The Kraken

Jokes are never as good when you have to explain them.

Well, yes. Being as the transfer committee as it is today hadn't been recruited when we signed Lambert (and most of the signings that Pardew made for that fact).

Why are you talking about Adkins now? You started off tallking about Puncheon. #confused.

So why do you feel they don't get on?

Are you suggesting that's why Puncheon hasn't started in the team reecently?

Really? That's quite strange.

Well, lets have a think. Previous national football icon? Notorious for being "a bit of a character"? Recalled to your national side after a while out? Playing against a side which is very much a local derby? Yes; why on earth would quotes come out from Artur Boruc now? From the Polish press. Although, as the genius St Chalet pointed out earlier, any comment about Artur and his potential new Saints contract is only positive, in whatever context. And Chalet is never wrong about anything.....

Quite why anyone would get so wound up and take so seriously anything that a washed up junkie and alcoholic would say is plain bizarre. Just laugh at him FFS. He's paid for being a national joke.

Did you watch it?

Rose tinted glasses aside, I wouldn't disagree too much. But only because that I think Cleverley is a plainly average player, despite Fergie (who knows a player) clearly rating him. I hope and think Jack Cork will get his chance (and I have always thought and still think he is better than Morgan, which has always been an unpopular view on here). Lallana; nowher near international class, an attacking midfielder who has scored, what? 2 Premier League goals? No way.

Do I have to explain it? Especially as you listed a bunch of players who were signed under previous managers, who are entirely irrelevant to the point being made OK, I'll do it, as you seem to be struggling. Our last few players have without doubt been signed more by committee than by manager. I listed the two most worrying ones. Yoshida, well it seems from reading this board that he generally wasnt an Adkins signing. Boruc; by his own words he wasn't, he was absolutely a Cortese signing. Ramirez? Totally a committee signing; Adkins hardly knew a thing about him during the early days we were involved. Perhaps its best you try and tell me how overt influence from the committee wasn't a trend in our last, say, 9 or 10 signings.

To be fair...... As much as Cleverley is utter turd; what are the options? We need to face facts that England have very average players right now.

Cleverley is one of the most average players I've ever seen in an England shirt. An utterly beige player. Defoe is the greediest player ever, and just seems like c*nt. Sturridge did well for Bolton on loan, something like 10 goals in 10, but hasn't really progressed since. Goal there, but he missed an utter sitter earlier.

Bobbo; do I get the feeling that you're partial to a bit of Sue? Is this simply because she (apparently) is partial to a bit of sushi from the barber room's floor? I think I just threw up a little bit in the back of my mouth.

Richard Caborn speaking some rare sense. Caborn suggested the stadium could have been adapted at a fraction of the cost if it had been built with a post-Games switch to football in mind. "This is the biggest mistake of the Olympics and lessons should be learned from this," he added. "West Ham are basically getting a stadium costing more than £600m for just £15m and a small amount in annual rent. "The mistake was made in 2006-7 when they [Olympic Board] ruled football out of a retro-fit design as was done successfully in Manchester with the Commonwealth Games stadium. "I suggested retractable seating like the Stade de France in Paris but they insisted it should be a 25,000-seat athletics stadium. "Time and again mistakes are made with Olympic Stadiums and the lessons should be learned for any future similar projects."

That must be wrong. Apparently its a good sign that he's talking about Saints whilst on international duty. Whatever the content. Happy days.

Not a midfield player, that's for sure. He made his name under Chris Nicholl in a 4-2-4 formation. We finished 7th in the league, were the 3rd highest scorers in the league and also the 3rd highest conceded, so it tells you about our wingers' attitude to defending/attacking. When at his best under Alan Ball, MLT literally didn't have a position; Bally just told him to get into good positions from an attacking sense and for other players to find him, and do his defensive duties for him. 30 goals that season, and I doubt he did any defending. Of that list only Scholes is a similar type player, and even Scholes was more defensive minded than MLT. Cronaldo is a striker at Real Madrid, and probably was for a year or two before leaving Man United. MLT is, simply, a one-off. Not a midfielder, not a striker, just a genuinely great player.

Dalek St Chalet

You should probably look up the terms "racism" and "xenophobia".

I wouldn't want to diminish my mental images of Lindsey Vonn and Chemmy Alcott by association, if that's alright with you Turks.

And I don't necessarily have a problem with that for one-off signings, so long as the manager gets most of what he wants in addition. Lowe brought in the likes of Crouch and Niemi over his managers' heads. The problem comes when you have more Delgados than you do successes. Forren (so far) and Mayuka are worrying trends.

Indeed they are, Robert. Sadly I think Sue doesn't fall into that category. She does live in Italy though, don't you know?

Yep, he must have gone well out of his way to talk about his club career whilst on his recall to the national side for a game back in his home country. Talking about being racially abused by his club's home fans is a positive sign too.

Correct, young Charles.

Wes Tender Swedish Dave