see us getting too much for him and it seems some believe we may just terminate his contract and get **** all.

I can't understand why anyone thinks its 6Million, considering it was 5million Euros, plus he's been on loan for a season, we've had bigger wastes than this in my opinion. Where you getting 5 mill euros from? according to the BBC ( link below ) when he signed it was for £6mill. I am sure when he was on loan for 7 months we were also paying a fair chunk of his wages. He has certainly been a big waste of money but I am hoping we can get a mill back maybe. From the BBC

That story about him being on holiday till December can't be true can it? if it is that has got to put him up there as the biggest waste of space we have ever signed. 6 mill fee and 30k + a week wages less what ever Olympiacos paid him for 7 months. I just can't believe that story is right. If it is lets hope someone is willing to pay a mill or so for him so we **** him off whilst getting a little back for him.

I can't see his contract just being terminated. He isn't worth anywhere near the 6 mill we spunked on him but he should be worth a mill or so to someone.

She has already been entered for it but is yet to decide if she will do it.

I'm with Trent and Big John having defended him on many occasions but today he was diabolical.

You keep spouting this shite but Houllier didn't manage us for 10 of the league games. In the 28 games he did manage us we took just 33 points at 1.17 points a games. Under the 10 games under K Mac and G MAC - 5 games each we took 15 points at 1.5 points a game. Houllier was well past his use by date and sadly for us a disrespectful tosser just to add insult to injury. McLeish was just useless but wasn't helped by having to sell of 38 mill of talent, losing three of our best players in Young, Downing and Freidel and having less than half the money to replace them. Hollier inherited a squad that had just finished 6th with our best ever Prem 38 game points total, less Milner but with Ireland, had 30 mill to spend and still had us in or around the relegation places for 5 months serving up gutless tripe. He was a disgrace. The relief I felt when we **** him off was huge as that useless, disrespectful prick never deserved to manage this great club with its fantastic support.

Not sad to see him go. He never gave less than 100% and had one very good season but then couldn't sustain/repeat that under Houllier or McLeish. Good luck to him.

I think it is, woody. I don't get the recent posts about Collins from a lot of people. He's not Paul McGrath, but for me he gave his best in the shirt. It always seems a shame when players are metaphorically shoved out the door by fans with a boot up their backside, on the way. He played for Aston Villa, which is a) an honour and something that unless the player concerned behaved appallingly kind of gives them a bit of kudos and respect in my book. Some leave having never been remotely good enough, some having been excellent and most, somewhere between those two extremes. Personally I wish him well. Pretty much where I am at. Can't fault the effort he put in and I wish him well.

I'm inclined to agree. Under O'Neill in 07/08 we averaged over 40k, in 08/09 39.5k and in 09/10 with two long cup runs to fork out for we still averaged just under 39k. The above was done with what was relative success whilst finishing 6th but suggests that if we could say regularly finish in the top 4 we could average 45-50k and sell out a number of games with a 52k stadium.

Not wishing to defend McLeish AT ALL but this is a slight distortion of the facts. Bent was out injured from 25 February to the end of the season. I'm firmly on the "Houllier and McLeish were just different varieties of rubbish" side of the argument. Why waste energy trying to resurrect the reputation of the one of the managers who helped create our two-year nightmare? The majority then. To be honest I'm surprised Bent scored as many as he did with the way McDefend tried to utilise him. Well its the majority but only just as he started 21 league games which is only 55%. Anyway this is way off topic.

Not wishing to defend McLeish AT ALL but this is a slight distortion of the facts. Bent was out injured from 25 February to the end of the season. I'm firmly on the "Houllier and McLeish were just different varieties of rubbish" side of the argument. Why waste energy trying to resurrect the reputation of the one of the managers who helped create our two-year nightmare? Very true on both points. Bent only played 5 more league games last season than he did in 2010/11 - 21 games last season compared to 16 the previous one.

This! Its like comparing Dairylea to Laughing Cow in an international cheese tasting competition Sums it up nicely.

This is fantastic news. Proud to have had Stan associated with this great club and lets hope that's now the case for many, many more years to come.

Your rewriting history somewhat. We didn't finish 9th under Houllier. He wasn't manager for 10 games. In his 28 games in charge we took 33 points - 1.17 points per game. In the 10 games he wasn't around we took 15 points - 1.50 points per game. Like many others have said arguing over who was worse out of Houllier or McLeish is pointless as they were in their own ways equally as bad. Houllier was well past his use by date, inherited a far better squad of players, had 30 mill to spend and went on to disrespect this great club and its fantastic supporters on numerous occasions whilst his team produced gutless tripe on the pitch and at times went out accepting defeat before a ball had been kicked due to the managers attitude. McLeish was just out of his depth and the final nail in his coffin was having to sell off our two best players, losing two other very good players in Friedel and Luke Young and then being given less than half what he had brought in to spend on replacements. The fact we were shite under him given his limited ability and having a transfer budget of minus 20 mill was no surprise. I am just relieved the last two years of being served up tripe are over.

It was only uncertain because that lying bastard wanted his compensation. Ah the final piss take. Disrespect this great club, play down our standing with in the game, disrespect our great fans, serve up gutless tripe and surrender games before they had even kicked off and at the finish hold out for a nice big pay off. Regardless of his illness he had shown time and time again he was now completely out of touch with the game and didn't have a **** clue what he was doing. It said it all about the man that he made out he could still do a job just so he could drain the club of a few more quid.