For Man U, there's a Giggs-Owen swap rumored, with Smith moving to midfield full time, but I don't see how that helps Owen whatsoever in his quest for first-team football. Liverpool's board want him to come back, but the manager doesn't want him, and convinced them to bring in Crouch. I think Liverpool's out of the running now. Mourinho just mentioned a 'check your WC ambitions at the door' policy at Chelsea, so he won't be going there. He wants to come to England and to a place where he can be the man and play regularly, and get paid. All he needs is a little convincing NUFC are going in the right direction to win some silverware, and I personally think he'd be sold on it, since the money, playing time, and future 'the man-ness' would be all but guaranteed.
A retrosexual is the opposite of a metrosexual, a man who plays hard, works hard and doesnt give a ******** what he looks like as long as people think hes manly beckham=metrosexual shearer=retrosexual Owen was sold cheap only becaue he had 1 year left on his contract and the negotiations were made so late, real madrid would probably ask a lot more than what they paid for him, at least 15 mil If he scored a goal for every million we spent on him, then did it for a couple more seasons, itd be well worth it. I dont wanna finish in the bottom half again! that probably cost us 20 million
I think if we made real madrid a fair offer they might consider giving us Owen. He is worth 20million. A million a goal isnt that bad plus we could keep him. Shearer will most likley leave so he would be #1 at newcasle. Most of the otherplaces he will be treated as 2nd best. when he is the best. If we offer more of a long term partnership where he will be #1 and maybe capt. he will take a second look "I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him DIE!!!!!!'' -Johnny Cash
i think somebody like vagner love or nadson would play well for the toon plus could get nadson on the cheap
We have six holes to fill in five weeks. We've signed three players (two of which will actualy play) this close season. We have six central midfielders, no wingers, three strikers, two fit central defenders, and Baberyo as our left back!! Oh and the gaffer wants to try and play a 4-3-3 like we're flippen Chelsea or something. I got news for you brainiac. The season starts at freaking Highbury in two weeks time. Five months is not enough time. Oh I forgot Boa Morte and Anelka will make fix everything.
We've got maybe five signings coming in the next five weeks. Souness said he needed five. Shepherd has stated that three will be coming. We may indeed need six or seven, but I don't think that's going to happen. Five in five weeks? Sure. Striker:Anelka (Feherbache) Left wing/Striker: Boa Morte (Fulham) Quality Defender:From Distin (Man City), Upson (Birmingham), O'Shea (Man Utd), Lee (PSV), Hyypia (Pool), Dellas (Roma), Campbell (Arsenal); We've been linked to each at one time this month. 1st Squad Player:Craig Moore (I've resigned myself to the disappointment) 2nd Squad Player: Luis Figo (some team in Spain) No sweat. I'd like to see the club wrap up the transfers asap, but the only disappointment for me so far has been the sale of Aaron Hughes. And that will only be a disappointment if the club fails to sign a better player.
It was easier to fool ourselves that Kluivert, Carr and Butt were quality signings. Plus, we did get one over on RM with that Woody transfer. Thx, Jay! (I had my cow weeks ago)
You may of been fooled by Pievert and Butt. I wasn't. Carr was the only decent transaction last summer. NUFC off loaded the injured Woodgate, but they didn't fill the gapping whole at center back. The club went into the season with Andy O'Brien as the first choice on the backline. Our back four is much better now. P.S. Boumsong was available on a free transfer. NUFC paid 8m in January. The Bernard situation was still unresolved. NUFC had lazy ass Robert on the left and they stuck with Bernard at left back. Wonderful going forward on attack, but not much of a defender. Babayaro is an improvement. the right wing role that Jaypro wants to fill with Van der Meyde was open back then too. SBR obviously hadn't figured out what he was going to do out there--Dyer and Bellamy both had their own cows when they were told to play wide after the season had started. This summer Dyer knows that that is his role when the club plays 4-4-2. We're better off now. The central midfield last summer: Bowyer, Butt, and Jenas. Central midfield now: Parker, Emre, Faye, Jenas, Viana, and Bowyer. Much, much better. Players who can win the ball. Creative players who won't immediately lose the ball to the opposition. Creative midfielder who will get the ball to our forwards and not the opposition-- imagine that! When the club signs Anelka and Boa Morte, it will have a better strike force and a more coherent offensive strategy than was put forward the beginning of last season. SBR didn't know how to get Bellamy, Kluivert, and Shearer minutes much less how he was going to use them. Moreover, he obviously hadn't communicated the plan to them either. Both Bellamy and Shearer were in the manager's face in the first two weeks. P.S. In case anyone hasn't figured this out yet, Anelka runs circles around Bellamy. Boa Morte much better than Robert. Faster, causes more problems for defenses. The main thing: We have some damn good midfielders now who are going to make life easier for our defense and our offense. Last year the club had absolute dross in the center of the pitch-- couldn't do anything but kick the ball down field and hope.
Sir Bobby was still the manager. Big Al was going to go for Jackie's record. On the heels of a fifth place finish and with the signing of Kluivert hope sprung eternal at my house.
Look, sorry to burst your bubble, dispell your illustions, whatever, but without Johnathan Woodgate the 2003-04 team sucked. Yes, they did finish in fifth place, but that is because of the points they racked up when Woodgate actually played. Without him they were the same pathetic lot we watched last season. Total 2003-04 ------- 13W 17T 8L 38 games 56 points= 1.5 ppg 5th place With Woodgate ------------- 8W 9T 2L 18 Starts 1 Substitution 19 games 33 points = 1.7 ppg If you extend those results over the entire season, that's 65 points and 4th place Without Woodgate ---------------- 5W 8T 6L 19 games 23 points= 1.2 ppg If you extend those results over an entire season: that's 46 points and 13th place (one point ahead of Portsmouth and Tottenham) ------------------ The problems we saw last season were much deeper than most want to believe. It is easy to blame Souness, but fact is that FF and SBR did not address the club's defensive liabilities. And Shepherd exasberbated the problem by selling Woodgate nine days before the transfer window closed. (Now that is too late to acquire another player-- and you're worried about five weeks!) Moreover, FF and SBR did not improve the pathetic midfield.They loaned out Viana and brought in Butt. Just why this club invested so much faith in Lee Bowyer is beyond me. He can't pass and doesn't score. Why is he running the midfield? And I don't know whose "brillant" idea it was to bring in Kluivert, but his signing did not address a single one of the club's problems. (I've read/heard that it was Shepherd's doing over Robson's objections.) Last January Souness addressed the defensive holes: Boumsong, Babayaro, and Faye. So far this summer he has signed two excellent central midfielders-- we need creativity in the midfield. Now he needs to address the striker situation: Anelka and Boa Morte are two excellent players (superior to what we had).
You asked about last summer so I told you about last summer. I didn't slam Souness. I just didn't see last season and a 14th place finish coming. Now this seasons reeks of a mid-season sacking justified our not. Souness has done a good job so far in the transfer market but the bottem line is we have glaring holes in our team that still need to be addressed and I hold Fat Fred and Souness responsible. Get it done the long suffering Toon Army deserve better. Make all the excuse you want but I'm not buying it. As far as Woodgate that might be the best piece of business that Fat Freddy has done. Fool me once shame on you, Fool me twice shame on me.
Toon offer to help Woody What's that you said about "Fool me once shame on you, Fool me twice shame on me." Actually, class move. And, I do not think it's a manipulative move to placent Toon fans either. Who knows if Woodgate can ever play again much less return to form. He was an incredible player for NUFC.