I've always liked Gallagher but recently he has looked far too lightweight and low on confidence when travelling with the ball.

I'm totally 50 / 50 over him; he shows flashes of real quality but then doesn't seem to have the ability to enforce himself on a game, which I guess is what Hughes is getting at.

Pleas elaborate, I'm genuinely interested :ph34r:

That's an azmaing idea Cocker!

I find it amazing that about 18 months on, Lofty is still trying to re-register! It's not as if he took the messageboard too seriously.

Just out of interest Mods / Admin does Lofty ever try to post on here? I miss him!

Can't say I am mate, but I was just wondering if anybody had any tips for beating the top clubs.

I am currently Arsenal and won the league in my first season. I'm doing very well in my second season, but I never seem to be able to beat Man UTD, Chelsea or Liverpool either at home or away. It was the same on the old game, although on the old game I could have an editor made team of the best players in the game and would still be 3-0 down to Man Utd withing 15 minutes! They've made it better, but not much.

Anyway, any tips? Maybe I'm playing too attacking? Maybe I should employ a defensive mifielder? What does it taker to actually beat them!!

You're laughing at that post because Derbyshire scored a goal from six yards out?

We have already deduced and more or less had confirmed by the man himself that WSR is one and the same as RTM. Are you now saying that both these characters are actually Roverdrake?

Yeah that's what I was thinking.

What a load of tosh! Yes i was Rover The Moon however someone else had that username so admin changed it to West Sussex Rover for me!!

As for Roverdrake, i have no idea who he/she is? Is he/she from Sussex? Do they have the same network address...? I dont think so...

Why are you having a go at Fife Rover. I was the one that suggested it.

I noticed a similarity between yourself and Roverdrake; you're both very annoying. Slightly tenuous, but I thought you could be the same person.

A more important question is, is West Sussex Rover actually Roverdrake? I remember him opening a new account and me being the one to suss him. WSR really does remind me of him a lot...

I was all for Dunn coming back. I still am, but definately not for 2 million.

Donnelly and Danns?! Hahaha come on!

Savage is probably the third most influential player in our team behind Tugayand Fridel. I think he deserves this extension. He is a very useful player to have at the club.

Rather have Donnelly and Danns?! HAHAHA

Here's some advice for you tcj, it goes like this. Yer family?? Sod off I'm going the footy. That's pretty much it.

Ha, superb advice! lol

Oh shut up. I reckon the intellect of the average 12 year old is superior than your own! Oh, and I'm sure he doesn't need me to say, but Fife Rover is far older than 12!

This isn't about age, or really intellect for that matter. It is about passion and loyalty. I don't agree that Neill should be dropped for the Liverpool game, but I fully understand those wanting him to be dropped. He isn't showing us much passion or loyalty at the moment. As long as he performs then that is all I ask until he leaves us in January. I don't think many aren't expecting him to leave in the coming weeks.

Does anybody else think that Savage might be something of an unpopular captain amongst the team. He could be somewhat overbearing.

I like him a lot but perhaps not as captain. His yelling doesn't always seem to be appreciated by the team. They might not take him seriously.

Obviously I don't know, just an impression.

Nelsen is the obvious choice, but while he is injured I think that either Brad or Tugay would command the instant respect of the team, would lead by example (although this isn't in question with Savage) and have the personality to kick the crap out of the players if they aren't pulling their weight. Either could be very influential - much more so than Neill anyway.

I also think Steven Reid would make an excellent captain one day, but maybe not just yet. In any case, he is injured at the moment.

I think pretty much everybody has seen Jordan at some point or another - he hasn't missed a match in about a century.

Wolverine, Pocognoli is amazingly versatile and soon turns into a "wonderkid." Don't send him to a feeder club, have him as a first teamer or back up player and train him to become a winger; his stats are better suited to this position. Left back or left wing, he is a superb buy for only 750k - 1.5m. I haven't played more than a season but I wouldn't be surprised if he rockets in value. He is only 19 remember.

Thankyou very much for the offer, it is very much appreciated.

Unfortunately, I'm not entirely sure whether I can make the game on saturday. Hopefully I can get out of having to go see the girlfriends family!

Still no goalkeepers jerseys available online. I'm presuming they actually sell them in the club shop? Bloody joke.

That's exactly what I've been saying. Well worth the risk.

Nothing wrong with him wanting to leave. If anything, by leaving in January he is doing us a favour because we should be able to get a fair amount for him.

What I cannot believe is that after Neill has displayed that he absolutely definately wants to leave, that he is still captain. A new captain is going to have to be chosen in January in any case, so why has the change not been made yet?

He might be a cracking bloke in the dressing room, but he hardly strikes me as a leader on the pitch or as a man that can inspire the team.

I think Sav might be something of an overbearing captain, so I would probably give it to Friedel, or maybe Tugay when he plays. Although, Savage would certainly be a better choice than Neill.

Minus what we'll have had to pay him from Jan - May, plus goal, win and appearance bonuses.

I'm for the Dunn signing, but I think we're being ambitious if we're trying to claim (as some have) that his signing will actually make us money.

Yeah that's fair enough. Not saying that he will definately make us money, just looking at the possibilities. For me, there is more to be gained than to be lost.

However, I don't agree with those that say we will be cost money in wages; we have a squad full of players that have either been injured or underperforming. Dunn will jsut be another one of the squad. I doubt he would be paid much more than any of our starting 11. Bonuses may cost us, but that would be a very small amount.

For me the only issue is the sum up front, and as I have argued, I don't see thatas a large amount by any means.

EDIT: OK, 1m is a fair amount. That speculation changes things slightly. I'd still be fully in favour of the deal.

Atleast two sets of medical staff have tried and failed in that area before. Why would now be any different?

Did Brum not discover a long term back problem that was causing his multiple hamstring injuries? He was operated on and I was under the impression that his hamstring injuries should be a thing of the past from now on.

Guys, you can make 500k look like a lot of money to the club - you could even calculate how many replica shirts in the club shop would need to be sold to make that sum, but in terms of transfer funds and how much will be taken from our summer budget, then it is virtually nothing. Bellamy was sold for nearly 6m. This has not as yet been spent. We must have the money and 500k is a very small fraction of this sum.

You can call it low-risk, but at the end of the day we could be getting a player that we know to have quality, if only he can put his injury problems behind him. I think we have a superb set up at Ewood and he will get exactly the right treatment he needs.

When Reid gets back from injury, we have three natural central midfielders. Tugay cannot play every game and any further injuries could cripple us. I'd say with all three fit we still desperately need another central midfielder. We should have got one in the summer. Dunn could score a single goal that raises us one place in the league table at the end of the season. That's 1m gained.

Tell me if I'm wrong, but isn't there speculation that the fee is merely 250k - 500k? Now, that is in the region of 1/24 - 1/12 of what we received for Bellamy, which as yet hasn't been spent. If we end up buying him in January and his input gains us just one position in the table, then he will have made up the innitial outlay. If his wages are pay-as-you-play, then there has been no money wasted there.

I just don't see this as much of a risk at all, Tris. 500k is virtually nothing.

But on low wages and for a low sum, it's surely a risk worth taking?

What a joke, why buy him?? he's always injured! People say bringing him back may help attendences haha only because he'll be in the stands injured every week

If we signed both Beattie and Dunn, then I would be absolutely ecstatic. Beattie is exactly the kind of striker we need and Dunn will add depth and creative flair to the midfield; both being in short supply at the moment.

If we got these two, I wouldn't even be too bothered if we finished in a disapointing position in the league, because I know that once we have our players back from injury and ready for next season, then we one again could well have a team capable of finishing in the top 6.

I'm really excited about the prospect of Dunn coming home. It's for a low sum and he will be on low wages. If it comes off, he will be a revelation and could provide the flair we need. If it doesn't come of, then we waste a bit of money and get our hopes up a bit.

This could be a great coup, it could not. But we have little to lose. I'm excited