bob fleming

Interesting. A poll perhaps - 100 Dickovs or 1 Drogba? Morning all... It's a good question that. That's a very good question. While Dickov has many qualities I don't think we should have 100 Dickovs. For one, the squad would be far too big. Too many strikers. And all called Dickov. How would Hughes know which one to pick? One of the Dickov's might do something brilliant in training and Hughes would want to pick him for the next match, only for one of the other sneaky Dickov's to take the other Dickov's place. How would Hughes know the difference? I tell you, he wouldn't. I don't like the sound of 100 Dickov's. No thank you. But I would take a hand full of Dickov's instead of just the one Drogba. So long as the hand full of Dickov's don't mind having their squad number tatooing on their forehead to avoid confusion. They'd have to have different numbers mind or it's still going to be confusing. Besides it'll never happen anyway now that the transfer window has shut. I blame FIFA. Chelsea have conceded just 8 league goals this season. Time for them to concede another tonight. Heaven knows how or who. 1 - 1. Let's say MGP for us and Lampard for them.

Reckon so Hughesy - with Nelsen also expected to sign and Xavier still lurking about I'd say that the Gabbidon deal ain't gonna happen. Cardiff probably wanted too much money.

I took a look at this last week - trains from Blackburn have to change - I think at Bolton itself (any ideas?) - and take approx an hour. They leave at 12.00 arrive at Horwich 13.03 - 12.15 and arrive at 13.28 and 13.00 arriving at 14.03 and 13.15 arrving at 14.28. This is from thetrainline.com. It's a bank holiday but that's what the website states anyway. I've no idea about the return journey though.

Would it? I wonder where Newcastle's manager may turn for a replacement goalkeeper? He's got a lot of "previous" for returning to raid former clubs. You may have a point though RR - Brad hasn't been shedding many tears over the departure of our previous manager, he may not want the move (and we may not want to sell). As for this criticism of Friedel - sorry I disagree - maybe on a couple of occasions he has been a little slow to narrow the angles but I think some people are being extremely harsh. He's in my top five keepers in the Premier League, no danger. If we were to sell, would many of us be happy with "The Enk" as our new Number 1? I doubt it (or maybe that's just me). We'd probably have to spend the vast majority of money recieved on a top class replacement. So what's the point?

It seems a lot, lot longer than that somehow.

Oakside Nursing Home - how long have you been living over the pond then Jim? You kept that quiet. They must really love you in the States. "That goddamn miserable limey". Thompson was unlucky if you ask me. Sure, he could have been shown a straight red for his first booking, but the second booking was a bit of a joke (from what I saw on Football First). Anyone of a number of players could have been booked in that "handbags" incident - strange that the officials singled out our unfortunate, quietly spoken, midfielder.

Bah, humbug. Anyway, 3-3.

Do I really need to answer that? I could probably make a case for swapping our entire current squad for just Shearer, Newell, Sherwood, Moran and Hendry. Sure, we'd have no goalkeeper but we could give it a go!

If I remember rightly, and I've just got this off Soccerbase, that team included the likes of May, Wright, Price, Sherwood, Hendry, Moran, Ripley, Super Atko, Shearer and Newell and, er, Tony Dobson. You'd swap our current squad for that lot?!?! Are you mad? There's only Tim Sherwood who went on to achieve anything (Sky TV pundit).

With Tugay out I'd imagine Thompson will come in - he's played more than Flitcroft who has hardly figured at all recently. Nils Ewic Nissa Big Face Johannssson could well have fun and games when he comes up against Routledge. This should make for quite an open game I'd imagine so I can see plenty of goals in this one. 3-3. Bright, Southgate and Osborn for them - Ripley and a brace for Shearer in reply.

Does anyone remember that our friends from down the M65 suffered a bit of bother with Cardiff a few years back? Nothing too sinister, just someone shooting at one of their coaches as they drove towards the stadium with an air rifle. Just pre-match high spirits I'd imagine, a couple of lads getting giddy and caught up in all the excitement.

OK - maybe this could go in the Transfer Topic thread, although that does tend to focus more on names of players we may / may not be interested in. January is coming as we're all aware, just after Christmas I believe, which means the transfer window opens. Over the last few weeks I've changed my mind on numerous occasions as to which position(s) we should strengthen first. First of all a defensive midfielder, but then we looked well at Fulham. Then of course the right back position, only for Neill to play OK against Spurs. Then there's the two centre halve positions. We also seem to need a quality striker. We also have a "job lot" of left backs (Thank you allan) with not one showing any real quality IMO. I could go on about more or less every position. Friedel looks OK though. Basically, what I'm saying is that the priority seems to change from game to game. It's a sad reflection on the state of our team you could say, well I could, and just have. So - my question is this. If you're Mark Hughes and you're able to make just two signings (let's presume we're skint - I have no idea) which two positions would you strengthen? No names please, that can go elsewhere. Maybe we could run a poll?

Are you surprised though Bryan? This is a BIG club we're talking about here and don't you forget it. We'll win 2-0. Dickov and Thompson doing the business.

No Hughesy, that's not right. We only won the league when we finished 1st. Your thinking of the previous season when we finished second and were runners up. We finished 4th, 2nd and 1st with Jason. He was an excellent player, no denying that, but Duff has the edge IMO.

Brotherston, Sellars, Wilcox, Duff - we've not done bad have we? and that's just in my time. Noel would beat a man and then beat him again. Then he'd beat him again and get a cross in. Very skilful and on his day would give many a full back a torrid time, I only remember him as a left winger though (Windy Miller on the right). Scooter was a great player, as others have said it's a shame he didn't play in the Premier League for us -"The silky skills of Scott Sellars" as Jack Holden would often say on Radio Lancashire. Wilcox - the crowds favourite. . Would run all day for the team and would deliver cracking early crosses which Shearer invariably found himself on the end of. Duffer - magnificent. I used to watch him for the youth team and he and Damian Johnson would terrorise defences. The bloke has it all. His tricks include turning the right full back in an anti-clockwise run with the ball glued to his left foot and also dummying the ball completely whilst running around the bemused full back before he knew where the ball and the player have gone. He was worth the entrance fee alone. Damn that Russian bloke. I don't know how much Noel cost the club but I think Sellars was only £25,000, Duff and Wilcox came through the Youth team. Four cracking players for next to nothing. For me it's just got to be Duffer though. Sublime. (I've approached all the other positions in the team with an open mind - I'll need something special to convince me not to vote Duff - I've seen nothing yet (and I doubt I will))

It's cheaper in the lower tier anyway Hughesy. So that's good news. I don't think anyone's mentioned this, a bit irrelevent here, but our Home game against the Trotters has been put back a couple of days to Monday 24 January for Sky. A Trotter at work told me - obviously I didn't believe him but it's on their Official Web Site, so it must be true. TrotterWeb.

I find this extremely bizarre all this angst as to why MGP isn't playing. When he did play he looked light-weight, perhaps he's worn out after the Norwegian season? Perhaps more importantly, we now have Reid and Emerton doing the business. So what's the problem? What's the big deal? Who are you going to drop for him to play? As for giving him 10 minutes at the end of a game - that doesn't wash either. Neither Reid or Emerton look like fading in games - so why change it round? If it's not broke...... American makes a very valid point. So, in summary, I'm not really bothered. It's not a big deal. I've no doubt that we'll see more of him in the future but some of you need to give it a rest as you may even start turning people against him.

Has he? OK, thanks Graeme.

I don't think anyone's being too hard on him Eddie. This entire thread is undoubtedly light hearted - which makes a pleasant change if you ask me. Good luck to the fella - I hope we see him soon in the first team. rover6 - I seem to recall that it was just a 12 month contract, 64 pages, A4, White. Standard stuff. Alan75 - Is that a picture of Ostenstad? He's actually lost weight!

Well you say that Den but poor old SKARBELLY (if that's his real name) has asked a very good question about poor old de Pedro and to date, IMO, we've learnt very little. Other than the fact most people consider de Pedro to be of the portly, unfit, variety type of player, taking his money for next to nothing, and generally doing an impression of an over weight blue and white Weeble. It's not just been positive comments. Oh no. Nuclearsox states in his post that de Pedro needs two players to actually hold him in an upright position and that he doesn't have a wand for a left foot. I'll not even mention Nuclearsox' stats (which I reckon have been made up by the way). Other posters reckon that he has a pie and sleep addiction, and will cost the club £13 million if he comes on as a second half substitute anytime between now and next May. There's also a particularly nasty reference to Moles. It's scandalous. It's nothing short of character assassination and I for one want nothing to do with it.

That's not a bad idea really. But I can't help thinking that we're not really going to get the truth in a lot of instances. Just a lot of waffle to appease the fans. They're not going to tell all and sundry that a player is bobbins as they'll never get shut. Week Beginning 29 November 2004 - Sparky's Squad Update: Paul Gallagher: "Really pleased with Paul, he's buckling down now and he deserved his hat trick at Fulham". Morst Gamst Pedersen: "I was all for giving MGP a start at left wing against Fulham but decided against it yet again to annoy certain posters on BRFCS.com" Javier de Pedro: "This guy was a terrible signing. What a cock up. What was Souness thinking? He can't even run. What a bad do isn't it? Left foot like a wand my ar*e." But then again - you're right I don't actually know. I just heard from someone that he isn't particularly match fit and can't run - and that was a few weeks ago. Either way I doubt we're gonna see him in the first team as MGP must be well ahead of him.

Good Heavens!! It was a joke! I made it up! He came on a free, as I already knew and as you've pointed out. A clause in his contract that means we pay £5 million after three games and £8 million after four and a half?!?!? To who? He had no club. No one on earth would believe that (apart from Paul ). Look - I apologise if people have to read between the lines a bit on some of my posts. If you look back I've actually answered your original question as well. i.e. By all accounts he can't run.

Er, no. Not at all serious. Besides it'll never happen anyway - now that he's wearing his Andy Todd disguise and playing at Centre Half Sociedad will never find out

There's no official explanation that I'm aware of. What annoys me though is that Morst Gamst Pedersen is keeping him from the first team bench. Hughes should issue a statement to the press to explain just what the blazes is going on. I also heard, from a bloke in the pub / internet, that we have to pay his former club Real Sociedad, £5 million when he completes three first team appearances and a further £8 million when he reaches 4.5 games. I don't know what more de Pedro has to do to get a game - if only he could run.

If that's the sort of thing Forrest was up to then that's even more reason to vote for him as far as I'm concerned. I'm happy with my vote. Sherwood's never burnt a witch in his life, never even come close (probably).