I feel abit sorry for Graeme, it seems the whole of Newcastle hates him before hes been given a chance. I hope he does well at Newcastle

Really? I don't. And it's not because of the "betrayal". It's because he is no longer works for Blackburn and any success he has may come at the expense of Rovers. I couldn't care less about Newcastle's lack of trophies, poor discipline except that if they are in any kind of turmoil it's good news for Rovers when we play them. This is a contest after all, success has to be had at the expense of others.

For all his qualities as a manager I doubt Souness was loved by the players. He may well have been respected but there is not going to be a shortage of players desperate to stick it to Souness at St James. This manager caper is good news for the Newcastle match.

I always had a lot of respect for Henning and articles like that are one of the reasons why. I don't think he has said anything that is untrue in that piece, and i was never a full-fledged member of the Souness Out brigade.

That is a load of bull. If you look at the address you'll see it's a Rangers site. Nice dream though.

OK THAT'S IT!

Now i'm going to bed (it's past midnight here) and I want you all to *promise* me that you won't go firing or hiring any more players/managers until I wake up in 7 hours time.

PROMISE PEOPLE!

Pipe Dreams:

Hitzfield: Were he to sign you wouldn't hear from me for months as i would be too busy trolling the Newcastle message boards baiting Geordies

O'Neill: If he were going to come south he would have come for the Liverpool job.

Decent Choice:

Strachan: Because we need someone who can motivate the team to win now...never mind this "building" ###### while we are in the relegation zone. Plus he is something of a disciplinarian which would help our team (let's not forget who the majority of players were signed by)

Wow you should here the conspiracy theories that are doing the toon army rounds at the moment (talkofthetyne.com)

On a personal note i had started to move one foot into the souness out camp after the poor start to the season. This way we get rid of Souness and we get some compo cash. Plus we have *seriously* disappointed some geordies!

As for the betrayal....who cares. I couldn't see Souness turning the team around to the extent i wanted (top 10 finish). In fact i thought it would be another relegation scrap. I can't see any other half-decent manager doing worse than he was threatening to. But there in lies the genuine danger. There are many available, worse managers than Souness out there, all of whom will be queueing up for the job. We are simply going to have to have faith in our board. They have not been nearly as shocking as other clubs boards (Newcastle spring to mind ) but this is their real acid test.

HOLY ####! I go out to dinner and come back to find that we've lost our manager and are currently searching for a new one! Kudos to Phillipl for the correct prediction

You forget Cole (he was not worth 8 million), Yorke, Hignett, Reid and Nissa - a total of approx. 17 million wasted and there's others.

Sure Cole's goals had us playing in the UEFA Cup twice and helped win us the League Cup but yeah, rubbish signing. Hignett was not awful and did the job for us on many occasions coming off the bench. Nissa may still prove to be a good signing; he's young, talented, and played well in the pre-season matches.

Souness' transfer record has not been impressive at all. The Grabbi deal actually, imo, is the worst transfer business by any recent Rovers manager. Because it displayed a complete lack of research into the players background, which was quite blatantly not of the highest calibre.

And there you go showing your lack of years again. Ashley Ward, at 4.5 million pounds was a much poorer signing but i suspect that his signing was well before your time, having occurred in 1998. Speaking of a complete lack of research:

And signing players like Cole, Yorke and Amoruso is not what we should be doing because it means that we get no or a very small sell-on fee and they only hang around for a couple of years before we have to stump up MORE money to replace them.

Mate, you need players that can win matches, not players that you can get money for selling. Getting money for selling-on players is a bonus. If the players can't win matches you get relegated which is far worse financially than a small/non-existent sell-on fee. You might want to ask a West Ham or Leeds supporter about just how comforting it was to have young players they could sell when they were relegated.

At least a younger player, all going well, will either stay at the club for a long time (Neill) meaning we don't have to keep spending money we don't have replacing him OR it means he improves and becomes a saleable asset - Duff.

Younger players are no more likely to stay at club than older players. Age is *not* a factor in determining loyalty. Further, a younger player does not necessarily improve to become a saleable asset, and certainly not a guaranteed profitable asset. Yes there are examples where young players prove to be profitable for a club (although in nearly every one of those cases the club would prefer not to sell the player in the first place) but they are not the rule, they are the exception. I'm guessing that you haven't played much football or you would realise that for every young player that makes a rep squad there are about 50 that have been cut from the team. The football wilderness is where most young players end up. The fact you don't hear their stories [edited] doesn't mean they don't exist. An older player is a proven player. There is a lower risk in signing an older player as they have already demonstrated an ability to perform at the highest level. I would put money on the fact that, had you been [edited] around when Grabbi was first signed, you would have been praising Souness to the high heavens for signing a young, exciting striker. He didn't work out because signing a young player like him is a gamble.

Small clubs like us have to spend money on younger players. If we want experience, we get them for little - so thumbs up to Matteo and Dickov. Maybe the penny's dropped now.

Small clubs like us need to spend money on PLAYERS THAT WILL WIN THE DAMN GAME REGARDLESS OF THEIR AGE!!!! JUST LIKE BIG CLUBS!!! JUST LIKE EVERY DAMN CLUB!!!! WHO GIVES A #### IF IT YOU'RE MAKING A PROFIT WHEN YOU'RE PLAYING AGAINST CANVEY ISLAND IN THE NATIONWIDE CONFERENCE!!!!

EDIT: Blatantly insulting stuff removed (yes removed).

Yikes Okie...you will be up in V for sure! But surely you need a bigger stadium. I mean mine is 3500 seats bigger than yours and i only have 654 supporters.

A plus side from the above result is that it's the first time i reached 30 stars which pretty much would have won the match against any other VI opponent.

GODAMMIT!!!!! So close! And to add insult to injury i had another yp with a TSI of 10 (and that was because he had weak stamina). It leaves me trailing by 2 points with both of us taking on muppets for the rest of the season. Ahh well. Hopefully he will promote and I will win it next year.

15500 spectators arrived at Supine Rovers Arena, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Supine had chosen a strategic 3-4-3 formation. They fielded: Wharerau - Curry, Aujla, Martens - Mackenzie, Lawrance, Elizondo, Sarumara - Martin, Graziano, Bradley.

PinkSnitch had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Kois - Bathgate, Ribilla, Wills - Johnstone, Dalerberg, Delahaigue, Walker, Schupan - Buckby, Faka’osifolau.

PinkSnitch clearly preferred attacks in the middle. Many thought Felix Bradley ought to have been awarded a penalty shot in the 8:th minute, as he went down trying to circle the visitors keeper Argirios Kois. Chris Lawrance still has a lot to learn. For instance not to make half-hearted passes in front of Pontus Dalerberg who scored for PinkSnitch to make it 0-1. Due to some great work on the right wing Supine:s Dante Martin was able to even the score in the 23rd minute to 1 - 1. Chris Lawrance gave his Supine the lead with 2 - 1, as he successfully challenged both the guests central defenders, then placed the ball unreachably at the goaltenders right post. In the games 26:th minute the visitors levelled to 2 - 2 as Don Buckby struck home on a bar rebound, following a shot from the right. The teams went for a half-time break at 2 - 2. PinkSnitch held the ball, with a clear 57 percent possession rate.

PinkSnitch had several good opportunities to take the lead, especially in the 50:th minute when Antoine Delahaigue came up alone against Kirby Wharerau who managed a block. Some beautiful plays on the left side of the field resulted in a 54:th minute goal by Kihiko Sarumara for Supine, putting them ahead 3 - 2. Don Buckby came close to levelling the score in the 63rd minute, as he was set up with a through ball coming in from the left, but his shot hit the post. PinkSnitch levelled the score in the 73rd minute at 3 - 3, as Pontus Dalerberg struck home after a fine midfield combination, leaving him completely unmarked. PinkSnitch held the ball, with a clear 60 percent possession rate.

The most dominating Supine player was without a doubt Billy Curry. Juan Jesús Graziano on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating PinkSnitch player was without a doubt José María Ribilla. Ole Schupan was a disappointment, however. The match ends 3 - 3.

I doubt we'll get a more clearcut favourite until we get to the forwards (Shearer and Garner anyone?). I vote a hearty yes for Crompton.

masterstroke by souness, put him in the window, and i know a man hu works at rovers hu has informed me tht yorke went for 2mil wot i find suprising but.............. he assures me so

well dun souey if thts the case, and finally he has started too buy young players!!! no more 30 yearolds please!!!!

Rik please read the posting guidelines here especially items 1, 2, and 3, all of which you have managed to violate.

From the Birmingham City website (includes the fee):

l: brfcs04

p: supporters (unless one of you crazy kids has changed it)

BOSS URGES FANS TO BACK YORKE

Steve Bruce has urged Blues fans not to make a snap judgment on the shock £250,000 signing of former Villa hero Dwight Yorke, writes Colin Tattum in the Evening Mail.

Bruce said: "Dwight's turned down a giant of a club in Celtic to come to us.

"He wanted to stay in the Premier League and he wanted to join us.

"You have to respect that.

"Villa is in the past and his background was of no concern to him when making his decision.

"He made it clear he was very keen to play for Birmingham.

"I'm delighted we've got someone of his terrific ability.

"It's not often a European Cup winner becomes available and I am sure he will add something to what we've got - and be a hit with the fans."

Talking of the actual transfer itself, Bruce added: "It was a hectic day yesterday. We got a tip-off that Blackburn had agreed to sell him and that he was on his way to Celtic.

"We pulled out all the stops.

"I managed to get to speak to him and told him that before deciding anything, to give us a shout.

"In fact, Dwight made it clear he would prefer to join us and although it was touch-and-go we managed to push it through."

ahaahhaha...they're in damage control already! Plus we got 250 000 pounds and that grinning git off the field and off our wage bill!

Jansen (27)

...bloody hell.

That was my reaction as well. It seems like yesterday that he was this young, up-and-coming, future international. I guess it seems like that because the last time we saw him play was so long ago .

Well I can't fault Soueys tactics in the tranfer market regarding Dwight Yorke.

Souness: Anyone want Dwight Yorke? Anyone? You can have him for free!

Other Managers: God no!

*4 games later*

Souness: OK you cannot have Dwight Yorke. He's an important member of the squad.

Other Managers: But now we want him!

Steve Bruce & Martin O'Neill: Here's a substantial fee for the smiling git!

You mean because he had actually become a bit attached to our club and wasn't willing to jump at any oppurtunity to get out of here?

Eddie, Yorke said that he would walk back to Aston Villa to play with them again in the off-season. He was also constantly fighting with Souness and I am cast-iron positive that the reason he left it so late had *nothing* to do with him being attached to the club.

hm, where has all the praise of the "new" Yorke gone? Im sure Iv'e read something on here about people saying how he has changed for the better, and that he is our best striker and so on...

Ah well, I might be wrong...

I don't think anyone seriously gave up slating Yorke. They might have been hopeful after a couple of good showings in pre-season but the resentment against the smiling git ran deep for most rovers fans.

Hopefully Matt does get a look-in this season. Can someone confirm that our only strikers (in no particular order) are:

Bothroyd (22)

Jansen (27)

Gallagher (20)

Stead (21)

Dickov (32)

With an average age of 24.4 our forward lineup sure looks different from the geriatrics we had at the start of last season.

"I would like to dip your bald head in oil and rub it all over my body"

Anyone?

Seinfield...but whats the connection?

A reference to the extremely shiny, gandhi-esque dome of our new signing shown in the picture above my previous post. If nothing else the sun reflecting off his melon should blind opposing defenders (or it would if the sun ever came out in England ).

"I would like to dip your bald head in oil and rub it all over my body"

Anyone?

Plus even the brummy gits reckon he's getting fat. And he's unfit. And he's always injured. But hey the potential is there

Hell yeah. WE've got rid of some money-hungry @#/?s desperate for their final paycheck and brought in some really solid, proven workaholics in Matteo, Dickov, and De Pedro (with the jury still out on De Pedro) and some keen young players in MGP and Bothroyd. I'm very happy, although if this poll had been run a week ago i would have said a very loud and definitie NO!

During his time at Old Trafford he formed a lethal attacking partnership with Andy Cole, which saw United win the treble in 1999.

I wonder how long he can trade on a couple of good seasons nearly 5 years ago .

In the tradition of shameful joy i would like to present the following quotes from the official Blues message board (note i've ignored the ones that are happy about the signing )

Excuse me what is good about signing an ex villa has been. If hes not good enough for Blackburn hes certainly not good enough for us. This is a joke signing. He said in papers 2 months ago that he would walk back to villa to sign for them(but they didn't need or want him), what does that tell you about the guy. I can here the villa fans laughing now. I can only hope the transfer deadline passed and we left it too late.

why did we sign him for, im yeah we needed another striker but hes past it now. i hope he proves me wrong

ffs he cant get into blacbrns team is bruce getting a discount from sourness for buying his cast offs

that login and password works on the blues boards if you are interested. I wanted to see what the supporters had to say...bizarrely most of them are quite happy as, with Forssel out, Birmingham are *really* short of strikers. Although as soon as i joined the board i got a message from a Blues fan asking me to post on what a crap signing Yorke is so they are definitiely divided.

I would also like to add the following pearl about David Dunn as it sounds so very familiar:

accept Dunny's sickness record aint good-but as a footballer-unbelievably skillfull-lets hope he sorts the dodgy hamstrings out....could be magnificent for us....

31st August 2004 - A truly great day in the history of Rovers.

Yorke signs for Brum - official Brum site!

RIP - gone and forgotten.

OK he will probably score when we play Brum but that's the price you pay to get shut of him!

Their site says ''for a substantial but undisclosed fee'' - if we got money for him even better!

Link to the above (registration required)

l: brfcs04

p: supporters

EXCLUSIVE - BLUES SNAP UP YORKE

Blues have just completed the signing of Blackburn striker Dwight Yorke for a substantial but undisclosed fee.

The 32-year-old has signed a one year deal with a further year's option.

The deal was completed with just minutes to spare before last night's midnight transfer deadline and came despite stiff competition from a number of other clubs, including Scootish giants, Celtic.

The Trinidad and Tobago international said: "I'm relishing the opportunity to continue my Premiership career with a progressive club like Birmingham City.

"I greatly admire what Steve Bruce has achieved in his time at Birmingham and I believe it is a club which is going places and I very much look forward to being part of it."

Yorke is a natural goalscorer with a wealth of Premiership experience.

He began his career at Villa Park as an untried teenager in 1989, before making the big time in 1998 when he joined Manchester United in a £12m deal.

During his time at Old Trafford he formed a lethal attacking partnership with Andy Cole, which saw United win the treble in 1999.

After four successful years at United, he made the short move to Blackburn, where he remained until making the switch to St. Andrew's last night.

YES! FINALLY!

Thanks for the advice BigA and Okie. I dare say i'll end up playing both matches normal. I pretty much have second spot wrapped up as it is as i still have two matches against bot teams. As BigA said the fourth team always plays counterattacking but my defence tends to get 3 stars most game and is definitely stronger than his attack. The fourth place team is new and i'm not sure he really understands what he's doing tactically, even if he has some *really* good original players. The match against the top team could go either way, although hopefully my three solid 17yo strikers can make the difference.

EDIT: Typical, my TS goes up to content for the first time since i switched to scoring training and my new player (sympathetic) causes it to drop to irritated again.