revolution saint

I'll be honest, since I've become a registered user rather than full member it's become a lot easier to ignore WUMS, trolls and not get involved in arguments - only got 3 posts so what's the point? Reckon a 3 post limit would probably help many people.....

Does anyone know where Ramirez is now? Is he back in Italy? Just think that could be a fairly good indicator of how he, at least, feels the deal is going. If he's back and training with Bologna then not good news for us.... if he's not though then great. Anyway, even if he signed right now the chances are slim that he'd even make a sub appearance against Wigan and if the deal is still do-able then stretching into next week isn't the end of the world. If it's anything less than likely to happen though I'd rather we moved on - sure there are other 12-15M players we've never heard of we can buy....

I agree with you Derry, I've watched the olympic games and the Youtube vids and he looks OK, possibly very good but very hard to tell. Personally if the lad was being touted around for 2M then the reaction on here would be very different. I tried to say that several pages ago but it seems to me that the price tag has blinded any doubt. Obviously it's encouraging to be linked with players in this bracket and range but it's not all guaranteed success, or worth it and plenty have failed. The big worry is we sign him and he doesn't turn out to be the new Maradona instantly - the hype on here seems to be expecting that to be the case.

Clever, and one I can't answer but then who can?

Yeah well that's just stupid but fair play to Wolves if they can rob someone of that money. St. Donovan, thanks for the vids - I've seen them though and they don't do much for me I'm afraid. I'm sure Ramirez is probably a great player and, if it comes off, then I look forward to seeing him play but based on what I've seen so far there doesn't seem that much to get excited about.

I don't really think the Ramirez deal affects any other ones we've got on the radar but I agree - he doesn't look *that* good. Clearly a decent player but I think many of us are being blinded by the price tag here. Normally you'd expect a thread like this to be filled with youtube vids but that's not really happened and those that have been posted don't really suggest 12M of talent. I'm sure many will point to his international stats etc which are impressive for a 21 yr old but 12M is a hell of a gamble. Would be interesting to read what Bologna fans think of him - that's generally a good indication.

I concur with all of that. However, we're talking about his worth as a pundit here and his ability to provide some insightful comment. Frankly he just doesn't have that ability (a bit like his son). If you want cliche ridden, regurgitated opinion that anyone can deliver then 'Arry's your man but he doesn't offer a whole lot else.

Genuine question here but just how good is Ramires? Obviously everyone is stunned at the amount we've bid but is the valuation what we're getting excited about rather than the player? Obviously like most of us I can only go on youtube vids and he looks OK but Lens looked better. To be honest he doesn't look any different to Lallana and, whilst getting another player of that ability is great, I'm really wondering whether he's worth nearly 12M quid. Guess time will tell.

On topic, looks like we're the only show in town for Buttner. Clearly comes with a bit of baggage but the lad looks a decent player and perhaps we can pick up a bargain. Besides, we need a mental player and particularly at left back, since Mark Dennis there's just been Benali and Colleter. That's not good enough. Fair play to NA and NC for identifying the loony left back position when many were just thinking centre back.

Has anyone read 'saga of exiles' by Julian May? Loved it as a teenager although not sure how it would stand up now - almost afraid to revisit it. Personally though in terms of SF fiction John Wyndham takes a lot of beating and does stand the test of time. Obviously Triffids is the most famous but mt favourite would be The Chyrsalids.

Way I see it is the Lib Dems really had two things they could have obtained out of a coalition; one was the cache of being able to say they'd been in govt, taken the tough decisions etc and the other was electoral reform. They've not really done well on either but it's electoral reform that's really let them down. If they'd come out of this term with proportional representation then, for them, that would have been success and, whether you agree with the system or not, it would have helped them even if it resulted in short term pain. Instead they got a half hearted referendum on something that wasn't even their preferred system. At the moment it's hard to see what the benefit for the lib dems has been.

See we are spending! We've signed pretty much all of Wolves players.

If you didn't already know then Guly is one of those players who divides opinion, and that's just the way it is. He's probably not as good as some think, and neither as bad. Personally, I'd veer towards the not so good category - I think his touch is poor and gives away the ball too cheaply although to be fair he does track back well. He's certainly willing to do a job regardless of position as well. Not sure that'll be enough in the prem, but who knows? I thought Fernandes was a great player but he was widely slated - it's all about opinions. I think the only thing this link shows is that the width next season will come from the fullbacks and we'll be expecting a lot from them.

I suspect any average figure is going to be massively skewed by the really big earners. It would be interesting to see what the figure is without the top 4 clubs included or, dredging through my limited stats knowledge, the modal figure. Anyway, good deal for clubs and player and wish him the best.

Hatton is so out of shape there's no way he could get back in the ring and be competitive. I couldn't even see Kahn and Hatton being able to make the same weight division. As others have said, Hatton in his prime would beat Kahn. I think Kahn can still be a decent fighter and do relatively well but there's no way he's in the same league as Pacman or Mayweather. Unfortunately that chin is always going to be a problem for him. The Kell Brook fight would be a good one to watch as well.

I rarely post on this thread but have been an interested lurker, in fact I think my first post was something along the lines of 'I really don't care about Pompey' but now, due to you nutjobs, I actually do care about them; the sheer hypocrisy and way they've carried on means any football fan should care. Anyway, my take on this is that nothing momentous or significant really happened today except that a few deluded souls managed to write a badly worded letter and attracted the media circus for what is effectively a non-story. The players have already made sacrifices and the thanks they get is vilification - it's not exactly going to make them change their mind, and in any case they haven't even received compromise proposals. I think they know they're being used as scapegoats. It's also quite funny to hear Pompey fans appealing to them on a moral basis after weeks and months of calling them mercenaries. The players they've signed are hardly likely to listen to arguments of conscience either so it's fairly futile - most of them put their careers secondary to a big pile of cash when surely better options were available. That's actually a good moral dilemma - how much money would you need to play for Pompey? If sensible recruitment had taken place, if local kids had been played then maybe those players would have listened. They didn't and the players they've got won't. It's all a smokescreen though and just an endgame where the objective is to make sure the blame lies elsewhere when the music stops because not even the short term stopgap measures add up anymore. Secretly I think all the interested parties are finding liquidation to be the most attractive proposal on offer, and it is even for Pompey fans.

What I liked is when Mo talked about only collecting data that they could use. The problem with this kind of thing is that they can collect too much data and get swamped in analysis paralysis but it seems like they know what they're doing. All good stuff.

Well we tried to sign Billy for 3m last summer so probably.....

The moment a club names a price it means they are willing to sell, and probably want to sell as well. Also, if we've bid 6m and they want 10m then 8m would probably do it. None of which means we'll get him but it's encouraging nonetheless.

We've got youth team keepers - probably more potential than Tommy. I thought we needed a pathway to the first team. Either way people want to talk about it, well probably just me now, and I think that's fine and he's really not getting that much of a hard time so what's the problem?

OK, so I guess you'll be totally non-critical for the rest of the season? That will make a nice change so maybe something good has come of this.......

Who said he was? And why is it wrong to question it?

Of course. I don't know the bloke and have no personal opinion on him either. I think it's still a legitimate question as to why he's still around and as, like all players, that will be based on opinion of his ability so he'll have to accept that - even if we haven't seen much of him, even his defenders would admit he doesn't stand much of a chance of a league career. Not his fault but neither should his continuing presence be something we shouldn't question (personal abuse aside).

Who cares? Anyone contributing to this thread - that's quite obvious, isn't it? You probably meant 'Why should we care?' though. I'll tell you why - it's because we're paying a player who has no future, no value and no worth. Anyone who pays to go games, buys a shirt etc contributes towards this. It may not be a lot of money but this isn't some community help scheme either.

You're right that he hasn't had a chance to prove himself with us except in training but he's had other chances and hasn't done very well with them. Bart, of course, did get a lot of stick after the Blackpool game (and a few others) so you're wrong about that. Difference is that Bart needed to play - and he's managed to get a league club to sign him whereas Tommy can't find a loan move to a non-league club - you'd think that speaks volumes about his ability wouldn't you? You're right though that the real problem lies with Lowe who gave him the 5 year contract. In the mean time, however, we're stuck with someone who is patently not good enough for league 2 - maybe not his fault, maybe not breaking the bank but he's not doing this for free either. He'll still be getting a good wage and I'd rather not contribute towards it.