dubai_phil

been far too busy watching the cricket today and internet was slower than Wotton so didn't bother trying to keep track. One positive I can see, Wotton was benched

Hmm Dickov nasty, annoying little runt. If his legs are still ok could be just what we need alongside Lambert. IF true shows we are looking to toughen up, I like that even though I don't like him

Well, first day of Ramadan today, great, half day working, as well. Think I'll get into the spirit of the occassion and have a Bacon Sarnie for lunch

lol Their use of the Queen's English is worse than most on here! http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/cricket/broad-smiles-as-australia-on-the-ropes/2009/08/21/1250362212096.html And as for their whingeing pom jibes.... moan moan moan moan.... http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,25963401-5005401,00.html Lot of work to do today, gotta tough it out so nerves don't play a part in the field

An alternative strategy would be to locate a Bosman striker or unearth a "gem" that costs us nothing, and use the savings on any fee to pay off part of Saga (or Rasiak's) wages to allow them to be gone. Of course, finding those takes time, but I believe that if a players' contract is cancelled by mutual consent, they then become a free agent and can sign for who they like outside the window??

Lol. We will have planned a salary budget for all the football operations. My guess is that it will be between 5 & 7 million a year for 24 first team players. You want to blow 1.6mil of that on one player.. hmmm Offer him two years at 4 grand a week so he doesn't have to move house and can do his coaching badges, otherwise enjoy your nights out in Nottingham

Nice article MB... Also it does raise one interesting point that we as Saints fans should take on board. Gaydamark was supposed to have a rich Daddy. So the fans thought that he was pumping in his cash. As a private club, they had no need to tell the world it was all done through debt. With Saints, a realistic business plan to get back to and produce a squad capable of staying IN the PL would need around 80 mil over about 5 years. Some 20mil of that woould be covered by the increased TV revenues but the investment without developing our own stars would be needed. Now with a billionaire using cash, at the bottom of the recession, that is a sustainable plan, as the asking value for a PL club is between 100-150mil. The DANGER would come if the investment came in the form of loans as happened in Portsmouth, to an extent in Chelsea and also in a way at Liverpool & Man U. An owner with wealth can equally act as the security for the loans of his business, not much different from most small busiinessmen. While you have a plan, sensible sustainable development and an every expanding stram of TV income, it is fine. But when boredom sets in, or tough times come around or simply it is time to stand on your own two feet, life can become very harsh. Chelsea don't spend like they did and Kenyon keeps telling anyone who will listen that they are working to break even. Sensibly done, it can work. Unfortunately the sorry tale of the Sk*tes shows that not much sense was used with these obvious results, and the deja vu moment for them is that the people who made the unwise decisions are still around trying to keep the keys to the train set

I could tell you, but then I would have to shoot you Just remember I have a funneh to tell still!

I was sort of hoping we could bat for 90 overs Yeah ok right you got me! Well spotted, luckily the Sky Commentary Team (yep we get them here) make the same mistake! Thin the only people I know who could bat on that pitch for 270 overs are me & Chris Tavare, the difference is that in that time I could rocket to wow almost 40 runs

For someone with only 25 posts I think you show a unique grasp of the situation we used to have, well done [-o You should get on here more often! Standard "Public School" Management Techniques, has screwed the country for far too many years

17,962 Which co-incidentally is exactly the same number of fat chicks my Irish mate has sh*gged from Rock Bottom in the past 18 months God Bless Bullfrogs

And even IF they find a billionaire, HOW long does he have left to buy the players they will need to be competitive in the PL? It's all well and good buying the club now, but the cost vs risk factor that they could be dead and buried before they can sign Ronaldo, Becham, Terry, Defoe (oh) et al in January Redevelopment opportunities are all very well but there is this minor matter of the recession to deal with, Hell you can buy Dubai for 40 cents in the dollar right now

Nice one

I say old chap, I do believe you omitted a comma. I fink I kan cum4tably say VAT as I got Engleesh Langiage O Level just

So it's ok for the Yanks to impose their rules on dodgy Brit businessmen or not all there computer hackers, but when a part of the UK applies the Law they moan about it...... Sorry but the only reaction I have is go stuff yourselves you pompous Yanks.... Even IF I thin it was "morally" wrong

Headingley Botham, Willis........... Sod the odds today, get some runs on the board

No. I'm with you on the 250 worry mate. If WE were chasing I would say no chance, but that lot, I think we would crumble under the pressure and start to try and bowl them out instead of letting the ball do the work like Broad did today. The positives I tale is that Broad Swann et al have seemed to manage to get us around 80+ runs per innings. In some ways Swann & Broad have looked better at the crease than Collingwood & Cook. So if you add 80 to what we have already, then I think 300 IS a big ask, and if we can get past that by batting through until after lunch it would give us 150 overs and scoring at even 2 an over may not be easy in the 4th Innings. Can Trott, Prior & Flintoff get those 80 more runs between them with the tail chipping an extra 20/30 runs?... THAT's the big question, allows Strauss to attack At the end of the day, if Freddie can stay in for 90 minutes against the part time spinners........... But he won't, it's fate Meanwhile, wonder how the Aussie Press is reacting to Marcus North coming on first change....... he did well but thank heavens it wasn't Hauritz

You do know that second link was filmed in my back yard don't you

Great News, the Sk8tes will be saved. MJ has had the call! I was joking, he hasn't, they're screwed

Neither am I, but psychotherapy has come on so far since One flew over the cuckoo's nest, so he could make a recovery mentally (from that QPR moment), and with a real coaching regime, someone may finally teach him what he's supposed to do on a football pitch (most of us that ever played even pub football sort of worked it out ourselves, but I expect he's had it all drilled out of him the last 2 years or so)

Will be there next Friday....... Soi Katoy, Patong Beach, Phuket! (with the better half who's making her first trip and waiting to see the reaction!) Looking for the the footsteps of other TSW legends

Ah my favourite topic.... SCW was ORIGINALLY recruited to use his expertise in elite performance to produce systems processes and programmes that would enable a far higher percentage of Academy graduates to make the grade in our first team. In the original press releases at the time, SCW believed that this was where his skills could best fit to his hopes of a new career in football, and that while he did this work he could start to learn the skills needed to be involved in more direct football roles. Then it all went t*ts up... So, in "what if land"... If he had spent a year or two doing what the label originally said, then moving on to say the first team as a specialist coach in say Sports Science - ie to LEARN the trade, THEN, with that knowledge, and his skills I have no doubt that he would have made an extremely competent "Sporting Director" Then with MLT & Benali learning the ropes under him? No, it would not have worked. SCW would have had the competencies for the role as Liason to the board and the likes but could never have been a mentor to the lads learning their trade. DoF does work. It worked with Ted Bates & Lawrie Mc. We knee jerk every time that DoF is mentioned though and only see interference. There is so much more to the roles than that, but my argument is always the same. Who would you prefer to be the boss of the manager? Rupert or a DoF? Likewise who is best suited to run a football club? A businessman or an ex footballer? As LONG as the people involved have a higer IQ and understanding of what is needed than most of us, then it can work. But equally, you didn't need to be Einstein to say WTF about the Newcastle structure!

OK so my opinion on all this We signed "PL quality players" when we were in the CCC all we got was bankruptcy The kids in the squad last season can all be damned good players, however in the real world they would have never played more than 25 games with about 8/10 starts for us. They SHOULD have been lent out into teams where they had experience around them to learn their trade, not dumped in the crap. IMHO they aren't ready this year and need to play less together and more with experienced pros We have signed top rated and player of the year League 1 players. That is what will get us out of this league, buy the best L1 players to form the spine and rotate the kids around them with a bit less pressure to bring out their abilities We won't go up this year because we were in such a total mess at every part of the club. We WANT to go up, but so much has to be done we just won't be ready, so having the backbone now and giving these kids that extra year while the new crop of Goberns/Mills/Thompson/McLaggon (and maybe after time with a real coach and a shrink) Lancashire will be the backbone that gets us out of here and on up the CCC in the next 3 years We need a RM and we need to replace Saga and Rasiak to balance the forward line better

I thought we had that once before? With Burley

Wow at last a stroke of luck, manuretv is one of the freebies we get when we subscribe down here to our weird and wonderful satellite providers Oh, hmm Oval Test starts at 11am as well doesn't it. Wil we get to 130, tough choice all of a sudden