DE.

A legend in every sense of the word. RIP.

Can't see any other clubs offering him anywhere near 65k a week... even 48k seems extortionate, as he's not that good and on the wrong side of 30. Hopefully this will stop anybody wanting him back here.

Tevez on for Anderson, hmmm.

ITV cocked up Ferguson's interview, and it's taken them half an hour to get their score bar back up upholding their usual high standard of broadcasting. Oh, no, the score bar has disappeared again. Useless.

Can't fault his commitment, been a pleasure to have him here. A proper professional.

I'm aware of the reasons behind his rapping about Mariah, it's just outdated. A lot of his pop references in this album are, but it doesn't really detract from the record much. Beautiful's grown on me a lot. Good song. He was interviewed by Jonathan Ross a couple of days ago... what a joke Ross is a tool.

Been listening to it for a couple of days.... basically a rehash of the Slim Shady LP, with less anger and a more commercial angle. I like it, though. 3am, Bagpipes from Baghdad and Underground are probably my favourites. Em seems stuck in 2001 though, why is he still rapping about Mariah Carey and Britney Spears Also, 'Insane' is seriously messed up.

Probably the right decision by UEFA, not morally as pretty much anybody who knows anything about football knows it was never a red card, but for purposes of consistancy this was the most likely outcome. I expect the rules to change next season.

Having watched Cisse on and off over the course of the season I'd stay far away from him. Not consistantly good enough, might as well keep Derbyshire.

Benni's a bit of a tub but i'd keep him here. Knows where the goal is and is a good option to have. Hopefully he can get a little fitter next season, and bag a few more crucial goals for us.

Aye, I'm interested in that as well. There's definately a mole (or moles?) within the Newcastle dressing room leaking things to the press constantly. Shearer's been annoyed with it since day one and they still haven't found out who it is. Interesting, wonder if Nicko knows who it is?

The papers are full of the Chelsea players defending themselves, unbelievable.

Edit. Agree with the above post. Drogba, Ballack, Jay Tee and Malouda were all disgraceful at the end of last night's match. Worse was Hiddink defending their behaviour.

Barton had an interview a couple of months before he went on to commit the crime for his most recent jail sentence, where he said he was genuinely sorry and had learned from his mistakes... can't remember when it was or who interviewed him (was a fairly famous female presetner, possibly for sky sports?) but at the time I remember thinking "yeah right", and a few months later, here we go again.

It's a perfect representation of how far society and standards in general have fallen.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/philmcnulty/200...and_arsene.html good article.

It's amazing... even the most obvious wrong decision still has people supporting it

I think what angered Shearer was the fact it was a stupid tackle that didn't really need to be made like that. Whether he won the ball or not, there was absolutely no need to go flying in, especially with his reputation. Whether it was a red or not, the nature of the tackle was ill-advised and his sending off means Newcastle are one player down in their fight against relegation. Good for us, bad for them.

Unfortunately for Barton, his numerous actions off the pitch ensure he will get treated unfairly. That's life, and it's a web he's woven himself. For what it's worth, I think Barton will desperately try to cling to his NUFC contract for as long as he can. There's no way he'll get 65k p/w anywhere else.

I agree that Arsenal will finish top 4 again next year.... but in order to compete I believe they need to bring in a couple more signings like Arshavin, else they'll finish 4th again with no silverware to show for it. The threat for Arsenal, as I see it, is that their young players may start looking elsewhere for trophies if Arsenal continue to win nothing. That's not a reflection on Wenger as a manager at all, it's just a sad fact of the game that loyalty doesn't really exist.

Man Utd 80 Liverpool 77 Che;sea 74 Arsenal 68 6 points behind 3rd and only in 4th because Villa ran out of steam doesn't really represent a great season. They're 12 points behind Utd and it will be 15 by the time Utd win their game in hand. Arsenal are still doing well for the money they've spent, but if they want to become a force again they need to break out the chequebook and bring in a couple more Arshavin-like signings. He's had a huge impact on them this year, when the kids weren't cutting it. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that Wenger brings (mostly foreign) youth into his team, and as Utd have shown with their 30M signing of Berbatov, sometimes big money signings don't always pay off, however, if Arsenal are not careful they'll become a club that feeds to other clubs. A few years ago when they were winning things would a player like Flamini have left for AC? If they don't start winning things soon I think their players may look elsewhere. Basically, they need silverware and fast, no more "the team is developing", or "next year is the year". They've got enough young, raw talent, they just need a little more experience and leadership on the pitch. That type of experience generally has to be purchased.

As I've said 'Drog, none of them as human beings are anywhere near Barton's level. On the pitch they could be rough buggers, but off it I don't think any of them were anywhere near Barton's level of nasty. Taking on Barton not only sets a bad precedent for the club but threatens team spirit if it gets out of control. So much (too much IMO) would depend on Sam being able to tame Barton, not only on the pitch but most importantly OFF it.

Depends where Arsenal want to go Gordo. As it stands the gulf between them and the others is widening at a frightening rate. Soon it'll be the big 3 (Utd, Chelski, Liverpool), followed by the next 5 (Arsenal, Villa, Man City, Spurs, Everton), followed by the rest. I wonder if Arsenal's owners will be happy to see them in that second bracket.

I agree the refs shouldn't look on the back of the shirt before deciding on cards, but they do. Generally you have to be a bit of a bellend to achieve that (Savage type players) but usually it's a little harsh. I think in Sav's case it was harsh, as he never really put in any ridiculous tackles, he was just energetic and somewhat clumsy in tackling. Barton, meanwhile, has managed to gain a reputation not only on the pitch but off it. He has nobody but himself to blame for that, and even if it is wrong for referees to judge based on outside circumstances, it happens, and Barton can only blame himself for the reputation that preceeds him. It's not his talent I doubt, I've already mentioned I think he's a gifted footballer. I just think his attitude is awful, and if Sam can't tame him, signing him could be one of the biggest mistakes this club has ever made. I don't want us taking that risk and I don't want to see him in the blue and white shirt.

Newcastle fans were willing to give him a clean slate too. As was King Kev. It's clearly worked out well for them. The tackle at the weekend was a dubious sending off, but if Barton didn't have such a well-earned reputation for being a tw@t maybe he would be treated with a degree of fairness. I'm shedding no tears over it, and there's not a queue of Newcastle fans waiting to back him up. To survive in this division we do not need Barton. He's the only player I can currently think of who I do not want at this club, at any cost. I was fine with Diouf, Savage, Todd, Dickov... any of our "dubious" players and I don't mind players who wind up other players and have a dig every now and then. Barton is, however, a total liability and as a human being he ranks far below any of the aforementioned. He's a different class of nasty and even though I won't stop supporting the Rovers if we sign him, the club will fall drastically in my estimations. I don't think I'll be able to cheer Barton in the shirt, it'll anger me seeing him in it.