hughieslastminutegoal

Makes a change from all those who look a lot better before they come on.

I'm certain that Hoddle in particular hated the idea that Le Tissier was more skilful that he was, and that's one major reason why he didn't take MLT to the World Cup.

Then how about marmite instead? ....... doh!

I don't get what you are saying. If a court said we had an enforceable contract (i.e. he was in effect ours) then why would the court say we couldn't sign him? If a court said he was ours, why would the FA or whatever other footballing body say we couldn't sign him? A court might say that AM had breached the contract but our loss is the buy-back price of the option, which they haven't paid yet. The date of the actual payment is probably secondary to the date they said they wanted to buy the option back. Can't see it being more than the option price + costs i.e. enforcing the least costly of the two alternatives in the contract. It's high time the edifice of professional football took a big tumble. If only peeps stopped paying Sky for their sports/football bundles we might begin to see some sanity. And we wouldn't see so many utter mediocrities (not meaning to put TA in that bracket) becoming as rich as the landed aristocracy once were, or w*nker bankers currently are. Just think, Dejan Lovren is probably rich enough never to have to work again. I'm not jealous, but outraged.

I'd be careful what you say, with the usual summer grammatical pedantry season well and truly open. You cannot declyne "to answer" - it not a noun, it's a verb, and you can only conjugate a verb. Mind you, everyone is entitled to their sexual preference.

Except for all the players frequently mentioned on here who did everything to get a permanent contract and only after they got one became sh*t. And the others we couldn't/can't wait to sign, like Ryan B, ot Toby A.

I agree, I'd like to get used to looking after myself in the Syrian turmoil before tackling Liverpool.

That's why he said: "..intel AND Black Box targets ..."

Yeah, you can say that again.

Rednapp works on a % basis - buy loads of players, shove them into a side and with luck some of them will pay off - if they can work out how to play together. If he was England manager, he'd just pick whoever the press were clamouring for, and if it didn't work he'd sulk and blame them "I done what they all wanted, not my fault who we've got ain't good enough, blah blah". I remember when genial Joe Mercer was England manager - he just picked the best we had and told them to go out and play - and he had a little success with that. He was replaced by Don Revie, who turned otherwise good players (when used to their strengths) into nervous wrecks with his "tactics" - He even had Mick Channon defending at right back on occasions expecting him to do defensive headers! Mick ended up not knowing what the f* he was supposed to be doing. As an International manager, Revie made good players (who he didn't have time to brainwash) often look poor. Roy just can't make up his mind which way to do it. When we had Gerrard, Lampard and Cole etc., he'd just pick them and hope. Without them he instead has to try to carry off the illusion he has some modern tactical nous. Playing almost everyone out of position is his attempt to con us that it's all clever stuff.

"Southampton signed Ramirez from Italian outfit Bologna but he is unlikely to return to the club given they now play their football in Serie B". I agree with that. Too high a level for Ramirez.

For those old enough (you for instance) to have seen Last Tango in Paris, "buttering up" has an rather different connotation.

Easy to say with a season's hindsight. The fact still remains that it is possible to sell a player and buy as good or better for less, contrary to what you said in post 13.

Why the "So.."? Different clubs will value players differently. Are you saying it's impossible to sell a player for lots of money and get an equal replacement for less? Have you not watched our transfer dealings recently? Luke Shaw/Ryan Bertrand springs to mind. I guess that one escaped your attention?

As a gynaecologist I think the black bit should be the top ........... Is this piece of porn-inspired kitsch appropriate for an ISIS-funding micro-state, given that certain elements of Islam like to cover women completely in black, even to the extent of a mesh veil over the eye slot? ... Now that's an idea.... Huge black piece of sheeting, anyone? Is this what goes down as a legitimate part of the sales effort, or as (very) conspicuous corporate consumption of surplus profit?

I like the bit that said: 'The scouting set-up [at Southampton] is the envy of the biggest clubs in England; it is focused, structured and unerringly accurate. Pretty good, but hardly unerring.

The Saints FA Cup semi final v Crystal Palace thread the other week is a good example of how absolutely awful the football could be, although at the time you get absorbed in what is in front of you, it's your team. But you can't compare eras absolutely, only relatively, i.e. Saints 1960s football could, for its time, be fantastic - big Ron's salmon leaps, Terry Paine on his jinking runs on the wing, but you just couldn't play like that today. A 1930's Bugatti wouldn't compare with a 2015 Maserati, engineering designs being what they are now, but it was a great car at the time.

He's a great lad, deserves every respect, and I am very sorry for the guy that his season with Liverpool has been such a disappointment. But in his last season for us the signs were there that he was on the downward slope, and I really couldn't understand why Brenda bought him. He got a couple of Prem seasons with us, and a few games for England, something he probably barely imagined, and secured the future of his family. However I don't think he'd get games at Bournemouth under EH either, now. I can't see Eddie going for him, unless it's a chairman's signing over his head.

Read what he actually said. The early season success is protecting Koeman for the time being, but if we start next season as we are finishing this one the club will learn that goodwill can erode quickly. I think it's very clear he meant the club will learn that the goodwill of fans can erode quickly. That didn't mean that he thought he club would soon consider him for the sack, just that fans' patience can be short if things carry on next season as they are finishing this. I can't see there's much to disagree with there. Pretty much a statement of fact. That doesn't mean I think Koeman will or should be sacked either, by the way.

If you aren't challenging for CL or fighting relegation the Europa is ruining the last third of the season. No one seems to want to enter that competition. Time for clubs to say the competition should be dropped or changed significantly.

That's the problem when every other team respects us so much.

I'm sure they could do it standing on their heads.

Ah, I see you do get how it works after all. What do you think all these agents offer in the way of advice for their fat fees?

Exactly, you really need to sell the player before his last year starts. In fact he probably only needs a decent half to two thirds of his penultimate contracted season to get that lucrative move (or an improved contract). And during his contract before the current one, he probably only needs to be decent for a similar period to have been given a lucrative renewal. In the contract before that it could well have been the same story. So in a 10 year post-Academy career your multi-millionaire player might have only delivered decent football during one third of his total time, maybe even less.

Shame everyone's ignored your trolling.