I said at the end of last season that McCarthy has got the old problem that he appears to put in subdued effort and can often go through games contributing very little. However his finishing is exceptional and he scores goals. If the goals dry up for a substantial length of time then we have a problem. However we're only 5 weeks into the season so let's see what happens. He, along with MGP and to some extent Bentley, haven't caught fire yet this season. The fact that we're still unbeaten is a testament to how good a side we have now. Benni had a quiet spell at the turn of the year only scoring once in the league after New years day until early March. However he hit 8 more from March to the season end. People are just worried over whether he is trying to play his way out of the club following his silly comments over the summer. If he is then Hughes has the players on the bench to be able to bomb him out until January. Let's see what happens over the next few weeks. Was Jay Bothroyd lazy ?? :ph34r:

Sorry to bring it up this back up Tris but I too was sceptical about Dunns signing. However in the games he's played this year he really has proved the doubters wrong. I'm not saying he's the second coming or anything but he's put in some good performances as shown again today against City. Now he's had a pre-season the worry about any stamina doubts are long gone. The image of his coming off 60 minutes into the UEFA cup game knackered are long forgotten. In both todays game and the Arsenal game he ran right to the very end. He may look 'fat' but his fitness isnt in doubt. I don't think hes the player we sold as he hasnt shown the ability to dart forward and past a player like he used to but he's still technically very good and seems to accept his defensive responsibilities much more not than under Souness. All those peoeple who thought he added nothing to the squad, and there were many of them, are IMO now being proved wrong.

Amazing how the ommision of two letters can transform a sentence.

I've got £30 on Painter to beat Taylor with a 6.5 leg start. :ph34r: Normal people would edit this post now as it looks as though I'm knackered but I'll leave it up for the crack.

Bit gory (you have been warned) and not really funny but video clip of a guy hitting a long jumper with a javelin tonight in Rome. The 'funny' bit is the interview after. "I'm not very happy because my javelin hit a man." "Can you tell me what happened?" "Err, My Javelin went a little bit too much to the left". http://www1.nrk.no/nyhetsspiller/type/loop...12736/tab/sport

If Todd has gone, which looks likely, I'd just like to say thanks for the service. Winning player of the season 2 season running shows what effect he had on the team. Sure we've had to put up with a bit of 'baggage' but we've got a good return on the pitch for the 750k we paid for him. A few people lately have been glad to see the back of him forgetting the service he's given, criticising recent performances when he got a game. I do think he's on the decline now. However we've pushed on a little bit in the last few years and the likes of Nelson and Samba have helped us achieve that. For the level we are at and the level we want to get to Toddy is not good enough. Let hime move on, thanks and good luck to him.

Another article from that website that backfired spectacularly.

I remember posting a link to this at the time. I've just come across it again. It's soooo bitter it's funny. Possibly the most biased report ever. Enjoy !!

Take the word 'journeyman' out of that quote and it sums up football. Practically every player at Ewood would jump at the chance of signing for Chelsea if they were good enough and wanted.

Lee Hughes should have served a hell of a lot longer in jail without doubt. However, once a man is freed he should , within reason, be allowed to coninue working like anyone else. He's done his time and completed his punishment. If Lee Hughes is now officially 'free' then he should be allowed to continue working, be it as a butcher, a baker or footballer.

Although there is no plans for a fourth POTC film yet, Disney are intending to extend the brand and not letting it die. This will mean lots more general merchandise (which the company I work for is already involved in) and probably cartoons etc... They obviously see it as product with a future so a 4th film is likely at some point, possibly a prequel to the first judging on the stuff we are getting to work with (unless thats been done already as I've only ever seen the first film.

I've moaned at England and McLaren a fair bit recently but can't really tonight. It was a professional job well done against a shockingly poor side with the result never in doubt. The lack of imagination and quality in the subs was annoying though. Tougher challenges lie ahead and I still feel we'll see the 'bad' side of England at some point in the autumn.

Problem here is that Estonia are that bad McLaren might get away with Dyer at RB and then it would appear in the eyes of the naive as a tactical wonderstroke. I'm not saying that Phil Neville should be in the squad but as he is then surely he has to be played at that position before Dyer. Same applies with Wes Brown. Yes they're both shakey but without a doubt they will have far more defensive positional awareness than Dyer. They'll also tackle and head better than Dyer.

Someone recomended to me that I rented out Pans Labyrinth. Having never heard of it I rented it 'blind' and was annoyed to discover it was in spanish with english subtitles. Normally I just can't get into films with subtitles. However I gave it a chance tonight and the film was superb. If anyone likes these sort of movies ( a bit wierd) I recommend them to get it and give it a chance. You'll not be disappointed.

I have to disagree TCJ. Alan Smith is nowhere near top quality. Sure he is a good player else he wouldnt be at United but he's very limited at what he does. He's like a very good Dickov. I'd say Crouch, as well as being better in the air, is better on the ground also. Crouch really does suffer because of his size. Alan Smiths record for United is 12 goals in 61 starts. That is a poor ratio for someone playing in a Man United team who win far more than they lose. I know he's played some of them in midfield but thats because he's not been good enough to get a game up front His England strike rate is 1 in 16 caps. Crouch is 29 goals in 71 games for Liverpool and 11 goals in 17 internationals. FIife - with regard to Owen I agree that apart from the header onto the roof of the net he did very little. However I let him off in my rant due to the fact that he's only played 330 minutes of football in 12 months and he is proven at scoring for England. It does sum up our lack of quality that despite his lack of matches we are almost compelled to pick him.

Time for a rant. Did McLaren not say at the start of his reign that he'd take friendlies more serious and make it an honour to wear the shirt again. Let's ignore the fact that Crouch didnt start so that a token Man U player could play in the case of the god awful Alan Smith. At least that might keep a portion of the 9 zillion Man U fans buying shirts. We were in front for what would be a moral boosting win. Then the changes. First Downing for Joe Cole even though Cole had looked more lively than Rhubarb and Custard had done in the middle of the pitch. Second Kieren Dyer on before Englands most potent marksman of the last 18 months. Finally Jermaine flippin Jenas on for Beckham. By the time 'JJ' wasted the glorious 3 on 2 break I'd had enough and hoped Brazil scored to put what is surely deserved pressure on McLaren. I cheered the equaliser. Lawro thinks we'll play a 'lone' striker against Estonia on Wednesday, similar to when we got absolutely battered in Croatia. Personally, I'd go with a Bentley, Cole, Gerrard Beckham midfield, 2 strikers and go at them all guns blazing. We wont though, we'll sit back in the hope of grinding out a 'professional' solitary goal win. If we don't start with 2 strikers on Wednesday, and if Crouch isn't one of them, for the good of English football I hope we don't win. At least we'd still have a slim chance of qualifying. People would say who would we replace McLaren with. I don't care. Anyone. Ian Holloway. At least we'd be useless but get a laugh. This is just plain frustrating. People, especially other nations, always say 'why can't you accept you're not as good as you think you should be'. I think the reason is because most people know that we suffer from favouritism within the camp (Lampard), not getting the best out of players in their correct positions and strange and ultimately stupid decisions from the 'management'. Even then we'd still not be good enough but at least we'd sleep at night knowing we'd done all we can. Rant over (and I've not mentioned Paul Robinson once!)

If McCarthy goes to Chelsea do you honestlyfeel he is going there only for the cash?

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A ridiculous statement. He's scored 32 premier league goals in 68 starts for a club that has finished 13th and then 19th in the league. He's scored 13 goals this season despite missing two months through injury. The next highest scorer for Charlton has 3 goals. £2.5 million has proved a bargain purchase for Charlton. We sold Shefki for that much !!!! I'd love bent as Ewood but the price will be around the same mark that Everton paid for Andy Johnson, £8.5 million

Wait till tommorow when he finds out he's not even won Player of the Season. :ph34r:

Even though it is in the sun, the worrying thing is that it's not an article fabricated and expanded based on an odd quote or two. It quotes Benni directly and, as we all know, once Benni starts talking he doesnt tend to stop. Looking through the quotes again he doesnt actually say he is unhappy here or wants to leave. The worst quotes from the interview from our point of view are:- "The challenge of being part of the best, playing against the best. Champions League football means everything to any footballer with ambitions. But at 29 years old, if a club like Chelsea comes looking for you then you must seriously consider the opportunity. "But a chance to go to Chelsea - or any other Champions League team in England or Spain - would be hard to turn down." "Blackburn gave me my chance and even though it was not a big transfer fee, I trust that I have already paid them back with my commitment and goals this season. "Mourinho has coached me. If he ever were to sign me again, it would be because he knows exactly what he's getting and that I've managed to settle down in England quite quickly. t would be a big challenge to win a regular start in a club like Chelsea but why shouldn't I have confidence in my own abilities? I know I can compete with the best. Forget the "McCarthy heading for Ewood Exit" headlines and look at what he's actually said. " He misses Champions League football. The chance to play it again at a big club would be hard to turn down.Blackburn got me quite cheap and I've already re-paid them this season. I'd love to play for Chelsea. " He shouldnt have really said any of this. Surely letting info slip like this is what agents are for. But what if the two questions he was asked were "do you miss Champions league football" and "If Blackburn accepted an offer for you, would you like to move to a bigger club"? It will be interesting to see what he or the club say in the coming days. It doesn't look good but there is a chance he's just been too honest, too talkative and a bit thick. If he goes for £15mill I want Darren Bent

Exactly, everytime this happens we all go ape, but the reality is that practically all players don't have the regard love that we have for the club. If they get the chance of more money and/or a higher level of football they'll all be off. Problem here is that McCarthy has allegedly deceided to speak of his wishes to a Sun journalist. On the other side of the coin at least we now know where we stand with him. I'm sure some people will now say "He doesn't want to play for us, sell him". Why? His feeling and attitude is exactly the same now as it's probably been whilst he's been scoring his 20+ goals. As IHB said above, it's probably simialr to that of MGP, Bentley and any other player that thinks they can play at a higher level / better club than what we can offer. If he go's we'll have to live with it and replace as we did with Bellamy. If he stays then fine, keep banging them in. Unfortunately this is modern day football. I wonder how many people jumping up and down about this were laughing their cocks off at Birmingham when we signed Robbie Savage in a far more controversial and underhand way.

True. I remember Ian Pearce getting barracked for 90 minutes when playing for England U21's in a game at Turf Moor.

Quality. Has a pop at two people in one sentance whilst at the same time crying to the mods on another thread.

Over the course of this season he has been good enough. In the last 35 minutes that I saw tonight he was bloody awful. I've not really criticised him before and, believe me, there's no way I want to lose him. It's just for the second half everyone infront of defence was poor, Benni included