revolution saint

Totally agree with that mate.

You got all that from 45 mins? Really? I thought he did well but let's not get carried away here. Personally I'd play him as one of the front 3 - might see a little less of the ball but will be more dangerous when he gets it. Pleased to see Rodriguez come on and hold the ball up well in the CF position though. End of the day, to coin a phrase, we lost to the better side and there's no real disgrace in that. Actually if that's the way we're aspiring to play (like Arsenal today) then we've had a good lesson; sure we'll learn from it.

Great, so we've signed a 7M back up striker for Lambert? I know we needed cover but really? And if he were that good down the centre then why didn't NA start him there against City, or Wigan? Or play him there when he came on against Utd? So whilst you may think it's narrow thinking you may want to also have a word with Nigel.

With all due respect I hate these spurious player / fan comparisons as it adds nothing to the debate. For every Morgan, Beattie comparison I could add Lee Todd and Stig Johansson - they looked rubbish initially and ended up being rubbish, it's an equally valid comparison. The difference between Rodriguez and Beattie / Morgan is that even in their first few games they showed quality whereas even his supporters would have to admit Rodriguez has been average. Now you can argue he's being played out of position which is true but what do you do about it? Drop Lambert in the hope it turns out well? That's not really a great idea. There only seems to be two viable options IMO and that's we either change our formation and play two up front, or Rodriguez needs to get a lot better in the left sided forward position, and a lot better quickly.

Well the author of that piece has a point - Rodriguez hasn't looked like a 7m player so far. I know he's being played on the left of a front 3 (not really left wing) but surely that's the problem; when will he get a chance in a central position? On current form he doesn't look anywhere near as effective as Lambert so it'll be hard to displace him - have we spent that money on a cup player and back up to RL? Maybe in a couple of seasons time it'll be different but not at the moment. I think Rodriguez is going to have to up his game in the position he's played so far as that's the one he'll get most opportunity to play in. The worrying thing from his point of view is Lallana looks better there and we still have Lee to come in. God knows what Ramirez will add to that equation. I don't know about anyone else but when we signed him I didn't think we'd be signing someone who'd either struggle to get into the team or make an impact. Course it's early days but so far it hasn't been promising.

I guess the question is, is it right to give your ST to someone else when you can't go (or accept one). Everything else is irrelevant bull****. Forget NC and forget MLT, is it right? If you can honestly say you've done neither then good for you - you get an honest say in the debate. If not, well you know where that argument takes you.

For the benefit of unbelievers I'd rather he served his sentence here and now. Religious mob get enough time in the after life so that's only fair....

Ah well it needs to be simplistic to cut out the crap. The facts are there is enough justification to deem the war illegal; there was no UN mandate for it, the UN inspectors had found no evidence of WMDs but wanted to continue (we didn't give them that opportunity), hell we didn't even prosecute someone when they broke the official secrets act citing as a defence that this was not a legal war and not in the best interests of the country. That should be enough for a trial and so far the only defence from Blair has been that he did what he felt was right at the time. I don't doubt that one moment but he was demonstrably proved wrong and that's enough grounds for a trial. He'll get his chance to defend himself so why not let justice and law have it's opportunity? Ironically it's one of the reasons we cite as justification for war....

I'm probably being simplistic in my argument but I'm fairly sure we invaded Iraq because we thought they had WMDs, and they didn't. Stands to reason therefore that anyone responsible for that invasion (on that basis) is also accountable for the deaths of thousands of innocent people and it isn't unreasonable to suggest they stand trial.

Who here hasn't given their ST to someone when they couldn't attend a game? And how many others have accepted one in similar circumstances? Quite a few I'd guess. If that's all MLT has done and he's been targeted by NC then that's pretty bad form by NC and he needs to grow up a bit. Without denying the job NC has done and appreciating it, this club did not start when Marcus bought it. It started a long time ago and many people figure in that MLT included. We've lost the Ted Bates trophy and at least one of the legend lounge names, that's not appealing to me but I'll put up with it. I don't find it acceptable when IMO our best player ever is singled out and punished for something most of us do.

Indeed, and it's also nice of them to have posted so many videos of him on the youtube. Incidentally, it's worth passing through the many goals/skills videos and watch just the one match highlights - gives you a good idea of what we're getting and can expect. Let's face it - most players can look good in a compilation video (De Ridder?) so I've just watched Bologna vs Fiorentina and Bologna vs Milan. My thoughts are that this guy gets fouled a lot and can take a knock or two. He's not a diver by any means but is just so strong on the ball and with quick feet that defenders can't help themselves. Set pieces may be key for us this season so I hope we're working on them because Ramirez looks like he'll get us a few each game. Also, despite what some have said he does actually track back, well maybe not track back but definitely a determination to win the ball back if he loses it. Finally the lad has composure and doesn't seem fazed in front of goal - the dribbling and skills may draw comparison with MLT (they're not quite the same kind of player though) but for me it's that lack of nerves and decision making when it really counts that's impressive, and that's where the comparisons are most accurate. Definitely don't think the Olympic games got the best out of him or did him justice.

Great window but one worry is that we get an injury or suspension to Jos or Fox at the same time. If that happens we're fooked.

FWIW I think we'll get a left back in. NA has clearly targeted that position and not sure he'd have let Harding go if it wasn't a priority position for him. Obviously Shaw can do a job there but it's asking a lot of the lad if Fox picks up a bad injury.

Given the official mantra is that the OS is first with any news I'd imagine they'd want to get this out asap if true. Official interviews and pics can wait till tomorrow.

Pundits IMO are only there for one reason and that's to give the uninformed an opinon. Unfortunately they only really trot out the same old tired cliches so you get "'Arry is a great wheeler dealer" (well he's not really - ask any of his former clubs), "Sam Allardyce - great manager, shrewd operator" (really?), or to cap it all "Pompey - great supporters". I bet every informed and knowledgeable fan slates most pundits purely because they are lazy and uninformed. That's why I quite like Claridge - you only need to look at his scout reports on the grauniad to know he at least thinks about what he's talking about. Personally I think MOTD should actually have journalists as pundits - less cliches, more original thinking and more interesting.

Did one about three or four years ago. Not the greatest night ever but not the worst. Unfortunately after 20 years of not seeing these people all you've got left is small talk and that gets a bit boring. Half the people there I couldn't remember either although that's probably early onset alzchei... alzchime... whatever it's called kicking in. I didn't go to the last one though and don't really regret that.

Moran for me, although I remember Dave Puckett coming on late into my first ever game and thinking he was great. Danny and Rodney Wallace should surely have a place on this thread as well.

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.