Condimentalist

Exactly ml1dch, Barton and Bellamy are both far better players than Hendrie. His off-field antics don't really bother me, it's his on-field limitations that are of concern.

What on earth has Hendrie got to do with it?

What, like how to behave like voilent, irresponsible thugs? Great. FWIW I think Barton is a great player and that he is getting his head together a bit but Craig Bellamy is just a knob and I wouldn't want him at Aston Villa.

I thought that protecting one's face was a legitimate use of the hands, since it is often a reflex reaction anyway... Has the law changed?

Micah Richards will not leave for Aston Villa. He may leave for the big 4, but no-one else, not even Spurs. I'd love him here but at the time being he is too big a talent, especially with being English, for us to attract. Nigel Reo-Coker is a decent player but IMO is over-rated and I think we could do better.

A very fair piece and a good read. I appreciate your legitimate doubts about Martin O'Neill but I think it's a shame you don't always express them so articulately and without belittling irony. Still, I sympathise with your viewpoint but just keep the faith, MON will do well for us.

General, I don't know about anyone else but I genuinly don't mind if we change the kit every season if that is going to benefit the club. In fact I quite like seeing the new designs each year and I don't feel obliged to purchase the kit EVERY season. Also, if there is a kit that people don't like they would have to wait 2/3 seasons for it to change which abviously isn't ideal. At the end of the day I don't see this particular issue as anti-fan if it is pro-club.

Roger Moore

How about Cheese and BBQ sauce?

Yeah I went for the works.

London is indeed a great city.

Yes I'd give him a testimonial, it'll be the last time he'll wear claret and blue after all. I'd love to see some of the 90's boys out there like Taylor, McGrath, Yorke and Southgate.

No. We need to take every possible meansure to ensure that we try to qualify for the UEFA cup through the league next season. In the long term, it will benefit us far more to do that than to risk another season for the sake of trying to rush ourselves into a competition that is only really a stepping stone to bigger things. If you enter the Intertoto, you jeapordise your chances of taking that next step (Champoins League).

Very simply, to win the PL you HAVE to be the best. To win the CL, with it being a cup competition, you can have a little bit of luck and that has resulted in teams like Porto and Liverpool winning the competiton is recent years. The PL for me.

I think he's a clearing in the woods and equally or more talented footballers could be available who are not clearings in the woods. Thus I would not want him.

A very interesting read NV.

Echo this. Nike only sponsor the best, and we WILL be the best. I am encouraged once more.

Absolutely. Thanks Martin, and thanks Pete for a good read.

DELETED Time will tell, I suppose.

That I agree with. The rest of it I believe, if I'm allowed to, is primarily tosh.

I think we will eventually play 433 as well. Oh and I don't see that Carew is a short term option either, he has a 3 and a half year contract.

Enjoyed that John, thanks.

I couldn't retrieve what I'd done unfortunately. The squad I had, which was a best case scenario job and from which you can work out the 'in's and out's' was the following: Gordon Sorenson Olejnik Hughes Bardsley Mellberg Cahill Laursen Ridgewell Chivu Bouma Baines Young Maloney McCann Barton Petrov Davis Gardner Osbourne Barry Richardson Carew Moore Bent Agbonlahor Sharp

I just spent AGES on the other thread drawing out a detailed list of in's and out's for the summer,complete with justification for each move and theory as to spending, squad size, quality etc. When I entered my message, I found the topic had been LOCKEd whilst I was writing it. Which was VERY annoying!! I'm not going to do that again but the conclusion was I think about 6 players will leave and about 8 come in, leaving us with a 27 man squad of depth and quality all over the park. I predicted that the net spend would be around £45-50million which sounds like a hell of a lot but would give us a GREAT shout of qualifying for the Champions League next season, and would be better than spending a similar amount over a longer period of time because the benefits would obviously come quicker. I am still salivating at the squad I drew up and devastated that my detailed project was lost.

I'm with the majority. Mellberg - very capable defender Laursen - just a class act Cahill - in the future will be first choice I believe but for now he is a little inconsistent and a little inexperienced Ridgewell - Good, solid centre half but not good enough to be first choice for a team challenging for Europe.