Gribz

Thankfully its only Reading. If a bigger club comes knocking in January then I can see him moving on which would be a disaster. The guy has to be one of the first names on the team sheet on any game.

Naismith, Gow, Buffel and Lennon - thats attacking!! That team reminded me in the old Welsh side. Hadnt heard of no defenders but then you get to midfield and upfront you had pretty good players like Speed, Giggs, Rush, Saunders etc etc Im still hoping for that 4 to get some first team action soon.

I can see Drogba wanting a move but Grant may turn it round at Chelsea. Andy Johnson to West Ham - not sure about this. Last year it would be a yes but he hasnt really done much recently. Certainly not for the 9 million Everton want for him. No thanks to SWP for West Ham either. He had has chance to come last year and said no. Plus we have Faubert, Ljungberg, Dyer, Bowyer and Solano who can play right midfield. Gilberto - i rate him but Arsene maybe thinks he has done his best to Arsenal and its time to move him on as he is the 2nd last of the old skool - only Lehmann to go. Toure played in the 2004 team but was a youngster.

Does anyone think the fact he is failing at PSG means he is a shite manager or just having 2 bad clubs in a row? He didnt do a bad job at Lyon but maybe he already had a platform to work on. He may be struggling with re-building clubs. He certainly started ok with us and played some tidy football in the first few games. Personally I hope he turns it round at PSG. He never gave me a bad impression and didnt say anything out of turn for me not to like him when he was with us.

I dont think Riise would be on 120k a week. If that was monthly then its realistic. 4k for appreance money!! He could live of that no problem and bank his salary. The wage bill must be silly if they pay about 20 players an average of 60k a week and every player gets bonus'. The government must be rubbing there hands at the taxes though.

Absolutely, as I said earlier if anyone of us got offered that deal we would take it. And the only reason he shouldnt have taken it is if he wanted to play on in europe. I dont blame Becks for taking it but I still feel he could have offered more to football in Europe.

You hit the nail on the head when you said i want Sebo to get a run - thats all I wanted THEN i'll judge him. I dont rate him simply because he put in one good shift against Celtic, that was just one good game. But with Boyd, this is where i have been misunderstood. Ok i dont rate Boyds work rate but im looking at the team overall. When Boyd plays it takes a player out the team who is going to work for us and its like playing with 10 men. Yes he gets goals but its a team game and we need 11 players all over the park to do the business for us. We have played Boyd for the last 2 seasons and won jack shit and played shit. The Celtic and Barca games in the last week showed we can play well and score goals (against Celtic) and everyone forgot about Boyd. The argument about Buffel being out of position is totally fair enough. I can bet if Davie Weir was playing left back then everyone would ask the questions. But simply because Buffel is a certain type of attacker people think he should still be brilliant playing right or left wing. To an extent he should still have ability in those places but if Weir did play LB then moved into the centre we would see the difference - Im sure if Buffel gets moved then we will see the difference aswell. Maybe I should have used Craig Moore as an example. He used to play midfield under Smith first time and was booed, then Advocaat signed him back and he turned out to be a first pick at the back and the fans loved him during DA's CL run.

Beckham didnt let his country down there and then but more so for the future. Its more of a sell out than a let down. I think England still needs a Beckham who is playing in the top flight. Yes he would have seen it as a slap in the face but he doesnt have a divine right to be in the squad and dropping him give him the boot up the ass he needed and he stepped up his game last season at R Madrid again. It woud have been interesting to see had ne not given up the captaincy. No no no!! Come on now. Depending where Beckham played in europe he would have been up against Inter, Juve, Roma in italy, Barca, Valencia, Seville in Spain or Man U Liverpool etc had he went to England. He would also be up against the cream of europe in the champions league. Im sorry but playing Washington or Dallas every week is easily going to change his game. Not only playing in the US league will lower his standard but the timing of the season is going to have a huge effect. He now wont play a competitive game until April.

I forgot we were playing motherwell and they will be well up for it - s'cuse the punt!

He wasnt given too much chances and when he did he was well out of position. I also dont see where he was bad when he did play in his favoured role. I remember the Porto game and the Celtic 3-1 win at Ibrox (Prso, Buffel Novo pen) and he played very well in those games. Why am I always the only one on here to voice support of certain players (buffel, Sebo)? Im sure there are more people who agree. But then I seem to be the wrong one coz I dont rate Boyd I rate Hemdani, Cousin and Novo and I rated McCulloch before he signed so I cant be wrong all the time. I just want those with quality in the team. If there attitude if wrong (albeit timidness, effort etc) then thats Smith and Mccoists job to get them up for it. But i cant see where Buffels attitude is wrong - he has stated he wants to stay and play - he turned down a better offer from Germany in the summer.

Good move giving Weir a rest and I quite like big Ugo. However shouldnt Cuellar be given a rest and Broadfoot given a game? There is a argument for Broadfoot playing ahead of Ugo aswell seen as Broadfoot is young and with us long term but Ugo can probably leave in Jan or summer. Although id have Ugo in the team first.

Yip opinions. I wouldnt have Boyd in my team unless its the odd game v Falkirk and Co but he would have to play with another striker. One of the main reasons I wouldnt play Boyd is coz he is a statue at times however I believe Boyd's game needs a creator behind him along with a partner - step up Buffel. I dont think there is many more ahead of Buffel simply because we need players with a creative game and pace and he needs to play in the hole behind the strikers. Only Buffel and Gow are natural in this position. So I want to see players who are natural in a position rather than moving individuals in the current side as that causes sloppy defeats like Sunday.

SA makes a good point - We have a British Lions Rugby team. yet again Rugby shows football how its done - along with fans behaviour. Football still rules though As for solely a Scottish team, we could put one in the commonwealth games.

I see what your saying in your post but he always stated he wont give up playing for England and will always be available and will push to get back into the squad. A move to a lower standard isnt going to help him get back into the squad though. He is only 31/32 and certainly has 2-3 more years in him. I certainly think Posh would have pushed him towards the US move. She could probably think of nothing else other than trying to outscore other stars. Im sure Becks found the thought of the lifestyle good aswell though and the money would be a dream come true. Point 1 - same as i said above although McLaren did state the door was never closed. I cant believe he signed and was thinking he wont play for england again. RE 2 - His own game wouldnt drop over the space of 1 game, it will down downhill over a period of time until he is used to playing in that league, then when he comes up against a good European side again he will realise the difference. I think the Milan deal was pretty concrete. And wasnt he offered a new deal at Madrid anyway? Amen :cheers:

Nah, the olympics isnt a violent games and if its a squad made up of Derby, Kilmarnock, Cardiff and Linfield players then it will cause no trouble whatsoever. The games are in London and i think a GB team is a great idea. Id prefer it to be good players but even if its a mix'n' match of any level of player id see it as a good idea. We need a foreign manager though :fish:

Not heard of him before But its all about opinions. IMO he would prove people wrong if he gets a run in the team.

Absolute yes IMO. GB enters, and football is a sport in the games. It wouldnt necessarily have to be the strongest team like Gerrard, Rooney etc but a B team or squad players. Im sure the players from the lower leagues would even be up for representing us. It would be split with 5 players from each NI, Wales, Scotland and England making a 20 man squad.

Kwality but I certainly doubt if it was taken from a passenger plane.

Yip agreed 100%. Some fans can see it so im hoping Walter can soon. We need to play one of these guys in behind the striker rather than pushing Ferguson on. Id even be happy to allow Burke a central attacking role. He runs with the ball at his feet something ferguson doesnt do. But Buffel HAS to be given a shot IMO. They guy has loads of talent.

I dont think anyone has ever doubted it as a bad move financially. And I dont think we could be more jealous just coz he moved to the US, he wasnt exactly skint when he was at Man U or Madrid either with his wage and sponsorship deals. I just thought he was a footballing man and IMO he has let his country and dignity (footballing terms) down by giving up top flight football for a league which equals the championship at best, and probably having the decision made by his wife. He cant possibly expect to play for England when he isnt kicking a ball over there due to the close season, and then next season he is playing a low standard. As i said before I think he just wants his 100th england cap then he will retire from international football. Its a shame coz I rate him as a very good player and he could easily be playing at the likes of Milan, Chelsea or Arsenal at the moment - all who were rumoured to wanting him. The problem is if we were all in his shoes with that offer we would have all taken it for the cash plus the US isnt exactly the worst place to live - thats just the greed in society though where money comes first. Becks was sorted for life years ago though. If he and posh become Hollywood stars in movies then there is hope for absolute anyone.

Bad bad weekend of betting. Down 80 quid The bookies always win unless I bet odds on. I backed arsenal but thought the 23/10 odds for the draw was better but my opinion of Arsenal made me go with them. They deserved to win the game IMO. But it sets it up nicely for Arsenal v Man U next weekend.

I just want to go through our squad and pick out a few players (mostly Smiths buys) who have made a impression on me this season - good or bad. Firstly Im going to start with our keeper Allan McGregor. I was screaming for a new experienced keeper to come in during the summer as I didnt see McGregor as good enough for our No.1. However slowly but surely he is 1 player who is beginning to win over me a bit. He is improving as a keeper. He is no way a Goram or Klos and he still has a few things in his game to sort out but he is pulling of fine saves week in week out. Id still take a experienced keeper but its not such a issue now with AM improving. Steven Whittaker - He is one player who Im baffled about. I can easily think where his fee could have went to other than on him. Hopefully we dont see him on the right of midfield too often again. Kevin Thomson - Again he is another who still has to win over me. He has had a handful of good games here and there but I find him ineffective in games. He only plays well when Ferguson is tucked in beside him. Hemdani is in a different league to him. Amdy Faye - When he signed I thought he would be good back up and his premiership experience will see him in good stead. Holy shit! He has made 2 x 45 mins appearances and looks about as much as a footballer as Terry Wogan. If there is a defence for him, he has been thrown into 2 tough away games where he isnt used to the pace. An appearance at Ibrox in an easier game may have been a better way to start him of. Lee McCulloch - I wanted him a while ago and said his fee would be worth it. His physical pressence is priceless at times. He has had a few quiet games in the league but is a trier and is going well. Steven Naismith - Ive only seen a glimpse of him and I liked what I saw. Needs more first team action - even if its coming off the bench. DaMarcus Beasely - He has actually won over me a bit aswell. I had a bad impression of him coming to us after reading Pete's comments about him in the close season. But he does a decent job down the left. Daniel Cousin - He is playing with his hands tied IMO. If we could give him the right service and partner then he will be a nightmare for opposition defences. Id give him Buffel, Darcheville or Naismith upfront and he will cause huge problems. I like him! Alan Gow - I feel sorry for him. He hasnt kicked a ball. I cant work out why he hasnt even came off the bench and been tried. Hemdani - I know he isnt Smith's signing but he has to get back into the starting XI in place of Thomson and sit infront of the defence with Ferguson next to him in the midfield. Buffel - Again not a Smith signing - but must be given a try to play behind the front men/man. I think a team with Buffel, Ferguson and Hemdani in it and a Novo flying down one wing will hugely improve us.

How he gets in the squad ahead of Buffel and Hemdani (recently) is beyond me. What is Walter seeing in training!!

McGregor for me. He kept the score down.

And Blackburn sneak a cheeky winner in the 91st minute on Sunday with Ramos in the stands