Turkish

In the 80s we produced a few that weren't quite top flight level but played quite a few times made good careers in the game. Mark Whitlock, Mark Blake, Steve Davis were three I remember who were all local boys who came through. Since then we've not really had any that have done much in the first team.

Absolutely, I mean everyone is indignant this can't be true and they'd be right, its in the paper and what so they know? they just make things up. At least now its in the paper that he's not leaving so we know that he 100% won't be, because when its in there its alway the truth.

FACT

I expect she probably did anyway.

When and Where do you hear this?

Oh yeah he wasn't wasn't he, Wallsall, got them relegated and then sacked with them in the drop zone the season after.

What a load of nonsense. There is an obsession with getting black players to be managers and to be honest it's a load of horsesh*t. One look at the England squad for the 1998 world cup show how the ones whinging about football being toxic and anti black manager is boll(cks. I've chosen the 1998 world cup squad because most of the players there have retired now and are at management age. There were 4 black players in that squad. Sol Campbell, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand and Paul Ince. Of those 4 Paul Ince has managed in the premier league and has failed as a manager. Les Ferdinand is currently a premier league coach at Tottenham, Rio Ferdinand is the only member of the squad still playing. So as a percentage 50% of the black players have gone into management and coaching, both of them have been or are currently in the premier league and one is still playing. Of the 18 white players only Tony Adams, Gareth Southgate and Alan Shearer for a very short time have managed, none with any success. I believe Tim Flowers is a goalkeeping coach somewhere and Gary Neville is a pundit and a coach. So as a percentage only 27% of white players from that England squad have been involved in coaching or management. Why isn't there campaign to get reformed junkie & alcoholic players like Paul Merson into management? Why isn't there a clamour to get crocked ex players like Darren Anderton into management? It's a disgrace there isn't any currently managing in the premier league. Simple fact is there are a lot fewer black players currently of managerial age than there are white players. Therefore you're going to have fewer black managers.

People on here love stats, except when they dont suit them. I wonder what their stats would be in the percentage only included wins against teams with 3 or less English players in the side whose name includes the letter D, S, R, P or T and the club was formed between 1893 and 1901.

It's a huge weekend at the bottom. west Ham go to Cardiff and Fulham host Sunderland, if the home teams both win then West Ham are 6 points adrift, which even at this stage of the season is a mountain to climb. Who is going to go there knowing they are very likely to go down?

And lots of average players on big long contracts with little sell on value. Whoever goes there will be under massive pressure to get them back up Straight away.

If they lose against Cardiff he'll be gone.

To be fair you need a bit of luck to beat them. Can't really criticise him for that.

No its a fair assessment, didn't do much at WBA really and like you say got an underperforming group of players to play together by letting the senior players do what they want. For whatever reason Cortese wanted him though and one of things he has got spot on is managerial appointments so must have something he liked.

So al the stuff that's been in the mail over the last year is gospel truth, all positive stories, articles on the academy, things leaked to the media that put us In a good light, every word of it. All of it, except this, this is just an article by some journalist. What people want is a statement from Cortese telling the world he wanted Di Matteo as manager, this while Adkins was still in the job. Course that's going to happen.

Cortese wanted Di Matteo but he turned us down. Probably due to him still being payed out by Chelsea. I happen to know this is 100% true. I used to have a contact who was on the board at Chelsea who told me. People sneered and took the p*ss out of this at the time but it was true.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2238109/Roberto-Di-Matteo-set-Southampton-job.html http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/roberto-di-matteo-is-favourite-to-become-1455777

Live by the sword you die by the sword. Gun wielding Drug Barron shot dead. Can't see the problem to be honest.

You speak for me.

Which, considering people now get arrested for chanting "we can see you holding hands" even when there are no openly gay people present, wouldn't have lasted very long, if indeed it started. Several things here. First and foremost does anyone really care? Why do gays feel they need to announce it? Reasonably good ex footballer says he's gay. Wow, who cares? Secondly i see twitter is alive with people congratulating him on "being brave" i dont subscribe to this view. Coming out when you've retired isnt brave, he wont have to endure the "banter" as BTF calls it from the terraces. Does this not send out a message to any gay footballers that they should wait until their careers are over before coming out? Surely the brave thing to do would have been to come out, if he felt the need to, whilst he was still playing. Surely that would then send a message out to young gay footballers that they can do the same too. Thirdly, what's wrong with a bit of "banter"? I've worked and played (football) with gay people in the past and they've been given and given it back, but no more and nothing less playful and harmless than when one of your mates nails a munter or if you're fat, bald, ugly, ginger, hairy. If you cant handle having the p*ss taken out of you then i would suggest a male dominated environment isnt the place for you and rather than crying about it do something else with your life.

Yep, i would back Roberto Di Matteo heavily to be our next manager. NC wanted him before.

He hasn't played for a year!

From what i've heard the neutral end will be full of scummers

I remember this time last year West ham had few easier games at the start of the season and made a good start. Then they faced a tougher run Lost a few. And dropped down the table. At the time people on here were quick to claim they were where they were due to their easy start and were now at their true level. Funny how that doesn't apply now.

It's written by a saints fan who posts on here. Keep up sunshine.

The season we got relegated We were close to beating Arsenal at Highbury and not thrashed by Man United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Everton who all qualified for the champions league that season. Indeed we actually beat Liverpool and Drew at home to Everton who equalised In injury time. Was that seasons squad good enough to target top 6 too?